Rihanna To Headline Brut Sun Bowl Halftime Show

Last week, she was named the Billboard Female Artist of the Year, as well as the Female Hot 100 Artist and Pop 100 Artist.

2006 Billboard Magazine Female Artist of the Year Rihanna is slated to headline the Helen of Troy Halftime Show at the 73rd Annual Brut Sun Bowl.

EL PASO, Texas - 2006 Billboard Magazine Female Artist of the Year Rihanna is slated to headline the Helen of Troy Halftime Show at the 73rd Annual Brut Sun Bowl on Dec. 29th at Sun Bowl Stadium.

“It is truly exciting to have one of the nation’s premier artists perform at the Helen of Troy Halftime Show,” said Sun Bowl Association President John H. Folmer. “Rihanna brings such an added value to the ticket buyer, who can now see the excitement of college football with a live halftime performance from the female artist of the year.”

The Brut Sun Bowl features Oregon State University of the Pac-10 Conference, versus the University of Missouri from the Big 12 Conference.

The halftime entertainment will feature a performance by Rihanna, who will be accompanied by a troupe of 175 dancers, and then a performance by the marching bands of the two universities participating in the Brut Sun Bowl.

“Helen of Troy is proud once again to make halftime a memorable event at the Brut Sun Bowl,” said Helen of Troy CEO Gerald J. Rubin. “Rihanna is one of the top up-and-coming artists out right now and adding her to the halftime lineup is sure to be a crowd pleaser both locally and to our nationally-televised audience.”

The addition of Def Jam recording artist Rihanna to the Helen of Troy Halftime Show marks the third consecutive year that the Sun Bowl has featured a live act at halftime.

Last year, Diamond Rio performed at halftime and in 2004, the Los Lonely Boys performed before a sellout crowd at halftime.

In 2006, Rihanna has had seven songs chart on the Billboard Hot 100, including a pair of No. 1 singles in “SOS” and “Unfaithful.”

She also landed in the top 20 of the Pop 100 with “If It’s Lovin’ That You Want” and “We Ride.”

Her song, “SOS,” was named the Hot Dance Airplay Song of the Year. She was also named the Female Breakout Artist at the 2006 Teen Choice Awards earlier this year.

The 18-year old from Barbados first hit the Hot 100 with her song “Pon De Replay,” which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Music and No. 2 on the Hot 100 and the Pop 100.

She will be performing at the 2006 Nobel Prize Awards in Stockholm, Sweden this weekend, along with Lionel Richie, John Legend, Cat Stevens, Simply Red and Wynona Judd.

Rihanna just wrapped up a 2006 European Tour with the Pussy Cat Dolls and toured in 2005 with Gwen Stefani.

The 2006 Brut Sun Bowl will mark her first live appearance at a football game.

Her first album, “Music In The Sun,” was released on Aug. 30th, 2005, and has sold over two millions copies worldwide.

Rihanna’s second album, “A Girl Like Me,” was released on Apr. 25th of this year. “A Girl Like Me” has sold over three millions copies and peaked at No. 4 on the United World Chart.

She is expected to release her third album, entitled “One,” in July of 2007.

“We are thrilled to have Rihanna as a part of the festivities of the Brut Sun Bowl” said Bernie Olivas, executive director of the Sun Bowl Association. “Helen of Troy has gone out of their way to make the halftime show something to remember each year.”

“Over the last seven years we have averaged over 49,000 fans per game at the Sun Bowl,” said Folmer. “Helen of Troy has stepped up to the plate to help insure the possibility of the third straight sellout.”

Currently, Sun Bowl Stadium seats 50,426 for the Brut Sun Bowl. From 1983 to 2000, the stadium seated 51,171.

The seating size changed after the Sun Bowl was restructured to allow for soccer matches in 2001.

“The last two Helen of Troy Halftime Shows have been huge successes,” added Olivas. “I think adding Rihanna to this year’s show could equal if not surpass our expectations for quality family entertainment.”

The Brut Sun Bowl is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 29 at noon at Sun Bowl Stadium.

The game will be broadcast live in high definition on CBS for the 39th consecutive year.

Tickets for the Brut Sun Bowl range in price from $15 to $60 and can be purchased by calling (915) 533-4416 or (800) 915-BOWL or on-line at www.ticketmaster.com.

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