It's official: Rihanna will be headlining the halftime show at Super Bowl LVII. The singer confirmed the news by posting a picture of her holding a football with the NFL logo on her Instagram. However, it's heavily rumored she wasn't the NFL's first choice. We will delve into who that first choice may have been, why she may have refused, and the ugly inner workings behind that decision.
The news of Rihanna's upcoming performance was welcomed by social media and The Navy, of course. However, it came as a surprise to those who remember Rihanna's previous comments about performing at the Super Bowl.
"I couldn’t dare do that," the singer told Vogue in 2019. "For what? Who gains from that? Not my people. I just couldn’t be a sellout. I couldn’t be an enabler. There’s things within that organization that I do not agree with at all, and I was not about to go and be of service to them in any way."
Jay-Z spoke highly of Rihanna in a statement from the NFL about the upcoming halftime show. He is quoted as saying Rihanna is a "generational talent, a woman of humble beginnings who has surpassed expectations at every turn."
However, according to TMZ, there was another singer the NFL wanted for next year's halftime entertainment. The pop star they were said to have their eye on was Taylor Swift.
There Were Possible Hints That Taylor Swift May Perform
Earlier this month, the NFL announced their new sponsor for the halftime show would be Apple Music. Apple Music replaced Pepsi after they pulled out of their long partnership with the NFL back in May. The announcement came at midnight, something TMZ called attention to.
Swift has referenced the time of midnight in several songs. She even has a new album titled "Midnights" dropping on October 21.
Swifties also speculated that since Swift has a sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola, Pepsi dropping out of the halftime show could open the door for her to perform.
Despite the possible hints, TMZ would later report that Swift would not be performing at the halftime show. The reason is said to be bad timing, since Swift has yet to complete all the re-recordings of her past work.
Swift's Beef With Scooter Braun May Be The Reason For Rihanna Getting Picked Instead
The reason Swift allegedly wants to finish re-recording her first six studio albums is related to the original master recordings being sold. Swift vowed to re-record all six albums in order to regain ownership of her music. She also aired her grievances with Scooter Braun, the talent manager and record executive, on social media.
Braun was part of Ithaca Holdings LLC, who purchased Swift's master recordings in 2019, although they have since been sold to Shamrock Holdings.
Swift explained in a Tumblr post that she was given the opportunity to sign back to Big Machine Records and earn each album back for every new album she delivered. She refused the deal, saying she knew the label's CEO Scott Borchetta would sell it. Swift said she was upset with Braun being the new owner, as she claims they have a painful history. Swift considered it to be a betrayal by Borchetta, whom she says knew her feelings toward Braun.
The Beef Between Swift And Big Machine Gets Uglier
On November 14, 2019, Swift accused both men of not letting her perform her old songs in a medley performance at the 2019 American Music Awards, where she was awarded Artist of the Decade.
Swift also accused the two men of refusing to allow her to use old music and performance footage for her Netflix documentary. Swift called on her fans and the other artists Braun manages to speak out in her defense.
Afterwords, Big Machine Records released their own statement, claiming that Swift attempted to create a narrative that did not exist. They denied refusing to let Swift use her back catalog at the AMAs or in her Netflix documentary. The statement also accused Swift of "contractually owing millions of dollars and multiple assets to our company, which is responsible for 120 hardworking employees who helped build her career."
Tree Paine, Swift's representative, released a statement the same day claiming Big Machine did not, in fact, allow her to perform her old songs at the AMAs. She also claimed Swift doesn't owe them millions of dollars, rather, they owe her $7.9 million in unpaid royalties.
Following this statement, Big Machine and Dick Clark Productions clarified that Swift will be allowed to perform her back catalog on the show. According to the statement, both parties came to terms on a "licensing agreement that approves their artists’ performances to stream post show and for re-broadcast on mutually approved platforms."
In November 2020, Braun sold the master recordings of Swift's first six albums to a then-unknown investment fund. Swift released a statement via her social media identifying them as Shamrock Holdings. She further stated that she has no affiliation with the fund, wasn't part of the deal, and still didn't own her original masters. She also announced she planned to re-record her first six studio albums.
Swift has only released re-recorded versions of "Fearless" and "Red" so far. Therefore, until Swift can perform all her hits without benefiting Braun, it looks like we won't be watching her grace the Super Bowl stage any time soon.
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