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Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, may have been one of the most highly anticipated events of the year for sports fans, but the halftime show featuring Rihanna was the highlight of the night for music lovers.
While each performance typically becomes a trending topic, they are often compared to past artists who have taken the Super Bowl Halftime Show stage.
Although Rihanna and Beyoncé are both musical powerhouses, their styles and performances are often compared to each another, and the latest event proved no different.
Check out some of the similarities and differences between Rihanna’s 2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show and Beyoncé’s 2013 performance.
Special Guests
While Rihanna didn’t invite any special guests onstage for her performance, she revealed she was pregnant with her second child.
For Beyoncé’s 2013 performance at the Superdome in New Orleans, the singer headlined the Super Bowl XLVII Halftime Show as a solo act. But she reunited with her former Destiny’s Child members, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, who made special appearances during the set to sing a few songs.
Choreography
Rihanna’s performance featured an estimated 280 dancers and saw the singer limiting her moves after revealing her pregnancy. Meanwhile, Beyoncé, who gave birth to her first child Blue Ivy Carter more than a year before the halftime show, delivered an energetic performance that included 135 dancers.
Controversy
While Rihanna received some mixed reviews on social media over her performance, Beyoncé electric set was initially blamed by the public for a power outage that happened a few minutes later.
When half of the lights at the Superdome went out, social media pointed the finger at Beyoncé’s extravagant program. However, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell denied that the 34-minute blackout was due to the halftime show.
“There’s no indication at all that this was caused by the halftime show. Absolutely not. I know that’s been out there that this halftime show had something to do with it. That is not the case,” Goodell said the Monday after the performance.
Challenges
Rihanna and Beyoncé faced similar struggles trying to fit their hit songs into a limited time frame.
“That was the hardest, hardest part: deciding how to maximize 13 minutes but also celebrate. That’s what this show is gonna be. It’s gonna be a celebration of my catalog in the best way that we could’ve put it together,” Rihanna previously told Apple Music.
“You’re trying to cram 17 years of work into 13 minutes, so it’s difficult. Some songs we have to lose because of that, and that’s gonna be O.K., but I think we did a pretty good job of narrowing it down.”
Rihanna’s setlist ended up being a mix of 12 hit songs:
1. “B—- Better Have My Money”
2. “Where Have You Been”
3. “Only Girl (In The World)”
4. “We Found Love”
5. “Rude Boy”
6. “Work”
7. “Wild Thoughts”
8. “Pour It Up”
9. “All of the Lights”
10. “Run This Town”
11. “Umbrella”
12. “Diamonds”
Beyoncé expressed the same sentiments in 2013 about her Super Bowl XLVII Halftime Show performance.
“The hardest part was figuring out what I was going to perform,” she told the NFL Network at the time.
“I want to give the fans all the songs that they love. But it’s only 12 minutes. It’s been a few months of tweaking and perfecting.”
Beyoncé’s setlist consisted of nine songs:
1. “Run the World (Girls)”
2. “Love on Top”
3. “Crazy in Love”
4. “End of Time”
5. “Baby Boy”
6. “Bootylicious” (Destiny’s Child)
7. “Independent Women Part I” (Destiny’s Child)
8. “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” (featuring Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams)
9. “Halo”
