Rihannas Super Bowl halftime show choreographed by Parris Goebel: What you need to know

Rihanna poses for a photo after a halftime show news conference ahead of Super Bowl LVII. Photo / AP

Rihanna is set to headline the iconic Super Bowl halftime show for the first time ever - and her performance has been choreographed by none other than NZ’s own Parris Goebel.

Rihanna turned down the chance to headline the show in 2019 in support of Colin Kaepernick, who was ousted from the NFL for protesting police brutality.

But now in 2023, the superstar will lead a host of performances during the Super Bowl LVII as the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Kansas City Chiefs.

The game takes place at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, kicking off at 12:30pm NZT.

You can watch on Sky Sport or Spark Sport live or on their streaming services from midday today.

And Kiwi dancer and choreographer to the stars Parris Goebel has choreographed the performance, with the setlist and possible guest performers still a closely guarded secret for now.

Goebel marked the occasion by sharing black and white snaps of herself and Rihanna on Instagram, writing, “A little girl from Barbados and a little girl from New Zealand grew up into boss b****es and took over the Super Bowl half time show together. We far from home but we made it!!!! I love you 4L. Let’s do this sis.”

Kiwi dancers are also expected to be part of the performance, as Goebel heads up dance crews ReQuest and The Royal Family.

And it’s not the first time Goebel has done this - in 2020, she choreographed Jennifer Lopez’s historic Super Bowl performance, viewed by 1.2 million people and earning Goebel the title of “the Super Bowl’s hidden M.V.P.” from the New York Times.

As for what we can expect from Rihanna’s setlist, that’s also a secret - but with countless hits to her name, we can guess several will feature in the 13-minute performance.

We could see Umbrella, Diamonds, Only Girl (In the World) or B**ch Better Have My Money get a run.

Calvin Harris could appear as a guest for We Found Love or This is What You Came For, while Drake could pop up for Work and What’s My Name.

The pop star has promised a “jam-packed show” in what will be her first live performance in seven years.

“When you become a mom, there’s something that just happens where you feel like you can take on the world, you can do anything. The Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages of the world,” Rihanna said ahead of the show.

“There’s something exhilarating about the challenge of it all. Deciding how to maximise 13 minutes but also celebrate — that’s what this show is going to be. It’s going to be a celebration of my catalogue in the best way that we could have put it together.”

The nine-time Grammy winner has 14 No.1 Billboard Hot 100 hits to her name. She also recently welcomed her first child with rapper A$AP Rocky.

As for the rest of the performances during the halftime show, Chris Stapleton will sing the US national anthem and R&B star Babyface will sing America the Beautiful.

And while New Zealand viewers may not see them live, the tradition of airing extra special TV adverts during halftime will continue in the US.

The likes of Netflix and Google are paying up to NZ$11m for a 30-second ad spot during the game to get the views from around 100 million people tuning in.

The ads seen so far include cameos from John Travolta and Scrubs stars Zach Braff and Donald Faison singing a version of Summer Nights from Grease for T-Mobile.

Meanwhile, we see several versions of Adam Driver in an ad for Squarespace and Alicia Silverstone reprising her Clueless character for online shopping site Rakuten.

Where to watch the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show

The game itself kicks off at 12:30pm NZT. The halftime show starts after the second quarter, halfway through the game.

Both Sky Sport and Spark Sport are airing the Super Bowl from midday, and you can live stream the Super Bowl online with their respective streaming services.

If you have a paid subscription, you can also watch live on NFL Gamepass.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7r8bHnqmapJRjsLB6zbNmnqakmr%2B1rcinpJ6mpGS%2FqrTAp6Waq12owrGx0WaZqK%2BcYrWiuMWtoKadXai1sMOMnq2eqqmptaq6xmawqK1do7KmsIytpmajnqTEcIK2gH2Oh2J3k4ORtX9%2FkoViaZKWk5SOg3x5Xw%3D%3D