Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Rihanna staged her first full non-Super Bowl concert in nearly eight years Friday as she was hired to perform before the wedding for an Indian billionaire’s son.
The singer delivered a 19-song, hits-filled gig in Junagadh, India for a pre-wedding celebration for Radhika Merchant and Anant Ambani, the son of billionaire industrialist and “Asia’s richest man” Mukesh Ambani.
Not counting the 15-minute halftime show and her “Lift Me Up” performance at the 2023 Oscars, the pre-wedding gig marked Rihanna’s first full concert since November 2016, when her Anti World Tour wrapped up in Abu Dhabi.
Thus, tracks like “Consideration,” “Birthday Cake,” “Pose,” “Desperado,” and “Woo” — all of which Rihanna played at the pre-wedding performance — were performed for the first time since the Anti World Tour almost eight years ago.
It’s been speculated that Rihanna will receive between $5 million to $8 million for the one-off performance, with Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Ivanka Trump among those on the 1,200-person guest list; TMZ reports that David Blaine, Coldplay’s Chris Martin and the Chainsmokers were also among the evening’s performers.
Despite hopes that Rihanna’s Super Bowl gig would be the catalyst for a much-anticipated new album and tour, the singer has remained quiet on her future plans, with no shows booked after the Ambani wedding. Over a year ago, in February 2023, Rihanna said of her new LP, “I want it to be this year. Like, honestly, it’d be ridiculous if it’s not this year,” but alas 2023 passed without the mythic R9 materializing.
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