Chris Stapleton, left, and Stevie Wonder perform "Higher Ground" during a tribute to Motown at the 65th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Rihanna began her Super Bowl halftime show hanging high above the field.
She wore a puffy, bright red jumpsuit as she stood on a transparent square that moved her up and down as she hovered in the air over the turf at State Farm Stadium and belted out the lyrics to “Bitch Better Have My Money.”
Dancers wearing what looked like white ski suits moved in sync on their own suspended platforms and several danced on a stage on the field.
She and her dancers were lowered to stage that matched her outfit, and moved in sync as she sped through two other hits, “Where Have You Been,” and “Only Girl,” belting out “Want you to make me feel like I’m the only girl in the world.”
There were none of the instant costume changes, scene shifts or guest appearances that have been a constant at other Super Bowl halftimes.
The theme – and the color scheme – stayed the same throughout her set, with red lights bathing the long stage.
More of the dancers in white flooded and filled the field as the performance went on.
Fireworks went off and lights sparkled from the stand as she was raised alone back into the air and sang “Diamond” – with its refrain of “shine bright like a diamond” – as the set closed.
The performance was her first live event in seven years, and her first since becoming a mother nine months ago.
A SIMPLY SPANGLED BANNER
Country star Chris Stapleton made the national anthem a simple affair at Super Bowl 57, standing alone on the field accompanied by only his electric guitar as he sang “The Star Spangled Banner” moments before the Kansas City Chiefs kickoff to the Philadelphia Eagles to start the game.
Dressed simply in smooth black denim and sunglasses, with neatly combed hair instead of his signature feathered cowboy hat, he sang the anthem as a plaintive ballad, picking it up to rock only briefly as he delivered the final lines “banner yet wave” and “land of the free!”
His anthem felt slow, but it clocked in at 2 minutes, 2 seconds, under the 2 minutes, 5 seconds predicted by oddsmakers. But it was more than 10 seconds longer than last year’s sung by another country star, Mickey Guyton.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni and starting center Jason Kelce both had tears in their eyes during Stapleton’s emotional performance.
As the eight-time Grammy winner sang, “CODA” star Troy Kotsur, the first deaf man to win an acting Oscar, signed the anthem lyrics.
OTHER ANTHEMS
Before Stapleton’s anthem, “Abbot Elementary” star Sheryl Lee Ralph performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
Wearing a flowing red velvet gown, Ralph began the song dubbed the Black national anthem as a reflective ballad, and it became a soaring hymn as it went on, with military-style drums joining her and a choir dressed all in white chiming in behind her on the field at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
And R&B legend Babyface delivered “America the Beautiful” as a soulful folk song, playing an acoustic guitar painted with an American flag and blue flowers as he stood alone on the field. A backing track with drum machines and singers kicked in before he was done.
FAMOUS FANS, PERFORMERS AND PITCH PEOPLE
Die-hard Chiefs fan Paul Rudd was on the field before the game, sporting a big smile and a team jersey.
Philadelphia native Bradley Cooper, wearing an Eagles T-shirt, celebrated from the stands as his team put the game’s first points on the board. Another famous Philly fan, Kevin Hart, wearing a jersey, stood and flapped his arms.
Jay-Z, Tiffany Haddish, rapper GloRilla and chef Gordon Ramsay were also spotted in the stadium.
Pregame performances came from DJ Snake and Jason Derulo, whose backup dancers included synchronized robot dogs.
Many stars have made the scene at Super Bowl week parties.
And many others, including Serena Williams, Adam Driver and John Travolta, are showing up in the big game’s big commercials.
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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton
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AP Entertainment Writer Jonathan Landrum contributed to this story from Glendale, Ariz.
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For more Super Bowl coverage, including of the game’s entertainment offerings, visit: http://www.apnews.com/SuperBowl
