Rihanna Super Bowl Halftime Show 2023 Prop Odds and Predictions
Rihanna headlines the Super Bowl XLVII halftime show Sunday night in her first televised performance since a 2018 appearance at the Grammys alongside DJ Khaled.
The hotly anticipated show has several mysteries surrounding it, including guest performances and new music. As is the case with anything involving the big game, there are several elements that have caught the eyes of bettors, resulting in special prop bets that are unrelated to anything going on in the field of play.
What are they and what should viewers expect out of the pop superstar's performance?
Find out with this preview of the show, as well as several of the current prop bets from OddsShark.
Which Song Will Rihanna Kick Off Her Performance With?
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Odds
Don't Stop the Music (+110; bet $100 to win $110)
Stay (+350)
Diamonds (+450)
This Is What You Came For (+500)
What's My Name (+600)
Lift Me Up (+700)
Better Have My Money (+1000)
We Found Love (+1400)
Where Have You Been (+1400)
Umbrella (+1600)
Needed Me (+2000)
Rude Boy (+2000)
Work (+2000)
Hate That I Love You (+3000)
Higher (+3000)
Unfaithful (+3000)
The key here is what tone Rihanna wants to establish from the onset.
Does she want to start with the high energy of a "Don't Stop the Music" or "Umbrella" and go from there, or does she decide to start slow, presumably with her current hit, "Lift Me Up," before transitioning into a faster pace?
Lady Gaga ("Dancing in the Dark"), The Weeknd ("Starboy") and the tandem of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg ("The Next Episode") all opted to go upbeat to start their Super Bowl sets, while Coldplay kicked its off with "Yellow" and built from there, so there is no right or wrong way for one to go.
History suggests a faster pace is the preference. With that said, "Don't Stop the Music" is a perfect way for Rihanna to kick off her first live performance in five years. Do not discount "Work" as a potential dark-horse candidate, even as its odds are quite loftier than her much earlier hit.
Prediction: Don't Stop the Music
Set-List Length
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Odds
Under 9.5 (-130)
Over 9.5 (-105)
The 2022 halftime show featured 11 different songs, in various lengths. The Weeknd's show in 2021 featured seven, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira mashed a total of 16 different songs into their show a year earlier, and Maroon 5 managed nine in its 2019 mess.
That there is a real opportunity to include snippets and an ability to segue so cleanly in and out of songs that the likelihood that Rihanna follows recent trends and goes above 9.5 songs seems like a safe bet.
Her catalog of songs is expansive enough that fans would be disappointed to not hear their favorites and makes it even more likely she finds a way to stuff as many songs as possible into the show's run time.
Your best bet? Take the over.
Prediction: 14 songs, one for every point the Eagles defense allowed this postseason
Halftime-Show Specials
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Odds
A$AP Rocky to appear on stage during her performance (+140)
Rihanna to suffer a wardrobe malfunction during her performance (+500)
Jay-Z to appear on stage during her performance (-175)
Drake to appear on stage during her performance (-125)
Rihanna to propose marriage to A$AP Rocky (+2500)
Rihanna to announce she is pregnant (+1000)
Rihanna to announce her son's name (+400)
Rihanna to trip and fall over (+1600)
Rihanna to open an umbrella (+175)
Rihanna to wear a bucket hat (+700)
Katy Perry to appear on stage (+500)
Cardi B to appear on stage (+350)
Chris Brown to appear on stage (+1200)
The plethora of specials above suggests there is little about the Super Bowl or its halftime show that cannot be bet on.
With that said, some are far more likely than others, such as a guest performance.
In recent years, the halftime show has tended to have multiple performers on stage at different points throughout, with Lady Gaga and The Weeknd as notable exceptions. Last year's show featured several rap greats, including the aforementioned Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, with as well as Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar.
Rihanna is more than capable of pulling off a show on her own, but given the sheer number of collaborations she has been a part of over the course of her career, it would only make sense to see fellow music icons sharing the stage with her.
Drake currently has the best odds and that should not be a surprise given the fact that no other artist has worked with Rihanna more times than the platinum-selling artist (and former DeGrassi: The Next Generation star).
It would not be surprising to see the performer's significant other, A$AP Rocky, take the stage, nor would an appearance by Jay-Z be out of the realm of possibility given his impact on her career. He guested on her hit, "Umbrella," a song that helped establish her as one of modern pop.
Do not be surprised to see Eminem or Lamar make a second consecutive appearance on the Super Bowl stage, either. The 2022 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee collaborated with Rihanna on "Monster" and "Love the Way You Lie," while the 2018 Pulitzer Prize winner featured her on "Loyalty."
Still, Drake figures to be the safe bet as one would be hard-pressed to find one of the six songs they have appeared together on that does not make an appearance in Sunday's halftime performance.
Prediction: Drake joins Rihanna. Also, she does, in fact, open an umbrella.
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