Today, global superstar Rihanna joined Apple Music Radio host Nadeska Alexis for the official Apple Music Halftime Show Press Conference.
During the conversation Rihanna expressed excitement for her return to the stage this Sunday, and the focus and preparation that’s gone into this moment. “The physical challenge has definitely been immense, for many reasons, of course,” she said. “But, I haven’t done this in a minute. First thing’s first, so you’re just running around for 13 minutes, trying to put a two hour set in 13 minutes, and you’re gonna see on Sunday, it just, from the time it starts, it just never ends until it’s like the very last second.”
The Grammy Award-winning artist also spoke about her hesitancy towards performing at the Halftime Show just months after giving birth to her son, which she shares with ASAP Rocky. She admits that when she first got the call, she was a bit unsure on whether she would take on the task.
“‘I’m three months postpartum, like, should I be making major decisions like this now?’ Like, ‘I might regret this,’” Rihanna stated. “But when you become a mom, there’s something that just happens where you feel like you could take on the world, you could do anything.”
Over seven years since her last album Anti was released, Rihanna has been in and out of the spotlight, but still maintained her worldwide popularity. In 2022, she increased her presence in the entertainment industry, by dropping her song “Lift Me Up” for the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack in October. After such a long hiatus from performing, the Trinadian artist said that “the physical challenge has definitely been immense,” when describing her preparation for this weekend.
At the press conference, Apple Music also unveiled the new short film, “Run This Town” filmed on Rihanna Drive in Barbados; building anticipation for the upcoming Halftime Show in Arizona. Perhaps the biggest question people are wondering in the days leading up to the big game is whether or not Rihanna will put on another full length project – or maybe even a song or two – in the near future. Either way, the “Umbrella” singer believes that she is in a really good space creatively.
“Musically, I’m feeling open,” Rihanna said. “I’m feeling open to exploring, discovering, creating, things that are new, things that are different, things that are off, weird, might not ever make sense to my fans, you know, the people that know the music that I put out.”
“I just want to play,” she added. “I want to have fun. I want to have fun with music.”