It’s impossible to ignore Rihanna and her upcoming concert this weekend.
Love her or hate her, Rihanna has created more news — for her music and beyond — than almost every other performer in her format combined, perhaps except Taylor Swift who’s generally classified as country. But when you look beyond the tabloids and relationship news, you find Rihanna is much more than the headlines.
Rihanna with Ke$ha
When » 7:30 p.m. FridayWhere » Jiffy Lube Live, 7800 Cellar Door Drive, Bristow, Va.Info » $40.75 to $122.90; 202-397-SEAT; ticketmaster.com
“I met her when she was 17 and she had grown absolutely remarkable since that time,” Anthony Mandler, one of today’s most in-demand videographers and photographers who has worked with Rihanna, Jay-Z, the Killers and many other legendary artists, said. “She has become the [epitome] of fashion and glamour.”
Although Rihanna is considered a major cultural icon, she grew up in a small town in Barbados and lived a very simple life. Mandler considers her something akin to the Audrey Hepburn and Madonna of her generation.
“Everybody from my team has watched her through the years. She grew up in front of everybody,” Mandler said. “You don’t have to look far ahead to see who she will become. … There are only one or two in each generation.”
Perhaps that is why Rihanna has seemed to not only rebound but also thrive on this first headlining tour despite relentless tabloid news. No small victory when you consider that her last album was in 2008. “Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded,” was the re-release of her 2007 album of the same name.
It’s been five years since Rihanna released her debut album “Music of the Sun” which mixed Caribbean rhythms with urban attitudes. Her following album, “A Girl Like Me,” sold 2 million albums and broke Rihanna out from the pop singing crowd.
And she shows no signs of changing that trajectory according to critics including those reviewing her tour.
“As a small platform elevated Rihanna high enough to see her adoring fans sing to her a confetti shower rained down on the audience. ‘Thank you for rocking out with the last b***h on Earth,’” she said to her Atlantic City, N.J., audience according to NeonLimelight.com “That Rihanna rain was over, but the wild cheers meant her reign is pretty safe.”
