New Era for Rihanna Signals New Era For The NFL
She’s back. It’s been 4 years since her last on-stage performance at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, but Rihanna is back to perform on one of the grandest stages of all time—the Super Bowl Halftime Show. After rumors were softly spread that Taylor Swift would be performing the halftime show, those reports were swiftly shut down with a post on Rihanna’s Instagram that displays her holding an NFL football. This sent the internet into a frenzy since the pop star has not been active as a musician for years now. Mainly focused on becoming a billionaire, the pop star hasn’t released a project since her 2016 studio album “ANTI.” Some fans have speculated online that before her February 12th Super Bowl performance, Rihanna will release another album, finally quenching the thirst of fans who have been eagerly waiting on new music. Other fans see this as wishful thinking and have joked online that she’ll actually be using her halftime show to promote her cosmetics line, Fenty Beauty.
Image Courtesy: Instagram
Rihanna’s selection for the Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show reflects a new trend for the NFL as they start to appeal to different audiences. In the past, it felt as if the NFL was only seen as entertainment catered to middle-aged white men who work Monday through Friday and spend their Sundays strictly watching football. This narrative isn’t wrong since that is the majority of the viewership. However, the league has come to realize that this demographic of their fanbase are loyal viewers who are watching football no matter how it’s promoted.
This is why the NFL has taken the opportunity of the new decade to usher in a new era of football fans. Since the start of the 2020s, the Super Bowl halftime headliners have all been Black and POC musicians. Performances from Shakira and Jennifer Lopez in 2020, The Weeknd in 2021, and Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Missy Elliot, and Eminem in 2022 represent a diversification of the Super Bowl Halftime Show in comparison to years prior. With Apple Music becoming the new partner for the Super Bowl Halftime Show, this new partnership will allow the NFL to attract a different demographic of viewers and appeal to different genres of mainstream music. Now that Hip-Hop & R&B is the most popular genre in the U.S., the NFL may start straying away from mainstream American pop stars and instead start platforming a larger and more diverse spectrum of artists.
The NFL’s new identity doesn’t just end with the halftime show. The NFL has shown an increased effort in diversifying its audience through a multitude of different inclusive promotions. Most recently, the NFL is celebrating Latin Heritage Month by launching their “Por La Cultura'' initiative to “amplify the voices of the latino community on and off the football field.” Last year, the NFL celebrated Pride Month. In efforts to erase the stigma surrounding sexuality and sports, the NFL released a video with the statement, “Football is Gay… Football is American… Football is for everyone.” Since the post-Kaepernick era, the NFL has made it their business to support the Black Lives Matter movement, committing over $250 million over the next 10 years to combat systemic racism. The most interesting attempt at diversifying their audience is by broadcasting football games on Nickelodeon, allowing kids who may never be exposed to the sport the opportunity to become a fan. These fresh initiatives have opened up the minds of all kinds of Americans that may have felt in the past that football was not for them.
Although fans have criticized these choices, the NFL viewership continues to increase, and their existing fan base remains loyal. No matter how many fans complain that politics shouldn’t be in sports or that “they’re never watching football again,” they will still be tuning into America’s favorite pastime. This new trend of musician selection for the halftime show and more inclusive promotion reflects how the NFL is evolving to appeal to a more diverse audience. Regardless of your personal opinions on the NFL or football, I think I speak for all of us when I say we can’t wait to see Rihanna back on stage.
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Jon-David Delcastillo
Boca Raton
JD Delcastillo is a Content Writer for Strike Magazine. He loves consuming media and thinking critically. A major know-it-all, anything related to pop culture, music, and sports, he has knowledge in. Reach out to him on Instagram @jd.delcastillo or email jd.delcastillo954@gmail.com
