Rumors are swirling that Rihanna will cast out Taylor Swift at her upcoming Super Bowl Halftime Show appearance.
The Barbados native will headline the highly anticipated performance at Super Bowl LVII, which will be held on February 12, 2023.
The performance will be Rihanna’s first time on stage since performing at the 2018 Grammy Awards.
Super Bowl Halftime shows are known for their surprise guests, so it’s speculated that Rihanna has some guest performers up her sleeve.
Will Taylor Swift Perform With Rihanna At The Super Bowl Halftime Show?
There are multiple indications that Rihanna will release Swift on her show and fans are buzzing with excitement over the rumor.
Here are all the clues.
A trailer for Rihanna’s performance featured a Taylor Swift reference that fans believe is indicative of a guest appearance.
Rihanna dropped the trailer for her Halftime show, starting with the voiceover “It’s been 2,190 days.”
While this was previously believed to refer to Rihanna’s extended musical hiatus, Swifties heard something else.
Avid Swift fans noticed that the same song came up in Swift’s song “Glitch”.
The “Glitch” text reads, “It’s been 2190 days since our love eclipse.”
While the number could just be a coincidence, some fans think the shared usage of 2,190 days is a hint that Swift will be joining Rihanna for her performance.
Taylor Swift was rumored to be performing at the Super Bowl before Rihanna was confirmed.
Before Rihanna confirmed her upcoming performance in September 2022 — with an Instagram of her tattooed hand holding a soccer ball — Swift was being pipped as a headliner.
Variety magazine reported that there was speculation that Swift would take the gig now that Apple Music is the show’s official sponsor — Apple Music was once the only streaming platform featuring Swift’s music.
The Apple Music sponsorship comes as Pepsi ended its 10-year run as sponsor of the Halftime Show. Since Swift has a partnership with Pepsi’s rival Coca-Cola fans speculated that the change of sponsor would free up Swift to perform on the show.
Taylor Swift has previously used NFL games to promote her music.
Swift posted to Twitter on October 20, 2022, announcing that she would be sharing the teaser trailer for her Midnights album during Thursday Night Football third quarter.
In a video, Swift said, “If you tune in to the Thursday night football game on Amazon Prime, I’m showing you a first look at the secret projects I’ve been working really hard on for a long time. I’m ready for the Midnights album.”
She went on to say that fans would see the work, if they tuned into the game, “before the Midnights album came out.”
Her new connection to the NFL could mean she’s also involved in the Super Bowl.
Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras’ Tour kicks off in the same stadium as the Super Bowl.
Swift announced she would be performing at 20 different NFL venues for her 27-date ‘Eras’ Tour.
The Eras Tour kicks off March 18, 2023 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Home to the Arizona Cardinals, the stadium is the same venue that hosted the Super Bowl a month earlier.
Swift will visit other NFL stadiums for the tour, in cities such as Detroit, Atlanta, Tampa and Chicago.
She ends the US leg of the tour by performing two nights in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium.
Taylor Swift wrote a song for Rihanna.
A joint Super Bowl performance wouldn’t be possible without some kind of collaboration, right? Fortunately, Swift and Rihanna have collaborated indirectly before.
While dating Calvin Harris, Swift collaborated with the DJ on a song she wrote under the pseudonym Nils Sjoberg.
The 2016 song, “This Is What You Came For”, became a hit for Rihanna and Harris.
The under-the-radar collaboration could be another clue that the two pop stars could sing together at the Super Bowl.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on the news and entertainment team at YourTango. She covers celebrity gossip, pop culture analysis, and all things entertainment related.