Pregnant Rihanna soars in Super Bowl halftime performance

By Andrew Dalton The Associated Press

Rihanna was above it all. And pregnant to boot.

She began and ended the Super Bowl LVII halftime show hovering high above the field at State Farm Stadium

The performance lacked the surprise guest stars included in many previous Super Bowl halftimes, save one — her representative revealed afterward that the singer is pregnant Rihanna wore a puffy, bright red jumpsuit with tight, rubbery garb underneath that showed a baby bump that fueled a wave of social media speculation until the big revelation. She stood on a transparent rectangular platform that raised and lowered as she belted out the lyrics to “Bitch Better Have My Money” over the turf where the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs were battling moments earlier.

Dancers wearing white ski-style suits and shaded goggles had their own suspended platforms that moved in concert with hers. She and the dancers were lowered to a long stage that matched her outfit as she sped through hits including “Work,” “Where Have You Been,” and “Only Girl,” belting out “Want you to make me feel like I’m the only girl

There were also none of the constant costume changes and scene shifts from previous years. The theme — and the color scheme — stayed the same throughout the 13-minute show, with red lights bathing the stage at times and golden fireworks exploding in the air above her.

The long stage allowed for extended pull-away shots as she stared down the camera and overhead tracking shots of Rihanna and her dancers.

At one point she powdered her face and checked it in a mirror before getting back on the mic.

Lights sparkled from the stands as she was hoisted alone back into the air and sang “Diamonds” — with its refrain of “shine bright like a diamond” — as the set closed.

Rihanna’s performance was her first solo performance event in seven years, and her first since becoming a mother for the first time nine months ago.

Country star Chris Stapleton made the national anthem a simple affair at Super Bowl LVII, standing alone on the field accompanied by only his electric guitar as he sang “The Star Spangled Banner” moments before the Kansas City Chiefs kickoff to the Philadelphia Eagles to start the game. Dressed simply in smooth black denim and sunglasses, with neatly combed hair instead of his signature feathered cowboy hat, he sang the anthem as a plaintive ballad, picking it up to rock only briefly as he delivered the final lines “banner yet wave” and “land of the free!”

His anthem felt slow, but it clocked in at 2 minutes, 2 seconds, under the 2 minutes, 5 seconds predicted by oddsmakers. But it was more than 10 seconds longer than last year’s sung by another country star, Mickey Guyton.

Before Mr. Stapleton’s anthem, “Abbot Elementary” star Sheryl Lee Ralph performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

Wearing a flowing red velvet gown, Ms. Ralph began the song, the Black national anthem, as a reflective ballad, and it became a soaring hymn as it went on, with military-style drums joining her and a choir dressed all in white chiming in behind her on the field at State Farm Stadium.

Pharrell named new Louis Vuitton menswear creative director

The Associated Press

Louis Vuitton has named multitalented singersongwriter-philanthropist Pharrell Williams creative director of its menswear division, replacing the late Virgil Abloh, the company said Tuesday.

“Pharrell Williams is a visionary whose creative universes expand from music, to art and to fashion — establishing himself as a cultural, global icon over the past 20 years,” the luxury house said in a statement. Word on the appointment first broke in The Wall Street Journal and Le Figaro.

The “Happy” singer is a 13-time Grammy winner and two-time Oscar nominee with experience working with luxury brands and designers like the late Karl Lagerfeld.

The appointment is effective immediately. Mr. Williams’ first collection is scheduled to be shown during Paris Men’s Fashion Week in June.

The position had been left vacant since November 2021, when Mr. Abloh died of cancer at age 41. He was a groundbreaking designer and tastemaker known for merging streetwear and high fashion.

Mr. Abloh’s ubiquitous, consumer-friendly presence in culture was wide-ranging and dynamic. Some compared him to Jeff Koons. Others hailed him as his generation’s Lagerfeld, Chanel’s longtime creative director who died in 2019. Mr. Abloh was the first Black director of menswear at Louis Vuitton, one of France’s most storied fashion houses.

After Mr. Abloh’s death, the brand carried on with splashy men’s shows, largely without a creative director. Mr. Abloh, a DJ and founder of the brand Off-White, turned the job at Louis Vuitton into that of “curator,” rather than simply “designer,” as he expanded his interests into housewares, art, jewelry, industrial design and architecture.

Mr. Williams collaborated with the luxury group LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) in 2004 and 2008. He had a massively popular sneaker collaboration with Chanel in 2017 and a unisex clothing collection in 2019 that he designed with Mr. Lagerfeld. He also has his own fashion brands, including Billionaire Boys Club and Icecream.

“His creative vision beyond fashion will undoubtedly lead Louis Vuitton toward a new and very exciting chapter,” the brand’s new chairman and CEO, Pietro Beccari, said in the statement.

As a child growing up in the 1980s, Teresa Cole was a “latchkey kid” who played outside a lot.

“My dad lived near Canoe Run Park, and my friends and I built forts in the woods,” she said. “I have always preferred being outside.” cused on restoring the park. and we aren’t perfect yet,” she said. She said the majority of the people involved with the board

As she grew into adulthood, Ms. Cole never lost her love for spending time outdoors. Today that sense of adventure, which includes snowboarding, skiing and whitewater rafting sports, is shared with her family.

Fonticello Park, an area often used by her family and nearby residents, has not been maintained like other parks in the city that serve mostly white communities, she said.

“I shouldn’t have to go over to Maymont to enjoy time at the park when there is one right here in my neighborhood,” she said.

Ms. Cole said her “wakeup call” regarding the park’s unkempt condition came when Amy Robins, a city council liaison, visited the park and posted pictures of its crumbling infrastructure.

“There are no working bathrooms, so people defecate where springs used to be and a port-a-potty on the property is regularly destroyed,” Ms. Cole said.

Cracked pavement and overgrown grass on the tennis and basketball courts also show the park’s disrepair.

This park has been neglected and that needs to change,” she said.

Following the shooting death of Markiya Simone Dickson, a 9-year-old who was killed at Fonticello Park during the 2019 Memorial Day weekend, a group of area residents who used the park began regular meetings to discuss the park’s safety issues. But the COVID19 pandemic halted the effort, Ms. Cole said.