Pop sensation Rihanna made her first appearance at Hersheypark Stadium on Saturday night, and boy, was it a memorable one.
Even beforehand, fans seemed to have an inkling of the spectacular performance she would turn in, but it wasn’t for the faint of heart.
Speaking of the Barbados-born singer’s treatment at the hands of then-boyfriend Chris Brown, Samara Brooks, 16, of Harrisburg, said: “She got right back up. She fought back for it through her music.”
“She has a point to her music, it relates to her life,” said Tiffanie Stickel, 18, of Middletown. “Her music is how she expresses herself.”
Was it ever.
Rihanna, now with a blazing-red cropped ‘do, is supporting her latest, last year’s “Rated R,” which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s album charts. The show was a reflection of her personal strife, deeply personal, raw and even ugly.
As much known for her eye-popping wardrobe as for her music, she rose from the stage in a black gown illuminated by red LED lights to sing a powerful “Russian Roulette,” her band wailing behind her huge voice and dancers swirling around her.
For “Hard,” she took a dramatic and militaristic stance, the dancers carrying mock guns, the band crushingly heavy. She wound up atop a hot-pink painted tank wearing a helmet bearing Mickey Mouse ears. Her gown had been replaced by a broad-shouldered pale pink bodysuit.
A wicked take on “Shut Up and Drive” was set off by break dancers and the stellar guitar work of lead player Nuno Bettencourt of the 1980s metal band Extreme. If anyone was expecting anything lightweight from Rihanna, she was having none of it.
An impassioned “Fire Bomb” was followed by an intense “Disturbia,” Rihanna doing battle with fearsome monsters (stilt-walking dancers costumed to look like red-eyed fiends). “Rock Star” was sexually charged, potent and stirring. She spat out the lyrics and riffed on a jet-black flying V guitar as if her good fortune was a curse.
And she displayed a lovely growl in her voice during “Rude Boy,” which bore musical hints of her island roots.
For her latest chart-topper, an acoustic take on the controversial duet with Eminem “Love the Way You Lie,” she sat atop the tank, this time with her band, in a segment that also included a portion of the hit by B.O.B., “Airplanes.”
She was wonderful on the low notes and was obviously enjoying herself immensely, smiling all the while. It was a fabulous quiet moment in a very intense show, and it continued with a piano-based take on “Rehab.”
Rihanna delivered more than a rock show. It was theater, performance art, whatever you care to call it. A young fan summed it up perfectly beforehand.
“She’s really an individual; she always brings something new to the table,” said Abby Orons, 12, of Colonial Park, who attended the show with friends Kylie Murphy and Bailey Karnish, also 12.
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