Rihanna‘s promised ‘surprise guest’ during her comeback performance at the Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show has proven to be baby No. 2.
The singer’s highly anticipated performance took place at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on Sunday evening (February 12). As promised during her Apple Music press conference on Thursday (February 9), the show consisted of a medley of songs from all but her debut album.
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Immediately following the performance, however, Rihanna fans began speculating as to whether the noticeable change in the singer’s appearance was in fact a baby bump. The questions were bolstered by the fact that, just days ahead of the performance, RiRi told CBS News’ Nate Burleson that she was “thinking about bringing someone” when he asked if her performance would involve a guest.
Within minutes of the end of the Apple Music Halftime Show, Rihanna’s representative confirmed that she is expecting her second child in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
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Rihanna and partner A$AP Rocky are parents to a 9-month-old son, whose name they have yet to share with the public. The couple shared the first snaps of their baby in December to avoid having paparazzi leak unauthorized photos of the family taken during a planned photo shoot.
On December 17, Rihanna posted the first video fans have seen of her baby boy to her TikTok page. The clip sees the baby smiling, laughing and cooing as he reaches for his mother’s phone.
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Confirming the video’s authenticity, RiRi can be heard talking to her baby as he sits in his car seat. “Oooh,” she says, reacting to the infant smiling. “You trying to get mommy phone? Oh wow!”
Hollywood Unlocked also obtained three exclusive photos of the baby, with A$AP Rocky hiding his face behind his son in two of the snaps, and one shot of the little boy alone.
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One pic appeared to have been taken in a nursery, with Rocky holding his little boy as he’s dressed in just a diaper and a burping cloth over his head. The other father-and-son shot was seemingly captured while the family were out and about. In it, the baby wears leather shorts and a fuzzy sweater while being held by his dad’s bejeweled hands.
During an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe last month, Lord Pretty Flacko spoke about how big of a spectacle he expected superstar girlfriend’s return to the stage to be.
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“Oh man, I’m just as excited as you guys — if not more,” Rocky said while laughing. “I’m super excited. This is huge, this is incredible. I’m so glad that my lady is back making music again and what not, and getting back out there, you know?”
He continued: “It’s incredible, especially for both of us. It’s a good year for both of us to be more active and be out there. But the Super Bowl is huge. The creative that she is, she’s going to bring it, man.”
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The halftime show marked Rihanna’s first appearance at the Super Bowl and her first major performance since the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards, where she delivered a career-spanning medley of hits to coincide with her winning the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.
