From Apple Music Radio and the
host of the Nadeska Show, please
welcome our Girl Nadeska Alexis.
Good morning and thank you all so
much for joining us here today.
For the past few years,
I've watched this press press conference
from home on the couch in my pajamas.
So it's really nice to be here with
you all in person at Apple Music.
We are very, very passionate
about celebrating and supporting
artists and about having meaningful
conversations around music.
So we are thrilled to be joining the NFL
and Rock Nation to bring the Apple music.
Super Bowl 57 halftime show to life
and of course to see an icon make
her long-awaited return to the stage.
Today we get to hear what this moment
means to her directly from her,
so please join me in welcoming Rihanna.
Hello, hey everyone, how are you?
Good morning. OK.
It's so nice to have you here.
Thank you. It's my pleasure.
It's my pleasure. Listen,
I know you've been working really,
really hard to get ready
for this show and probably
haven't gotten enough sleep,
but you still look like
you're glowing from within.
Is that the fancy highlighter
you just excited to hang out
with us this morning? The
fancy highlighter. Definitely
helping today because I
have yet to sleep.
We were working at the venue all
last night and I kind of just
stayed there, ended up in a prep,
and somehow I'm here.
At a press conference
right now, here is smiling
at a press conference.
And you still have a long day ahead.
You have rehearsals later.
So you know, going into a show like this,
we all know you're gonna put on an
incredible show and we're so excited.
But at the end of the day,
you're still a human right and
you still need to get yourself
mentally ready for this.
So how do you prepare for a date like today?
I listened to a needed me about 100
times this morning and I felt good to go.
But you probably have a better strategy.
A day like today and the
day like Sunday, Sunday.
No, that's that's the.
The one, I mean, I've been
so focused on the Super Bowl,
I totally forgot my
birthday is coming up.
I totally forgot
about it. I didn't say I am just like
Super Bowl, Super Bowl, Super Bowl.
So it's a lot of preparation,
a lot of moving parts.
And this week, this is the week that it,
it, it really is being tested. Everyone.
We're really just tightening up everything.
Everybody's dialing in, everybody's
tuning up and a lot of moving parts.
I mean, it's literally like.
3 to 400 people.
Breaking the stage down and building it
back up and getting it out in 8 minutes.
It's incredible.
It's almost impossible.
But if it's impossible that means you
could do it because you've always been
that person who could do it. I don't know
that I could do that in eight minutes.
But we we were excited to Super Bowl.
We we are. We've been working on it for
a while and every day it just gets closer
and closer to the finished product.
And today is a really big rehearsal,
really important one.
So that's going to be crucial for. Sunday,
I'm excited to see that.
And you know, I'm a big believer in timing,
that some of the most special
and magical moments in our lives,
they they line up in a way
that I think that we can't
always anticipate and predict.
It's like the universe knows.
So I'm wondering for you,
what does it feel like for this
performance to land at this moment
in your life and in your career?
It feels like it could
have only been now, yeah.
I mean, when I first saw the
call to do it again this year,
I was like. You sure? Like, I'm
three months postpartum. Like, should
I be making major decisions like this
right now? Like, I might
regret this, but when you become a mom,
there's something that just happens where
you feel like you could take on the world,
you can do anything.
And the Super Bowl is one of the
biggest stages in the world, so.
As scary as that was, because I
haven't been on stage in seven years,
there's something exhilarating
about the challenge of it all,
and it's important for for
me to do this this year.
It's important for representation.
It's important for my son to see that
it is it. You may taking on
a new challenge look easy,
and I know that it isn't because,
again, you are a human being.
But you've always seemed
so brave and you know.
Like want to take risks and actually
want to share something with you
because I think it's important for
you to take a minute to reflect,
which you probably haven't been
able to do because you're so busy.
So for anyone who doesn't know,
a couple of years ago Rihanna released
this beautiful coffee table book and you
got to take her journey through her life.
And my favorite part was an excerpt.
It was from, I think,
her grade School Report card.
So here's what her teacher wrote about her.
She is sure of herself and displays
a positive, positive attitude.
I still see that today.
She's friendly.
She takes a leading role in Group.
Activities.
She expresses her ideas
clearly and intelligently,
and she's very relaxed in acting out ideas.
We have seen you evolve over the
years from your first album to
becoming a mom and a businesswoman
and a music powerhouse,
but you still very much seem like
that little girl in that report
card that was trippy to hear.
You
read that out, because I feel like you
were kind of describing me right now,
especially the relaxed part.
As a Caribbean
thing, it really is, yeah.
It seems like your values
haven't changed over time,
although you've obviously grown
in a lot of other ways. It's true.
