Rihanna has used her extravagant Super Bowl half-time performance to confirm she is expecting another baby.
The singer showed off her growing baby bump as she took to the stage at the halfway mark of Monday’s Super Bowl finale between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Kansas City beat the Eagles 38-35 in front of 63,000 people – and watched by millions more across the US and the globe – at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. But it was Rihanna who had everyone talking.
For her half-time show, she accentuated her growing belly in an all-red outfit, her unzipped boilersuit exposing her mid-section.
The singer’s fuller figure, combined with the caressing of her belly and subdued dance moves sparked instant speculation that she was pregnant.
Minutes after the 13-minute medley ended, representatives confirmed to Rolling Stone that Rihanna was expecting her second baby. She and partner A$AP Rocky welcomed a son in May last year.
Days ago, Rihanna had hinted at a special guest for Monday’s half-time extravaganza, telling journalists she would be “bringing someone along”.
Her comments fuelled speculation that a previous collaborator, perhaps Jay-Z, DJ Khaled or A$AP Rocky, would join her on stage. Instead, it was her unborn baby.
The singer’s Super Bowl performance was particularly daring. It began with Rihanna appearing sky-high above the stadium on a platform that gradually descended to bring her down to ground level.
From there, Rihanna turned the traditional half-time entertainment into a full-on dance party, strutting up and down red stairs that led from one zone to the other, accompanied by an army of hyped-up dancers.
Rihanna rocked out to 13 of her biggest tracks, opening up with B—h Better Have My Money, and closing out with Diamonds.
For her final song, Rihanna was put back on the wavering platform – no harness in sight – to belt out the ballad high above the 63,000-seat stadium.
Rihanna put on a much longer red coat for her final song. Behind her, floodlights shone like diamonds in the night sky, as the lyrics of her hit song suggest.
And in one meme-worthy moment, the makeup and fashion billionaire gave a plug to her Fenty Beauty cosmetics line, cheekily using one of her blotting powders to touch up her complexion mid-show.
The Super Bowl was Rihanna’s first public performance since the 2018 Grammys, when she performed Wild Thoughts alongside DJ Khaled.
To add to the sea of Rihanna rumours, there had been speculation that the singer would be dropping her highly-anticipated ninth studio album following her halftime performance.
Her last album Anti was released in 2016, with fans begging for new music since.
However, the singer shut down rumours about any new albums in an earlier interview, warning fans they would have to wait a bit longer.
“I want to just put music out and have fun with it,” she said.
“But if it has to be an album, that might take some time.”
