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Expectations
February 14, 2023
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Let’s be honest, a lot of us in the industry were watching the Super Bowl for the Rihanna Half Time Show just as much, if not more than, for the hope that either the Chiefs or the Eagles would win. Why? Because we love Ri-Ri, her brand, her music, and we had certain expectations, based on previous experience, that her show would be “Off the Charts!” Maybe even one of the Top 5 up there with Prince, Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Janet and JT? There is a level of expectation we have as fans, and as an audience based on the Star power of Rihanna that something big was going to happen during the show. Even my 84-year-old mom was looking forward to watching it.
The mere mention of her name had set the tone and the anticipation. We expected the hits, with flashy dancers, and dance moves. We expected flips and twists and glam and glitter from Rihanna herself. In our minds we envisioned Cirque Du Soleil, blasts of fire, controversy, organized chaos, special guests, and everything that comes with a glorified Rihanna performance big enough to cover an entire football field. But in the end, what we got was a focused, carefully curated 13 minute rendition of the Hits by a Woman confident enough to know that she no longer needed to prove herself.
You could tell right away that something was up with Rihanna. She wasn’t moving around the way she used to. She wasn’t attempting to seduce the audience with her sexuality and dynamic and controversial alter ego. And the millions of people watching the show began to immediately speculate, “She’s pregnant…again.” The internet blew up and the crowd went crazy, but make no mistake, no one was distracted from the Hits.
In fact, research indicates the Rihanna had the biggest day in her career on Super Bowl Sunday. According to Apple, Rihanna’s concurrent listeners on Apple Music worldwide jumped 331%. The hour following her halftime show was Rihanna’s biggest hour in Apple Music history by both concurrent listeners and streams. And Shazam generated its most-Shazamed minute in the U.S. since last year's Super Bowl Halftime Show, with RiRi's "We Found Love" being the most Shazamed song of the set.
Everyone watching was wowed by the fact that she pulled off such an enormous performance without letting the cat out of the bag that she was pregnant, despite the massive pre-show publicity. Every Woman in America was in awe of the fact that she was doing this, on these platforms, high in the air without puking her guts out from pregnancy nausea. Everyone watching loved hearing the hits and was somewhat sympathetic to the fact that something was up. And sure enough, immediately after the performance, a spokesperson for the artist confirmed that she was in fact, pregnant with her second child with her partner A$AP Rocky.
All was forgiven for defying our expectations. What more could we possibly expect from someone in her condition? The good news is, she is one of the few Women with enough hits in her song repertoire to keep us entertained and singing along for the entire 13 minutes. She is one of the few Women who could pull that off while in the early stages of pregnancy.
This is the kind of brand and loyalty we should all aspire to create, especially in the broadcast business. It starts with compelling content and consistency. It continues with engagement and nurturing a fan base. And it continues to recycle with more compelling content which maintains consistency. Enough to create loyalty. “Real Loyalty.” The kind that will stick with you regardless of the circumstances. Even if you have to switch things up a little at some point because a life altering event has temporarily changed the way you do things on a regular basis. But you must show up when that happens. And Rihanna did. If that loyalty is there, then your fans will support you no matter what, the same way her fans supported and support her. If you are lucky enough to build that kind of loyalty, and those kinds of expectations, then your career will last a lifetime, and your fans will support you no matter what.
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