I am not sure if you have heard, but there is a football game this weekend to celebrate Rihanna which I think is a very wonderful gift.
This Sunday, at 4:30 p.m., you can tune in to Fox for Super Bowl LVII from Glendale, Arizona, as the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles. The Super Bowl is already the worst time to decide when to use the bathroom and having Rihanna perform at halftime is not going to make this any easier. Rihanna has blessed us with the song of the summer multiple times, and the Super Bowl will be a blast from the past into her discography.
In my opinion, if Rihanna wants to perform extra songs just for the heck of it, the NFL should cancel the third quarter and let both teams have a dance battle at midfield.
Here are five Rihanna songs I would love if she played this Sunday.
“Don’t Stop the Music”
What better way to kick off the halftime show than with this 2007 classic? This is not my favorite Rihanna song but I feel like a song like “Don’t Stop the Music” or “SOS” is a great way to set the tone. This song makes me nostalgic for my iPod speakers, as every one downloaded this song, locally or illegally. Roger Goodell is definitely a Rihanna fan so he should do what is right for America.
“Hate that I Love You”
If you were a teenager when this song came out, there was a good chance you used the lyrics on your Myspace page. Nick Levine referred to this song as a second cousin to “Sexy Love” by Ne-Yo, and I agree with that comparison. I highly doubt she will play this song, but it would be nice to hear those guitars and see what Ne-Yo is up to.
“Umbrella”
This song probably signaled Rihanna’s breakthrough from R&B star to pop star because what a heavy-hitter this song was. Rihanna had a lot of “years” and I think 2007 might have been the year the radio stations would not get enough of her. Jay-Z even blessed this track with a few bars before Rihanna dropped the song of the summer again. I think the only other year as good or better for Rihanna was 2010 when “Rude Boy”, “Only Girl (In the World)” and “What’s My Name” each went No. 1 and I like “Rude Boy” but I was shocked that it topped the charts since it does not get played or talked to that much in comparison to other Rihanna hits.
“Work”
For my money, “Work” is the catchiest song in Rihanna’s discography, and it takes me back to my undergrad years. It always felt like good vibes were on the way whenever “Work” was played, and you never find anyone that dislikes this song which says a lot. Apologies to “Cake By the Ocean” and “Panda” but this was the song of summer 2016. If you do not like this song, please stay far away from me and my loved ones.
“Pon De Replay”
This was the song that started it all and a 2005 summer classic that you would hear on the hip-hop radio station one minute, and the pop station five minutes later. I must confess I thought Rihanna would never top “Pon De Replay” and Jay-Z thought the same, saying in an old interview that ‘When a song is that big, it’s hard [for a new artist] to come back from.’ Though “Pon De Replay” was one of the summer anthems of 2005 along with “Hollaback Girl” and “We Belong Together” it felt impossible for her to top her first hit but here she is today.
