Rihanna's New Year's Eve Concert

As promised by the title of her fourth and latest album, Rihanna's Middle East triumphant debut in Abu Dhabi on New Year's Eve was, quite simply, Rated R - Rockin', Racy, Revealing, and Re-Inventing. RiRi, the Good Girl Gone Oh So Bad, left no doubt that her transformation from the sweet 17-year-old pop ingénue to the bold, edgy 21-year-old superstar is complete.

The Wait is Ova

The wait was certainly over for Rihanna's UAE fans who had been anticipating her arrival since the cancellation of her May 28^th performance in neighbouring Dubai (supposedly due to Chris Brown's hearing).

The outdoor concert, a Mad House of more than 10,000 screaming fans, took place on the sprawling lawns of the glitzy, glamorous Emirates Palace hotel, the same venue where Shakira shook her hips last New Year's Eve.

Fans paid from US $80 to US $460 to see Flash Entertainment's presentation of the Barbadian-born singer-songwriter's concert. All tickets included access to the La Rumba after-party zone, providing the ultimate finale to the night's festivities. The post-concert party was hosted by several internationally-renowned DJ's, including DJ Green Lantern who has performed with the likes of Eminem and Jay-Z. Rihanna was reportedly paid US $500,000 for her one hour and 15-minute performance.

Cleavage, Bodysuit, and Curly Faux Hawk, Oh My!

The style icon known for her innovative fashion sense had one complete wardrobe change, and accentuated her outfits through the show with a wire frame hat, gold fitted jacket, and provocative stockings. Displaying her Gillette "Celebrity Legs of A Goddess" gams in a very low-cut, two-piece bodysuit, the former Good Girl oozed an edgy, confident sexiness as she sang, danced, and head-banged the night away. Given her recent dominatrix-inspired outfits, her attire and performance appeared more conservative than would have been expected, perhaps due to the rumoured requests of the local government. Sporting a shaved head with a mop of blond curly locks, Rihanna strummed an arc-shaped, bow-like microphone stand, showing off her new-found inner rock-star tendencies.

"R" for Re-Invention and Revelations

Opening with Wait Your Turn (The Wait is Ova), Rihanna also sang two other songs from Rated R -- Russian Roulette, the first single, which appears to make reference to her relationship with Chris Brown, and the reggae-infused Hard. Her fourth album, which hit stores around November 20^th, incorporates elements of pop, R&B, hip hop, rock, and dubstep (a genre of electronic dance with roots from UK garage), and sounds much edgier and darker than her previous records. At times angry and at others, just sad, it reflects the very personal emotions of a woman who survived and triumphed over much publicized abuse at the hands of a man she loved. As she revealed in her interview on November 3rd, 2009 with Glamour magazine as one of the Glamour Women of the Year: "[Rated R]'s super fearless-which is exactly how I feel right now. I am in a really good place."

Not Stopping the Music

Rihanna worked her magic calling out "Abu Dhabi" a few times to the crowds, an amorphous dancing and screaming mass, all grooving when she belted out Don't Stop the Music, Disturbia, Rehab (her steamy duet with and written by Justin Timberlake), Shut Up And Drive, S.O.S (her first number one pop hit in the U.S.), Live Your Life (her duet with T.I.), and Run This Town (her new hit with Jay-Z and Kanye West). When Rihanna slowed it down with her crystal clear vocalsto croon Unfaithful, Take a Bow, and Hate that I Love You (her Grammy-nominated collaboration with Ne-Yo), her fans sang along -- swaying to the music and feeling the heartwrenching emotions in every note of her painfully beautiful songs. Rihanna showed her approval of their devoted singing by giving them the thumbs up and an appreciative, almost bashful smile, perhaps belying the vulnerability still lurking under this confident exterior.

Rounds of Ella, Ella, Ella As The Curtain's Finally Closing

Just before midnight, when Rihanna broke into the Grammy Award-winning Umbrella for her grand finale, the crowd just went wild with "Ella, Ella, Ella" reverberating through the lawns, as red sparkling confetti rained down on them. Despite chants of "We Want More!", the worldwide hit signaled the end of the concert and the start of a new decade, with the sky erupting into a spectacular colourful display of fireworks.

With a full house of screaming fans and a heart-felt, triumphant performance to kick off her 2010 tour, there was no question that Rihanna single-handedly did Run this Town of Abu Dhabi that night.

First published at: http://bazaar-magazine.com/baz/bazaar/index.php?show=eIndex&show_filter=view&action=article&art_id=ART00000000624