[1][2] Reaching over 121 million concurrent viewers, it was the most-watched Super Bowl halftime show until the record would be broken the following year.

In October 2019, Bajan singer Rihanna revealed to Vogue that she had turned down an offer from the National Football League (NFL) to perform at the Super Bowl LIII halftime show in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick.

In 2016, Kaepernick knelt during the national anthem at the start of NFL games in protest of police brutality and racial inequality in the United States.

Kaepernick withdrew the grievance in February 2019, ahead of Super Bowl LIII, after reaching a confidential settlement with the NFL.

Subsequently, various outlets reported that Swift had turned down the offer, claiming that she would not do the halftime show until her re-recording process was complete.

[11] In the days leading up to the halftime show, Rihanna teased in an interview with Nate Burleson that she might bring out a "surprise" guest.

"[17] Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield praised Rihanna for "being a boss and a half on her flying stage, reigning supreme" without any guests or surprises.

[18] Steven McIntosh of BBC News wrote "The singer rattled through several recognisable hits, front-loading her set with some of her most danceable and up-tempo numbers including 'Only Girl (In The World)' and the excellent 'Where Have You Been'.

"[21] At NJ.com, Bobby Olivier criticized some of the setlist choices and felt Rihanna lacked showmanship, opining that "this halftime show will go down as one of the lamest offerings in recent memory.

[33] In the week ending February 16, Luminate reported that Rihanna had earned 166.13 million on-demand streams in the US across her full song catalogue.