It's true. A lot of my core
values have never left me.
A lot of the lessons I've learned in my
earliest years I have never forgotten,
and I carry them throughout
my life and and my career.
Your work ethic is definitely
one of those things. Thank you.
You are immensely talented,
but it takes a special kind of
person to put in the work that
you've done over the years.
And I think we're going to
see that displayed, you know,
at Apple Music halftime show on Sunday.
So tell me what it was like
actually putting this show together,
starting with the setlist.
You went on this incredible run,
I think from your first album
up until an apologetics where it
seems like you never took a break,
never took some time off.
So now that you're a few years
removed from all of those.
Trunks.
What was it like revisiting those
to build a set list?
The set list was the biggest challenge.
That was the hardest, hardest part.
Deciding how to.
Maximize 13 minutes.
But also celebrate it.
That's what this show is going to be.
It's going to be a celebration of my catalog
in in the best way that we could have.
Put it together and you only have 13 minutes.
That's the challenge.
So you're trying to cram.
17 years of work into 13 minutes.
So it's it's difficult but we
you know some songs we have to lose
because of that and and and that's
going to be OK but I think we did a
pretty good job of narrowing it down. Was
there a trial and error you know as you
started rehearsals where you running
through setlists and real tweaking
realizing this didn't work in this moment?
Ohh yeah. Oh my God.
They're they're probably about 39
versions of the set list right now.
Yeah. That's it. We're answer 39.
I mean, every
little change counts. Whether
I want like a guitar cut out
something muted, something added,
or just put in a whole new
song or take out a whole song,
like every time I make a change,
something has to be updated.
That's a new version.
Well, like you mentioned earlier,
there are a lot of moving parts
to show a lot of people involved.
But another thing I've
always admired about you,
it seems like you know the right
moment to step in and take control.
And I think that's challenging for women.
We're always nervous,
sometimes, me personally,
of coming off too controlling or too bossy.
But sometimes you know when your
gut what the right thing is for you.
So how much have you been really
getting into all of the details
of putting the show together?
I'm. I'm
definitely not one that's worried
about coming off too bossy.
I've been busy all my life,
ever since I was a little girl.
This is like a hell of
annoying too. But I know some
people get irritated,
but you know
that it's writing
on me. You know, there are a lot
of people who are part of this
show and and a huge part of.
The reason why this show is going
to be as incredible as it is and I
couldn't have done it without them.
But you know what?
At the end of the day if it flops or it lies.
My name has to stand by that.
And so I really get involved with
every aspect of anything that I do,
whether it's the Super Bowl,
whether it's a makeup product,
whether it's savage lingerie,
like whatever I do,
I'm that annoying girl who's
going to talk about everything.
I want to see the
copy on the website I want. I want
to name every lipstick that I make.
Like I I care about it.
I love it, I love it. I really do.
It all goes back to that little girl.
Telling you from the report card,
little bossy baby.
It's really amazing bossy and Billy here.
And so another thing that goes into
such a big performance in such a
limited time is the physical stamina.
Exhaustion is a real thing, right?
But then that's something
that you have to deal with.
And your breath control and
dancing on stage and all of that,
especially postpartum.
I couldn't do it last year
after I had my baby.
It took me months to wear regular pants.
Again, this is one of those few occasions.
So what has it been like physically
getting yourself ready for this?
The physical challenge has definitely been
immense for for many reasons of course, but.
I haven't done this in in a minute.
That was first, First things first.
So you're just.
Running around for 13 minutes trying to
put like a two hour set in 13 minutes and.
You're going to see on Sunday it
just from the time it starts.
It just never.
It just never ends.
And until it's like the very last second.
And then and then I've seen too much
but it's it's a jam packed show and
it it takes a toll on your body.
It does you got this girl thank you.
And you know I heard the press you
to reveal any details and know
we want to keep that under wraps
because you been working so hard.
But look as Caribbean woman coming
from a tiny island like Renada you've
always made me feel so represented.
I've always loved seeing you back
home in Barbados at crop over.
So I'm wondering if you're hoping
to incorporate any elements of
Caribbean culture in the performance.
I mean that's a big part of why
this is important for me to
do this show representation,
representing for immigrants representing
from my country, Barbados representing
for black women everywhere.
I I just, I think that's.
That's really important.
That's key for people to see the
possibilities and I don't want it to be here.
I'm honored to be doing this this year.
I can't wait to see it.
And we're so excited to
have you back in music.
You know, of course we missed you,
but you have a whole human
being now to take care of.
And I know it sounds like for you,
work life balance was not
necessarily a thing because you
always considered those the same.
But is that different now,
having a child plus work?
