Depending on who you ask, the Super Bowl halftime show is almost as important - if not more - than the football game itself. Second to commercials, which attract their own fan base, the annual spectacle is what gets many non-sports fans to tune into the big game (yeah, we said it). This year's main event?

Here are the 10 most viewed Super Bowl halftime shows of all time:

• Rihanna (2023): 118.7 million views.
• Katy Perry (2015): 118.5 million views.
• Lady Gaga (2017): 118 million views.
• Coldplay (2016): 115.3 million views.
• Bruno Mars (2014): 115.3 million views.
• Madonna (2012): 114 million views.

The Super Bowl LVII halftime show, officially known as the Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show, was the halftime entertainment of Super Bowl LVII, which took place on February 12, 2023, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. It featured Barbadian singer Rihanna as the headline performer.

With 121.017 million viewers, Rihanna's 2023 performance during Super Bowl LVII is the most-watched halftime show in history. During her performance at Glendale, Ariz.'s State Farm Stadium, she revealed she was pregnant with her second child with partner A$AP Rocky, and performed Billboard Hot 100 No.

In the beginning, the mission of the Super Bowl halftime show was to fill time and entertain fans who weren't stuck in lines at the concession stands or the bathrooms.

According to the league's policy, the NFL covers all costs related to the production of the halftime show - including travel expenses - but the artist does not make any money. The artists may not get paid as the exposure and publicity makes a Super Bowl half-time performance absolutely worth it.

Best Super Bowl halftime shows

1. Prince (2007)
2. Shakira + Jennifer Lopez (2020)
3. U2 (2002)
4. Michael Jackson (1993)
5. Dr.
6. Rihanna (2023)
7. Lady Gaga (2017)
8. Janet Jackson + Justin Timberlake (2004)

Most-watched broadcasts of all time

Taylor Swift reportedly turned down two opportunities to play the Super Bowl halftime show in 2023 and 2024, but she just did them one better. Her rumored love life is vaulting two of the biggest brands in America into the stratosphere - her own and that of the National Football League.

Here's what to know about her 2023 Super Bowl halftime show. Rihanna, pictured at the Met Gala in September 2021, will headline the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show. Rihanna is ready to take on the 2023 Super Bowl for her much-anticipated comeback, years after her last live performance.

Over 5 million more people tuned in to her performance. For some, it was just a football game that happened around Rihanna's concert and truthfully, the numbers appear to say that most viewers watched for that reason.

The Super Bowl halftime show has become such a big event that it sometimes garners more viewers than the game itself.