Rude Boy

 Rude Boy The best part of Rihanna's Super Bowl show was the baile remix of "Rude Boy." Rihanna's performance at the Sup...

 Rude Boy

The best part of Rihanna's Super Bowl show was the baile remix of "Rude Boy."

Rihanna's performance at the Super Bowl Halftime show on Sunday night was about as good as you'd expect from a famous person who has gone beyond being a pop star. Her first live show in seven years didn't have any new music, but she did tell the audience that she was expecting her second child. Rihanna's movements were more reserved than those of the dancers around her, who were dressed in hazmat-style puffers that brought back peak-pandemic fears. It's what the Mona Lisa would be like if she came to life in Paris: quiet and a little bit mysterious, just enough to make her a "legend" and not much more.

Still, the show's setlist had some different versions and tweaks of Rihanna's hits, with the remix of "Rude Boy" being the most daring and exciting. When the original song came out in 2009, it marked a new time for Rihanna. Its pulsing synths and trap rolls were full of sexuality. Rihanna switched to the baile funk remix of the song at halftime. (Shout out to @billdifferen on Twitter, who caught the "Rude Boy" remix as it was happening.)