The week before the Super Bowl was an exhilarating time on Archmere’s campus. Yet students were not only excited for about the actual football that would be played that Sunday night—many pas- sionately discussed what some called the big attraction of the game: the halftime performer Rhianna.

Known by many as one of the main queens of pop during the 2000s and 2010s, while current Archmere students were growing up, her music has undoubt- edly shaped many Auks’ taste in pop mu- sic. Besides affecting Archmere students, her music has had an immense influence on pop culture and has brought together a ginormous fan base who call themselves the Rihanna Navy. Although she has not released an album since 2016, she has been busy with some other exciting life events including the birth of her first child and running her own beauty brand, Fenty Beauty.

Sufficient to say, by not having released an album in a while, Rihanna built up a lot of excitement and anticipation for her Super Bowl halftime performance, and in my opinion, she certainly did not disappoint.

From the very start of her performance, Rihanna had her audience completely engaged. In a pyramid-like arrangement, Rihanna was elevated above the stage on a staggeringly high platform, with back- ground dancers on platforms below her. The singer sported an all-red outfit with pants and jacket opened in the middle to reveal a tighter metallic bodysuit. This outfit incited debates all across America, not because of the nature of the outfit itself but instead because of how it made many viewers question if the singer was pregnant again. Although many argued that she just appeared pregnant due to postpartum from giving birth to her son in May, after the performance Rihanna revealed she was in fact pregnant again.

Aside from this, as the show continued, Rhianna delivered a simple yet memo- rable performance, with a red and white theme, that put her iconic discography on display. Singing fan favorites such as “Where Have You Been,” “All of the Lights,” “We Found Love,” and “Umbrella,” Rihanna surely did not disappoint her “Navy.” In particular, her performance of “All of the Lights” was quite the spectacle. As the opening lyrics could be heard, background dancers rushed the field, holding their arms out in a T shape. Before singing, Rihanna quickly applied some makeup to promote her brand Fenty Beauty, an iconic moment of the show. Shortly after this Rihanna sang one of her first big hits, “Umbrella,” while on an elevated platform. The star ended her incredible performance with a bang by dramatically singing “Diamonds” as she ascended farther up in the air and fireworks exploded above her a truly spectacular way to end a spectacular performance. Archmere sophomore and Rihanna superfan Caeli McAlonan described her performance as “one of the best halftime performances ever”—a testament well justified by the star’s performance and one that all viewers, fans of Rihanna or not, can surely attest to.