When Rihanna announced she would be performing at the 2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show, fans and music lovers across the world were ecstatic. Even hardcore sports guys, who could care less about halftime entertainment, are just as eager to see what she will do on February 12th. It’s been seven years since she released an album (the critically acclaimed, Anti) and five years since Rihanna performed in public. She was alongside DJ Khaled and Bryson Tiller performing Wild Thoughts at the 2018 Grammy Awards.

What sets Rihannna apart from the Britney’s, Gaga’s and Taylor’s of the female dominated music industry, is her unique style and consistent ability to reinvent the way Pop | R&B music should sound. Not only does she run a multibillion-dollar empire, Fenty Beauty, but Rihanna also continues to evolve as an entertainer and has become one of the best-selling artists of our generation.

With an impressive career combined with her absence from the music industry in quite some time, people are amped to see what Rihanna has up her sleeve. While her single Pon de Replay put her on the map in 2005, it was 2007’s super smash single Umbrella, that made Rihanna a global sensation. Also featuring Jay-Z, Umbrella won the award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 2008 Grammys and is listed as No. 332 in Rolling Stone’s “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”

Instead of taking bets on either Eagles | Chiefs or playing squares at this years Super Bowl, I’m going to predict Rihanna’s setlist in what has become the most anticipated halftime show of the past decade, if not of all time.

From her 2012 album, Unapologetic, Ri Ri exudes bitchin’ confidence and baller status on opening song Phresh out the Runway, so it would be dope and fitting to start the show with this highly energetic track. Ri also opened the 2012 Victoria Secret Show with the explicit banger and had the audience vibing; just watch and see for yourself.

After opening with Phresh out the Runway, she’ll need to perform some of her chart-topping, hit singles. Songs that every person in the world has probably heard at some point in their lives. Those would be Pon de Replay, SOS, Don’t Stop the Music, Shut Up and Drive, Rude Boy and Hard (feat. Jeezy). With only a limited amount of stage time, I bet she’ll take some of her best work mixed with songs that we’re also popular during her reign.

After Rihanna’s Good Girl Gone Bad and Rated R eras, she’ll need to own her unbelievable talent and bust out with Only Girl (In the World), What’s My Name? (feat. Drake) and S&M. These smash hits were on her multi-Grammy nominated album, Loud, and have become some of her most recognized singles throughout her career. The album was also praised by critics and her peers in the music industry. Only Girl (In the World) won the trophy for Best Dance Recording at the 2011 Grammy Awards and was even nominated for Album of the Year at the 2012 Grammys, but lost to Adele.

After her success from Loud, Rihanna released another album almost immediately, Talk That Talk, in 2011. She experienced with EDM sounds for the first time, collaborating with Calvin Harris on the album. We Found Love, the lead single from Talk That Talk, exploded onto the club scene with DJ’s all across the world playing | promoting the song. She should play We Found Love along with Where Have You Been and Cockiness (Love It) from this album.

Ri Ri could play Diamonds, the lead single from her Unapologetic album, if she decides to do a mellow song and take a breather from all the dancing she’ll be doing. After she slows things down, she’ll definitely play Work (feat. Drake) from her most recent album, Anti. Work was one of the most downloaded and played songs of 2016. It’s my least favorite single from Rihanna, but it seemed to capture the attention from fans around the world.

The finale should be Rihanna’s most popular, recognizable and award winning song, Umbrella. Will Jay-Z join her? Could Britney Spears surprise us on S&M or what about Eminem on their ridiculously popular love anthem, Love the Way You Lie? Either way, this Sunday’s game and Rihanna’s halftime performance will produce some of the highest ratings in years and will be talked about for weeks. Fly Ri Ri Fly 🦅