Dr. Dre passes the torch to upcoming Super Bowl LVII headliner Rihanna, who will perform at the anticipated NFL showdown in February.
Make way for Rihanna. On Sunday (September 26), the pop icon and first-time mom confirmed that she’s headlining the Super Bowl LVII halftime show with a minimal photo of her palming a football. The news comes seven months after Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak took over the Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles
Dr. Dre praised the future Super Bowl headliner, proclaiming to be a “super fan” of the “Diamonds” singer.
“I just like her and what she does, and her get down, and how she approaches her artistry and the whole nine. It’s fantastic. She has the opportunity to really blow us away. I know we set the bar extremely high,” he said while speaking to Ebro Darden on Apple Music.
When asked if he had any advice for Rihanna, Dr. Dre shared that she should have creative minds in her circle.
“Put the right people around you, and have fun,” said Dre. “That’s basically what it is, making sure you have the right creative people around you. She might want to look into some of the people that we used to do our show.”
Also celebrating the Super Bowl LVII announcement was Seth Dudowsky, NFL’s head of music and Roc Nation founder JAY-Z.
“We are thrilled to welcome Rihanna to the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show stage....Rihanna is a once in a generation artist who has been a cultural force throughout her career.”
“Rihanna is a generational talent, a woman of humble beginnings who has surpassed expectations at every turn,” JAY-Z added. “A person born on the small island of Barbados who became one of the most prominent artists ever. Self-made in business and entertainment.”
In 2018, Rihanna previously declined to perform at the Super Bowl to support free agent Colin Kaepernick, who kneeled during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial injustice. In 2019, Kaepernick reached an undisclosed settlement with the NFL after the former San Francisco 49ers player claimed he was kept out of playing for the NFL since 2016. That same year, Rihanna appeared in a Super Bowl 50 commercial with Stephen Colbert.