The latest stop on Rihanna’s publicity tour just took her to the American Music Awards stage. She began her performance strapped to an uncomfortable-looking gurney in front of a pile of staticky TVs, going on to perform a medley of “Wait Your Turn” and “Hard,” both from her new album, Rated R (out tomorrow).
Was it the kind of outstanding performance that will have viewers buzzing at the water cooler tomorrow morning? Not quite, I’d say. Rihanna was in decent vocal shape, but those two songs just aren’t necessarily the strongest selections from Rated R, for one thing. Still, awards show performances are all about spectacle, and she had the eye-catching factor nailed — from the aforementioned gurney set, to the “RATED R” tattoo-like writing on her chest, to the fake-gun-toting backup dancers. Overall it felt like another well-played step in her promotional plan, if not a resounding triumph.
Or do you disagree? What did you think of Rihanna’s performance? The comments section awaits below.
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Comments (1-15) of 72 Add your comment
She doesn’t have stage presence. Her vocals are never good and she doesn’t dance I never get excited when she performes . When comes too performing live she’s just BLAH!
agreed…she always has weak vocals and lacks stage presence…her live performances always underwhelm.
ditto. I’ve seen her live and she just brings nothing to her performances. The singing is weak and she has no energy onstage. I’m not a fan of Miley Cyrus, but even at 15 you can tell that she really gets into her performances. You can’t say the same about RiRi.
It was just alright! It wasn’t anything special! I expected so much more 4 a comeback performance! I wish they would’ve let Chris Brown perform! I’m sure that would have been great!
I agree…she has no stage presence which is crucial for a great performence. To top it off her voice is mediocre at best. She’s just blah.
was the tattoo fake on er chest
She did good!! Welcome back RiRi btw her CD is off the chain!!
Who does she think she is,Lady Gaga?So now she’s the next freak that dresses like a nutjob.
Rihanna was here before Lady Gaga and was dressing crazy beforehand. please, get your chronology accurate. LG does not have a monopoly on crazy dressing.
Seriously! remember Disturbia? Way before Gaga’s time.
I totally agree.. she is NO Lady GaGa. L.G. at least wears crazy outfits that are FLATTERING… omg, a white jumpsuit with white wedge shoes that makes her look like a size 14? She’s definitely lost her style.
lady gaga and the word FLATTERING should not be mentioned in the same sentence! rihanna is way better pls!
Is it just me or is Rihanna the worst (most popular) singer ever? Her popularity is inversely proportional to her singing ability.
It’s not just you. I don’t know anyone who actually thinks Rihanna’s a good singer. A couple of her songs are guilty pleasures, but she seems to be popular in the same way that Britney and Jessica Simpson are, which is not a compliment.
HEY! jessica can sing! OK!
Your not the only one who thinks she is way overhyped. I saw her live two summers ago and she went from lipsinking to horrible out of step dancing to do the worst version of Bob Marley’s Redemption Song. Bob should have strickin her with a bolt of lightening right there and then!
and Britney can DANCE, at least she used to be able to dance
Britney is/was an incredible performer. EVERYONE still rembers her amazing performences at the VMAs and the AMAs. I remember when she was schedualed to perform at an award show everyone would be dying with anticipation and she always delivered. Even at her worst (VMAs O7) she put on a more memorable performence than some of the “pop stars” I saw last night.
No that title diffinitely goes to britney spears. Oh thats right, britney dosen’t even pretend to sing. Now she can’t even dance. Rihanna is far better then britney.
It’s a “comeback”? She never left, for cryin’ out loud. She had a huge personal crisis in her life, but it’s not like she was gone for the better part of a decade.
Oh my….I am so glad someone finally said something about the fact that this is not a comeback…to comeback you have to actually go away..and not to mention..the performance was the worst i might have ever seen by such a high profile songstress..it just shows you ..sometimes its not really about talent..but who you know.
I LOVE Rhianna, but that performance sucked!!
I totally agree. She was bad.
yeah dat performance sucks bad!
That outfit wasn’t very flattering. She looked bigger than usual.
Yeah I love Riri but this was a letdown.
Gaga on the other hand, WOW she was AMAZING!!!!!
it was bad!!!Russian roulette bad! we rule this town’s vocal bad!
Jennifer thought it was 1999 and the world was world was better delusioned to believe she could sing. Also, did anyone peep that she fell?
I felt so bad for her when she fell flat on her rear
not as bag as jen lopez totally irrelevant performance!
I like the lights from her shoulder peice .. That’s it !!!
rihanna isnt a great performer to the likes of some others, what were you expecting?!
i loved it.
I think Rihanna overall performance was good especially the light show!!