emily-isobel

my names emily, i'm 20 years old and i like music.
November 14, 2011 Live Review; Rihanna The R&B queen slips (quite literally) from her throne The o2 Arena, 14/11/11 Boos echo around the o2 Arena as angry Rihanna fans begin to realise it has been almost an hour since the Bajan princess should have taken to the stage for the 5th performance of her ‘Loud’ tour here in London. Finally, at 10:05 PM the lights begin to dim and instead of hearing the usual cheering and screaming, the stage is met with even more booing from an angry mob of disgruntled fans. Dressed in an electric blue metallic raincoat, Ri-Ri looks picture perfect as she struts on to the stage to the beat of her previous single ‘Only Girl in the World’. Whether it’s her omnipotent star-power or just a group of fickle fans, she manages to turn the crowd round in a matter of seconds. Within minutes the raincoat is removed to reveal a very skimpy beaded bra and knickers which she shows off while swaggering a long an impressive conveyor belt at the front of the stage. However, things begin to turn sour again as it becomes glaringly obvious that the singers heart and soul isn’t in this performance. Stumbling around the stage and falling over, it’s apparent that Rihanna has been spending her time off stage drinking and partying rather than resting. Large breaks are taken out of the show for Rihanna’s elaborate costume changes, which at this point seem more important than the actual performance that she gives to her fans. No show is complete without the obligatory cover. In Rihanna’s case, she opted for the sensual Prince classic ‘Darling Nikki’ which she had made her own by adding a heavy guitar riff. Appearing from the back of the stage dressed in a masculine suit, Rihanna went about whipping one of her dancers and being, well, just being an all-round sex pest. This led smoothly in to her huge single ‘S&M’ which meant more, yes, more chains and whips (since they do ‘excite her’). She might have been absolutely wasted, but she still knew how to please a crowd. Whilst the ‘Loud’ tour has a lively and upbeat buzz around it, Ri still took the time to look back over some old classics and give the crowd a breather. Belting out ‘Unfaithful’ and ‘Hate That I Love You’ with only a piano and guitar to accompany her somewhat faultless voice, we are reminded of the amount of singers who charge for fans to come and watch them mime. Rihanna’s soft tones are a refreshing change from the auto tuned world of pop music today. Though in the long run it seemed that Rihanna won over a large percentage of the o2 tonight, something was still missing. Whether it was the passion she possessed when she was a rising star or just the energy to commit to yet another show, it wasn’t there. And unfortunately, she didn’t disguise it in the slightest.

November 14, 2011

Live Review; Rihanna

The R&B queen slips (quite literally) from her throne

The o2 Arena, 14/11/11

Boos echo around the o2 Arena as angry Rihanna fans begin to realise it has been almost an hour since the Bajan princess should have taken to the stage for the 5th performance of her ‘Loud’ tour here in London. Finally, at 10:05 PM the lights begin to dim and instead of hearing the usual cheering and screaming, the stage is met with even more booing from an angry mob of disgruntled fans.

Dressed in an electric blue metallic raincoat, Ri-Ri looks picture perfect as she struts on to the stage to the beat of her previous single ‘Only Girl in the World’. Whether it’s her omnipotent star-power or just a group of fickle fans, she manages to turn the crowd round in a matter of seconds. Within minutes the raincoat is removed to reveal a very skimpy beaded bra and knickers which she shows off while swaggering a long an impressive conveyor belt at the front of the stage. However, things begin to turn sour again as it becomes glaringly obvious that the singers heart and soul isn’t in this performance. Stumbling around the stage and falling over, it’s apparent that Rihanna has been spending her time off stage drinking and partying rather than resting. Large breaks are taken out of the show for Rihanna’s elaborate costume changes, which at this point seem more important than the actual performance that she gives to her fans.

No show is complete without the obligatory cover. In Rihanna’s case, she opted for the sensual Prince classic ‘Darling Nikki’ which she had made her own by adding a heavy guitar riff. Appearing from the back of the stage dressed in a masculine suit, Rihanna went about whipping one of her dancers and being, well, just being an all-round sex pest. This led smoothly in to her huge single ‘S&M’ which meant more, yes, more chains and whips (since they do ‘excite her’). She might have been absolutely wasted, but she still knew how to please a crowd.

Whilst the ‘Loud’ tour has a lively and upbeat buzz around it, Ri still took the time to look back over some old classics and give the crowd a breather. Belting out ‘Unfaithful’ and ‘Hate That I Love You’ with only a piano and guitar to accompany her somewhat faultless voice, we are reminded of the amount of singers who charge for fans to come and watch them mime. Rihanna’s soft tones are a refreshing change from the auto tuned world of pop music today.

Though in the long run it seemed that Rihanna won over a large percentage of the o2 tonight, something was still missing. Whether it was the passion she possessed when she was a rising star or just the energy to commit to yet another show, it wasn’t there. And unfortunately, she didn’t disguise it in the slightest.

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