Rihanna delivers a soaring halftime performance at the Super Bowl

(AP) – Rihanna started them super bowl Halftime show high above the field.

Wearing puffy, bright red jumpsuits, she stood on a translucent square that she bobbed up and down as she hovered in the air over the State Farm Stadium lawn and belted out the lyrics to “Bitch Better Have My Money.”

Dancers shaped like white ski suits moved synchronously on their own suspended platforms, and several danced on a stage in the field.

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Lowered onto the stage that matched her outfit, she and her dancers moved in sync as she sped through two more hits, “Where Have You Been” and “Only Girl,” belting out “Want You To Make Me Feel.” like I”. I’m the only girl in the world.”

There were none of the instant costume changes, scene changes, or guest appearances that have been a constant at other Super Bowl halves.

The theme — and color scheme — stayed the same throughout their set, with red lights bathing the long stage.

More and more dancers in white flooded and filled the field as the performance went on.

Fireworks erupted and lights twinkled from the stands as she was lifted back into the air alone and singing “Diamond” – with its refrain of “shine bright like a diamond” – as the set closed.

The performance was her first live event in seven years and her first since becoming a mother nine months ago.

A SIMPLY SPANGLED BANNER

Country star Chris Stapleton made the national anthem a simple affair at Super Bowl 57He stood alone on the field, accompanied only by his electric guitar, as he sang “The Star Spangled Banner” just before the Kansas City Chiefs kicked off to start the game.

Dressed simply in sleek black denim and sunglasses, with his hair neatly combed in place of his signature feathered cowboy hat, he sang the anthem as a plaintive ballad, saving it to rock just briefly as he sang the final lines of “Banner Yet Wave” and “Land of the Free!”

His anthem felt slow, but it clocked in at 2 minutes, 2 seconds, below the 2 minutes, 5 seconds predicted by the bettors. But it was more than 10 seconds longer than sang last year by another country star, Mickey Guyton.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni and starting center Jason Kelce both had tears in their eyes during Stapleton’s emotional performance.

As the eight-time Grammy winner, “CODA” star Troy Kotsur, sang the first deaf man to win an acting OscarShe signed the lyrics of the hymn.

OTHER ANTHEMS

Before Stapleton’s anthem, “Abbott Elementary” star Sheryl Lee Ralph performed “Raise every voice and sing.”

Wearing a flowing red velvet dress, Ralph began the song, billed as the black national anthem, as a pensive ballad, and it grew over time into a soaring anthem, with military-style drums joining it and an all-white one Chorus sounding behind her on the field at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

And R&B legend Babyface delivered “America the Beautiful” as a soulful folk song, playing an acoustic guitar painted with an American flag and blue flowers while standing alone in the field. A backing track featuring drum machines and vocalists kicked in before it was finished.

FAMOUS FANS, PERFORMERS AND PITCH PERSONS

Die-hard Chiefs fan Paul Rudd took the field before the game with a big smile and a team jersey.

Native of Philadelphia Bradley Cooper, wearing an Eagles T-shirt, celebrated from the stands as his team put the first points of the game on the board. Another famous Philly fan, Kevin Hart, wearing a jersey, stood up and waved his arms.

Jay-Z, Tiffany Haddish, rapper GloRilla and chef Gordon Ramsay were also spotted at the stadium.

The pre-game performances came from DJ Snake and Jason Derulo, whose backup dancers included Synchronous robot dogs.

Many stars have made the scene Super Bowl week parties.

And many others including Serena Williams, Adam Driver and John Travoltaappear in the big commercials of the big game.