“It feels like it could have only been now.” That’s how Rihanna describes her upcoming Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show, which marks the first time in seven years that she’ll perform her music live. As she told it in a press conference this week, giving birth to her son made Rihanna feel fearless enough to tackle one of the most iconic stages in the business—but her nearly two decades in music set the stage for this moment. Since her first album, 2005’s Music Of The Sun, Rihanna has weathered countless trends and carved out her own eras across eight studio albums, securing a well-earned spot in the modern pantheon of Main Pop Girls. Trends come and go; “Take A Bow” lasts forever.
Rihanna has confirmed she has a 13-minute performance planned for Sunday– but before she hits the mic, she’ll have to narrow down the 39 set lists she says she’s drafted so far. While fans may never know what numbers ended up on the cutting room floor, some studying up is in order regardless before Sunday. Here, The A.V. Club has compiled 16 songs from the singer’s discography to prepare you for Sunday’s Rihanna concert, cleverly disguised as a football game. Cheers to the freakin’ weekend.
“Pon De Replay”
When charting Rihanna’s career, all things begin with “Pon De Replay,” her smash debut single. Rihanna kicked off her career at age 17 with a song that perfectly encapsulates the influences of her home country of Barbados, her edgy approach to dancehall music, and her insatiable star power. It’s a song that instantly evokes memories of clubs in 2005, with everyone begging for the DJ to “pon de replay.” [Gabrielle Sanchez]
“Rockstar 101" featu Slash
The industrial, moodier turn taken by Rihanna on Rated R, the first album she released following then-boyfriend Chris Brown’s highly publicized attack on her, saw the artist immolating pure pop for more brazen tracks, like the Young Jeezy-featuring “Hard” or the coquettishly cruel “Rude Boy.” But “Rockstar 101'’ sits at the center of this era, a brash, sleazy ode to sex, style, and self-possession; diamonds, black guitars and “whilin’ out.” In tossing polish to the wind, Rihanna made a hedonistic anthem that hinges on a meditative concept: “To be what you wish, you gotta be what you are.” Sometimes, nothing’s grittier than self-acceptance. [Hattie Lindert]
“Shut Up And Drive”
For those of us of a certain generation, realizing that Rihanna isn’t actually talking about cars in “Shut Up And Drive” was a formative experience. Even once all the innuendo lands, the track still has a bit of a Radio Disney quality, like Hannah Montana wanting to take off the blonde wig once and for all but not quite willing to slap the “Parental Advisory” rating on the CD case. This is entirely part of the appeal; the album is called “Good Girl Gone Bad,” and “Shut Up And Drive” is a glimpse of that process in action. [Drew Gillis]
“Bitch Better Have My Money”
Even if the subject matter is prime Rihanna—i.e., shit-talking—“Bitch Better Have My Money” feels a little bit like an anomaly in her career. In 2015, Rih hadn’t released an album in three years, and everyone complained; oh, how naive we were. “BBHMM” and its Alexander Skarsgard-starring music video seemed to herald her return. It kind of did; ANTI arrived within a year, even if the track wasn’t on it. Today, the track feels more emblematic of the kind of sporadic output we’ve come to expect from Rihanna. Who cares; just try to listen to “BBHMM” and not feel like a badass. [Drew Gillis]
“Rehab”
Although it hasn’t enjoyed the same longevity as “Take A Bow” (and never got a Rachel Berry cover), “Rehab” is an early entry into the camp of Rihanna ballads that tackle toxic love. Choosing a central metaphor and sticking with it, she chronicles a relationship from beginning to end, grappling with all the ways it changed her. It’s not a power ballad like “Love On The Brain,” or as spare and shattering as “Stay.” But it was the first Rihanna song this writer ever loved. Come for the soaring violin hook; stay for a window into an artist confidently navigating the staircase to super-stardom, and flexing the possibilities in her music beyond dancehall-infused pop. [Hattie Lindert]
“Love On The Brain”
ANTI’s most enduring ballad, the soaring, pounding “Love On The Brain” is one of the weightiest vocals Rihanna has ever laid down; call it a more naive, more emotionally volatile little sister to Beyoncé’s “Love On Top.” On the track, Rihanna nails the imperfections and frustrations of even the most sweeping emotions (“What do I gotta do to get in your motherfuckin’ heart”) and comes upon an impeccable ode to imperfect but true love in the process. If you’ve known yearning, you deserve to know this song too. [Hattie Lindert]
“Too Good,” Drake, featuring Rihanna
“Too Good” is something that has been in unfortunately short supply in the past two decades of pop music: a duet. We’re not talking a Drake song with a Rihanna feature; this is a true meeting of the minds between pop’s Sam and Diane (or at least it was in 2016). Rih’s icy vocal bounces off the beat’s claves, while Drake does his best to sound as disaffected as she does. It’ll never work—Rihanna’s too-cool demeanor is exactly why Drake wanted her so badly in the first place. [Drew Gillis]
