The biggest takeaway from Super Bowl halftime — Rihanna is pregnant

Rihanna is back. Or is she?

It has been seven years since the pop superstar behind 14 No. 1 songs released a new album. It has been five years since she last graced a music stage (and that was the Grammys). Meanwhile, she has become a self-made billionaire with her Fenty fashion, lingerie and cosmetic lines. And she became a first time mom in May.

After contributing two selections this year to the soundtrack of "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," Rihanna made her live music comeback Sunday on the world's biggest stage — the Super Bowl halftime.

In 13 minutes, she breezed through 13 numbers, a Super Bowl halftime record for a single performer. (Justin Timberlake held the old mark of 11, set at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis in 2018.) The staging — seven platforms floating over the field a la arena concerts presented by Kanye West — seemed underwhelming. The outfits — layers of cherry red for RiRi, baggy white hooded jumpsuits for dancers — were limited, especially for a fashion icon. And the dancing by a cast of dozens was not memorable.

The biggest takeaway: Is Rihanna pregnant again?

Social media lit up within minutes, wondering if people were seeing a baby bump. TMZ, Page Six, Pop Crave and other gossipy websites speculated.

In the second half, Variety.com, the reliable showbiz bible, announced that a representative for Rihanna confirmed that she is pregnant.

After saying in a press conference last week that she went through 39 different set lists for the Big Game, Rihanna, 34, nonchalantly cruised through her catalog, starting with "Bitch Better Have My Money" as she floated on the highest platform suspended above a long narrow stage on the field. She followed with the apt "Where Have You Been," "Only Girl (in the World)," "We Found Love" and an interlude from "S&M."

Then Rihanna served up "Rude Boy," "Work," "Wild Thoughts," "Pour It Up" and her singing parts of the collabs "All of the Lights" (Kanye West) and "Run This Town" (Jay-Z). She ended with two of her biggest smashes, the swirling "Umbrella" and the prideful and powerful "Diamonds," during which fans in the State Farm Stadium held up their lit cellphones to suggest a panorama of cubic zirconia.

For Rihanna, the Super Bowl was not a glittering moment.

Sunday's concert was the first Super Bowl halftime sponsored by Apple Music after Pepsi had been the presenter for the past 10 years. And once again, Jay-Z's Roc Nation produced the halftime show, as it has done since 2020.

The pregame performances were decidedly more low-key. Country star Chris Stapleton, wearing sunglasses but not his signature straw cowboy hat, offered a tastefully understated, undeniably passionate "Star Spangled Banner." Accompanied by his own electric guitar, he delivered a slightly bluesy, definitely soulful rendition that turned the Eagles coach Nick Sirianni into a fountain of tears.