Rihanna Up Close

Thanks to free tickets that I was lucky enough to get, I had the chance to see Rihanna perform live at a benefit concert this past Monday. Talk about a great way to start off the week! 

First about the benefit: Have you heard of the Robin Hood Foundation? It’s an organization aimed at fighting poverty in New York City. According to the Executive Director of Robin Hood, “New York is arguably the richest city in the world, and yet we still have over 1.8 million New Yorkers living in poverty.” That’s a hard-hitting fact when you stop to think about it. With a distinguished board of directors (with big names like actress Gwyneth Paltrow and TV anchor Brian Williams), Robin Hood raises over $100 million every year to fund programs that battle issues related to poverty. The gala on Monday was help to raise money for Robin Hood’s initiatives. 

The evening capped off with a performance by Rihanna. On a stage designed to resemble ancient Egypt, RiRi made her grand entrance in a Cleopatra-style outfit with a gold headband, a gold bustier and mini-skirt, sky-high boots, and some fierce make-up. Singing famous hits like Umbrella, Disturbia, S&M, and of course the currently popular We Fell in Love, she rocked the show! Sure, there was a fair amount of lip-synching going on, but I guess you can’t blame her. With all the dancing she was doing on stage, she probably would have sounded awful and out-of-breath with her real singing. But because of the intimate setting, I was able to see her up close, literally 5 feet away from the stage. Exuding confidence and sex appeal, the guys at the show were literally clamoring for her. I’m still laughing at the random dude next to me who kept screaming, “Rihaaana! Rihaaana!” and then singing off-key to Only Girl in the World. Overall, RiRi did good and it was a great night. And I have the fuzzy pictures to prove it…

On-screen close up

An "artistic" shot of the show's finale