The Super Bowl is back, and that means it's also time for the hugely anticipated halftime show.
Rihanna is set to perform in the 2023 event, which is taking place in Glendale, Arizona. The Super Bowl will see the Philadelphia Eagles go up against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The 2023 halftime show marks Rihanna's return to performing onstage for the first time since the release of her 2016 album, Anti.
It is not yet known if the Umbrella singer will bring a guest on stage with her, but that is often the case.
The Super Bowl has had a number of iconic performers grace the stage over the years, but not every show has gone as well as the organizers would have hoped.
8 Seriously Wild Super Bowl Halftime Moments From Nipplegate to Lady Gaga
Here are some of the most shocking, surprising and wild moments from the various halftime shows over the years.
1. Nipplegate
Perhaps the most famous Super Bowl Halftime show mishap was what happened between Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake in 2004.
Timberlake joined Jackson on stage for her rendition of Rock Your Body, but the performance went wrong when Timberlake ripped Jackson's corset and exposed her breast for a brief moment.
The singer was only meant to tear Jackson's bustier, but it was Jackson who later issued a public apology in which she said: "It was not my intention that it go as far as it did."
Timberlake issued a public apology to Jackson 18 years later, in an Instagram post he made in February 2021, in which he said: "I am deeply sorry for the times in my life where my actions contributed to the problem, where I spoke out of turn, or did not speak up for what was right. I understand that I fell short in these moments and in many others and benefited from a system that condones misogyny and racism."
The singer also apologized to Britney Spears in the social media post.
2. Lady Gaga's Jump
Lady Gaga put on a show-stopping performance at the Super Bowl in 2017, where she performed her greatest hits during the halftime show.
The singer wowed audiences by jumping from the roof in a daring stunt.
The move was later revealed to have been pre-recorded, but Lady Gaga confirmed at the time that it was her sister who had suggested the stunt.
3. Katy Perry and Her Sharks
The Super Bowl halftime show is known for having moments that go viral, and Katy Perry's performance in 2015 did so in an unexpected way.
The singer performed a number of her hits during the show, but it wasn't Perry that drew the most attention when she performed Teenage Dream—it was one of her dancers who was dressed in a shark costume, the one to her left.
The "left shark" soon became a viral sensation because of their apparent lack of dancing skills. The dancer, Bryan Gaw later told NPR of the performance: "There's also what's called freestyle choreography, or, like, you get to move around or play your character as a dancer."
"I'm in a seven-foot blue shark costume. There's no cool in that. So what's the other option? Well, I'm gonna play a different character," Gaw said.
4. Diana Ross' Big Exit
Diana Ross knows how to make an entrance, and if her 1996 Super Bowl halftime show performance is anything to go by then the singer certainly knows how to make an exit.
The music icon performed several of her hit songs during the show, and when it was over she left the stage, surprisingly, by helicopter.
5. Michael Jackson's Waiting Game
In 1993, Michael Jackson performed at the Super Bowl but the King of Pop's show took some time to get started, because Jackson chose to stand in silence for over a minute before kicking off his show.
Despite the wait, Jackson's performance proved to be a hit and is widely seen as the performance that cemented the halftime show's legacy.
6. Patti LaBelle's Lip Sync
In 1995, the Super Bowl halftime show was an Indiana Jones-themed event with Tony Bennett, Patti LaBelle, Arturo Sandoval, and Miami Sound Machine all performing on stage.
The show was designed to promote the "Temple of the Forbidden Eye" attraction in Disneyland, but it ended up being quite the spectacle, and Patti LaBelle even struggled to lip sync during the performance.
7. Red Hot Chilli Peppers' Unplugged Performance
Rock band Red Hot Chilli Peppers performed at the Super Bowl halftime show with Bruno Mars in 2014, but surprised fans by playing with their instruments completely unplugged.
The group defended faking the performance, with bass guitarist Flea writing an open letter which explained that singer Anthony Kiedes' vocals were performed live but the instruments had to be pre-recorded.
Per The Verge, the letter said: "It was made clear to us that the vocals would be live, but the bass, drums, and guitar would be pre-recorded. There was not any room for argument on this."
8. M.I.A. Flips the Bird
In 2012, M.I.A. took to the Super Bowl stage alongside Madonna for the halftime show, but the British rapper drew some controversy when she showed her middle finger to the camera during her performance.
In 2013 the singer called the action a "display of female empowerment through being punk rock" in a YouTube video, but at the time the NFL did not see it that way, because in March 2012 it filed a lawsuit with the American Arbitration Association against M.I.A. demanding $1.5 million in damages.
In March 2014, the NFL filed for an additional $15.1 million in damages, the Huffington Post reported in 2014, and in August the lawsuit was settled. Per a report from ESPN, the details of the case remained confidential.
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