Rock fans are stoked that Nuno Bettencourt got some TV time with Rihanna at the Super Bowl (for about three seconds)

News
By ( Classic Rock ) published

Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt has been performing with pop megastar Rihanna for well over a decade

Nuno Bettencourt playing onstage with Rihanna
(Image credit: NFL / YouTube)

Unless you've been living in a secluded cave or are just so allergic to sports that you've muted any social media mentions of athletes, pitches and balls of any shape or size, you probably noticed that the Super Bowl took place on Sunday night (February 12).

Super Bowl LVII (that's 57, for those of you not up to scratch on your Roman numerals) saw the Kansas City Chiefs overcome a 10-point halftime deficit to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles in a hugely entertaining game - but it was pop superstar Rihanna's epic halftime show that grabbed headlines in the music world. The Barbadian star's 13-minute set saw her croon her way through some of her most famous tracks - ably helped by none other than Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt, who has played in Rihanna's backing band for over a decade now.

While footage of Nuno was somewhat, ah, fleeting (he actually only got about three seconds of TV time in the whole thing), eagle-eyed rock fans were still delighted to see a true guitar hero get his spot in one of the world's biggest sporting events.

"Only on camera for 1 second but nice to see @nunobettencourt on the big stage," Tweeted @RichardCrawley. 

"I mean…seeing glimpses of Nuno Bettencourt was the best couple of split seconds out of the whole thing" suggested @smithkc21.

"NUNO!!!! The best part of #SuperBowl wasn’t the outcome or the party, or the refs or the props that hit or the commercials or even #Rhianna at halftime (close, though). But getting to see @nunobettencourt on stage for the biggest spectacle of the year takes the cake!" agreed Rob Touzet heartily.

"I spy @nunobettencourt at the halftime show, representing Portugal," Tweeted Portuguese fan @FaithfulRi49 (Bettencourt is of Portuguese descent).

"NUNO BETTENCOURT OF EXTREME FAME!!" squealed @catbarridge.

"Bruh … @nunobettencourt is the coolest part of this whole deal playing guitar," offered rocker Zach Myers.

Other, more guitar-savvy fans were eagerly poring over which model Bettencourt was playing. 

"I know everyone is dying to know...so I figured it out for ya. Rhianna's guitarist, Nuno Bettencourt, is playing a custom red @washburnguitar signature N4 guitar for #SuperBowlLVII #Rhianna," confirmed Matthew Vinge on Twitter.

See some (very brief!) footage of Nuno doing his thing, along with some of the comments that followed, below. For more of the same, head over to Twitter.

Merlin Alderslade
Merlin Alderslade
Executive Editor, Louder

Merlin was promoted to Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016. Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has written for Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He has also presented and produced the Metal Hammer Podcast, presented the Metal Hammer Radio Show and is probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site.