Rihanna took over the Super Bowl halftime show — not only with her amazing set list, but also with her stunning wardrobe. Beginning the show in what appeared to be a head-to-toe red jumpsuit with a matching red jacket, sneakers, latex-looking bandeau, and gloves, she sang “B*tch Better Have My Money,” while she and her backup dancers were on various elevated moving platforms. However, some fans and watchers took to Twitter to ask if the singer was lip syncing for her historic performance.
For example, one Twitter user called the singer out facing away from the mic during “Umbrella” while a backing track played the iconic chorus. Several other users battled it out over whether Rihanna was singing during the performance at all. While fans will probably never know for sure if Rihanna was lip syncing, there were definitely moments where her mic was live. And considering she rocked the halftime show while pregnant, I wouldn’t care if Rihanna did nothing but just stand there as her music played.
Overall, several fans and watchers were impressed with Rihanna’s performance and its straightforwardness.
While some Twitter users speculated that Rihanna was actually lip-syncing through her performance, some were thrilled she used her platform in the way she did.
Overall, it seems that Rihanna’s performance was a mixture of live singing and backing tracks, a format that many live musicians use, and many previous Super Bowl halftime performers have used in previous years. And since I’m pretty sure none of these people tweeting on social media have performed their own Super Bowl halftime show, they shouldn’t be so quick to judge.