Rihanna has put her musical career on hold in recent years, but will be back on stage on February 12 at halftime of the great American football mass, the most watched event on television each year in the United States. DJ Snake will provide the show before the start of the final.
The biggest stars in the world like Prince, Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones and even Beyoncé have already taken part in the event. Sunday night, it won’t just be Rihanna as the music superstar at the Super Bowl – pitting the Kansas City Chiefs against the Philadelphia Eagles as they try to win this final of the American football professional league championship. DJ Snake will also provide the show before the start of the American football championship final, the most watched sporting event on television each year in the United States.
“It is important for a question of representativeness”
Four years after refusing to perform at the Super Bowl in protest against its organizers’ treatment of racial issues, Rihanna will finally give voice to it in order to “representing black women”.
The singer with nine Grammys, the equivalent of the Oscars for music in the United States, will take the stage during the intermission of the match. “The Super Bowl is one of the most important stages in the world. As scary as it can be, having not been on stage in seven years, there is something exhilarating about this challenge”she explained during a presentation to the media. “It is important for me to do this this year. It is important for a question of representation. It is important that my son sees this”, she added.
The Barbadian artist who gave birth to her first child in May has not performed in concert since 2016. In 2019, she announced that she had turned down the opportunity to sing at this event in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, then one of the NFL’s rising stars who demonstrated against racism and police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem before games.
Rihanna did not hold a press conference before the Super Bowl but was interviewed by a presenter from Apple Music, sponsor of the event. According to the singer, the concert will reflect her Caribbean roots. “That’s a big part of what it’s important for me to do this show: representation. Representing immigrants. Representing black women everywhere. It’s crucial for people to see the possibilities (out there). their)”she pointed out.
DJ Snake and his 37 billion streams
Before being one of the biggest headliners in world music, DJ Snake is William Grigahcine, his real name. Born in Paris to an Algerian mother and a French father, early on was with the film by Mathieu Kassovitz, “Hate” (1995) that he will refine his passion for music. He stopped school at 17 to devote himself to it and at the same time hosted a radio show and mixed in Parisian clubs.
During the 2010s, he managed to put his name on American star hits: “Shut it Down” in 2009 from Pitbull and Akon or “Government Hooker” present on the album “Born This Way”, which propelled Lady Gaga. In 2012, the sound “Turn Down for What”, in duet with Lil Jon, has established itself as a worldwide phenomenon. It is even hijacked by Michelle Obama, then First Lady of the United States, in a campaign clip to promote healthy eating.
In 2016, “Again”, his first solo album is an immediate success. There are collaborations including one with American rap star Travis Scott or pop star Justin Bieber. Three years later comes out “Carte blanche”, his second album. Here again, the collaborations are there: American stars Cardi B or Selena Gomez (the tube “Taki-taki”, 2.4 billion views) to Latino pop stars Ozuna and J Balvin (“Lean on”, another megatube).
Each time, he mixes genres, goes from electro to pop without forgetting more Latin tones. Essential, the artist has accumulated more than 37 billion plays on streaming platforms. His latest project Maghreb Disco – from the name of the emblematic record company of Oran, Algerian city of raï – is a tribute to this music and to the country of his mother. For the occasion, the artist hums a few words in dialectal Arabic.
Cantor of a multicultural France, the 36-year-old artist has often claimed his chauvinism: “We have a small country that has a huge impact on the world, on many levels. We are not proud enough (…)”he said on France Inter in 2021.