Yes, it's it's very different.
It the balance is is almost impossible
because no matter how you look at it
work it's always something that's
going to rob you of time with your
your child that's that's the currency
now and that's that's where it it goes
the magnitude of how much it weighs.
When you make decisions on what
you're going to say yes to,
it has to be worth
it. And this is definitely a
moment that's worth it for you,
right? Like, for sure.
What is the cultural significance
for you performing at the Super
Bowl halftime show? I mean, it's
a long way from home, right?
Yes, it's a long way from home.
It's a beautiful journey that I'm on,
and I could have never guessed
that I would have made it here.
So it's a celebration of that.
I'm, I'm excited to do that,
and I'm really excited to have Barbados.
On the Super Bowl stage,
it's a big moment for the whole Caribbean.
Look, you have been a global
superstar for a long time,
but I need to say right now on the record,
Caribbean woman, we claim you as ours.
You're better now.
You've taken a few years off of music.
You've been building the Fenty Empire,
which has been incredible to watch.
But now that you're making
that transition back to music,
you also took some time to just
live your life, to just take Rd.
trips like things that you
deserved after working so hard.
So how does that period and
do you feel now refreshed and
ready to get back to music?
The pandemic kind
of, in a weird way,
forced me to slow down.
And then when you you have all these.
Boundaries and restraints and
rules and you have to stay home.
You kind of get creative with with
ways to stay entertained in a way
and road tripping was one of those
things that I've always loved.
I just usually a road trip
while I'm on tour that
I know. So I've got to like feel
the things I love about tour without
having the the commitment of the show.
Every single day. It was just
nice to appreciate that time.
I I really enjoyed it, actually.
You deserve that.
You seem like a workaholics.
You deserve some time off.
And like I'm not asking any questions
about when music is dropping.
I don't want any problems
with you or with the Navy.
But you know,
a couple of years ago you said
that you were working on a project
that would be reggae inspired.
Those are your roots.
And then also a project that would
just kind of capture where you're going
forward in this next chapter of your life.
And when I talk about this with my friends,
we would. Like anything,
a classical album from Rihanna
would also would also be fire.
So I wonder if you could just
tell us a little bit about
this chapter and and how you're
feeling musically in general.
Musically,
I'm feeling open.
I'm feeling open to exploring,
discovering, creating.
Things that are new,
things that are different,
things that are off weird.
Might not ever like,
make sense to my fans.
You know, the people that
know the music that I've put
out that I just want to play,
I wanna have fun.
I want to have fun with music.
You should have fun with
the music and have fun.
On that Super Bowl stage on Sunday,
you put in all of the work.
You're ready. This is in your bones.
And now this is important for you
to go out and have a good time.
So promise me that you'll have fun. I got
you, girl. I promise.
That's that's what my main thing is.
I promised myself that I would. Have fun.
All right, that's great.
And now if it's cool with you,
some of you are young fans.
Have some questions for you if you're
cool to answer those, of course.
Alright, let's do it.
So the first question is from
Phoenix Children's. Hello Sir.
I've been finished filters hospital
and I have bouncing and playing golf.
I also love your makeup.
It's circus. Thank you.
And my question to you is,
what was your favorite album to record?
Ohh.
Maybe, baby, I want
to record. Or my favorite album.
Let's get both. OK, I
really enjoyed recording loud and diamonds.
I I was on the road for both of those
albums when I when I created them,
I I was touring one album,
making the next, and then I came back
and tore that album and made the next.
And then anti was the first time
that I I took my time making an
album while not being on tour and
that frustrated my fans a bit.
And here I am doing it again to them.
But anti for sure.
Top favorite album I've ever made.
A great album. Thank you.
And Lisa, thank you.
And we have one more question
from NFL play 60 Super Kid.
Hi, I'm Julia.
My question and my question is when
you first started pursuing music,
what was the most important
thing you learned in order
to succeed in the industry?
To stay humble.
Stay humble because if not,
this industry will humble you one
way or the other. And you know,
my humility came from my childhood,
growing up in the Caribbean,
growing up in my household with my mom,
she's a very humble woman.
Her mom was a very humble woman.
And I've never,
I've never lost sight of that.
That's very important to me.
I I, I often fear the pedestal
that the world can put you on.
And I always wanna feel
my feet on the ground.
That makes me feel safe.
Thank you. That was such a great question.
That was a great question. Yeah.
And a great answer and and
that's why we we appreciate you.
You always seem so grounded no matter
what's going on around you. And thank you.
You'll never lose that magic.
So thank you so much again.
Congratulations. Thank you.
Of course.
Thank you all have an incredible time.
Thank you.