“Kiss It Better”
While “Love On The Brain” is the the uncontested leading ballad of ANTI, “Kiss It Better” is a well-suited understudy. “Love On The Brain” focuses on the obsessive nature of a new flame, but “Kiss It Better” is for those who’ve been in love, and want to stay in love. It’s about laying down one’s armor and argumentative weapons in the midst of a fight, and creating a space of vulnerability and affection. The swooning electric guitar line in “Kiss It Better” absolutely rocks, embracing the grandiose lyricism. Sometimes, nothing feels better than loudly singing, “Man, fuck your pride!” alongside Rihanna. [Gabrielle Sanchez]
“Disturbia”
Sort of a spiritual successor to Rockwell’s “Somebody’s Watching Me,” “Disburbia” sees Rihanna, much like Lana del Ray, at war with her mind. In the verses, Rihanna’s inner demons answer her lead, auto-tuned vocal, a funhouse distortion of the pop call-and-response motif. Even if Rih is being mentally tormented, she sounds pretty excited about it—hey, she doesn’t have a song called “S&M” for nothing. [Drew Gillis]
“Loveeeeeee Song” featuring Future
As far as we know, Rihanna and Future have never been Drunk in Love, but on “Loveeeee Song,” they certainly sound at least drunk and horny. Even the title and its abundance of E’s clues us into the four-minute drunk-text we’re about to hear. Past Rihanna’s sly coos, past Future’s desperate yelps, and past the psychedelic guitars and synths are surprisingly earnest lyrics, a desperate plea for “love and affection.” Who can’t get behind that (Or under it) [Drew Gillis]
“S&M”
If “We Found Love” offered a radio-friendly window into raving, “S&M” taught a generation how to be horny—well, “excited.” Snappy, sexy, and earwormy as all hell, Rihanna’s ode to bondage luxuriates in taking charge: she knows how she wants her lover to make her feel like the only girl in the world, and mere hand-holding isn’t going to cut it. Red-haired Rih wasn’t someone to fuck with. [Hattie Lindert]
“Take A Bow”
There are few opening lines to a verse that can compare to, “You look so dumb right now.” Like, she really got his ass! He thought he was going to have his knight in shining armor moment and Rihanna is not having it, instead opting to make a mockery of the big show he’s putting on. She goes on to sing, “You look so ugly when you cry,” before patronizingly assuring him that his performance is “very entertaining.” She spends nearly four minutes dragging this man and then tells him to leave. Queen shit. Comedic genius. [Gabrielle Sanchez]
“Higher”
If Rihanna left us with one message when she released her last album six whole years ago, it was “Higher.” Clocking in at just two minutes, the raw, snippet-like form of the track allows Rihanna’s late-night, soul-bearing tendencies to lead the way. Ultimately, we leave her drunk, stoned, and “with a little bit too much to say.” From the ubiquitous experience of struggling to hide your cards, to Ri’s humbling realization that she “could be more creative” in saying what she needs, it’s the unfettered way she shares it that’s truly enrapturing. [Hattie Lindert]
“Rude Boy”
Rihanna’s at her best when she’s emasculating potential lovers, and look for no better example than “Rude Boy,” where she straightforwardly asks a man if his, well, dick is big and if he can perform well enough in the bedroom. She asserts her dominance, as she does many times throughout her discography, and after posing the question goes on to talk about all the ways she’s actually in control. After diving headfirst into R&B and pop aesthetics on Good Girl Gone Bad, Rihanna returned to her roots, looking to reggae and raggamuffin to build the instrumental basis of “Rude Boy.” [Gabrielle Sanchez]
“Hate That I Love You” featuring Ne-Yo
A song that begs to be crooned, “Hate That I Love You” finds Rihanna and Ne-Yo trading lamentations about a relationship that hurts so good. They’re not exactly inventing the wheel here—but they sound so damn smooth together. Ne-Yo co-wrote the song with producers Stargate, and his fingerprints are all over the track’s stylings, from the strummed acoustic guitar riff to the duo’s lilting runs. “Hate That I Love You” never tries to pull any huge punches with form, and just lets two great singers do their thing. [Hattie Lindert]
“Umbrella” featuring Jay-Z
Over 15 years on from its release, it’s clear now that “Umbrella” ending up in Rihanna’s hands was direct intervention from benevolent fates. Written with Britney Spears in mind, passed upon, and passed upon again by Mary J. Blige, Rihanna made “Umbrella” into a mammoth single. Buoyed by a clattering backbeat and wheedling synths but brought to Earth by Jay-Z’s breathy flow, “Umbrella” came out swinging with a music video to match (it won Rihanna Video of the Year at the 2007 MTV Music Video Awards.) The track is on Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Songs Of All Time” list; it’s been covered by Taylor Swift, All Time Low, and yes, the Glee cast. That’s history. [Hattie Lindert]