Rihanna Performs Intimate London Show On 777 Tour

Last night, a worldwide superstar rolled into town, and whilst the first thing on her agenda was switching on Westfield Stratford City’s Christmas lights, that wasn’t her only duty. Rihanna was making the sixth stop on her worldwide 777 tour - the one that has effectively held a whole host of journalists and fans hostage on a jumbo jet for a week - for an ‘intimate’ performance in none other than that tiny (well, by her standards) HMV Forum, up in Kentish Town. We got ourselves on the Northern line to see just what would unfold.

Rihanna is late on stage, of course she is. But only one hour and ten minutes late. For that we should be thankful; she’s a busy woman. RiRi is a consummate performer. Dressed in white pyjamas and a black bra, she oozes effortless sass and charisma. She begins with ‘Cockiness’ as a giant snake slides across the giant screens behind her before launching into the ‘party section’ of the show with ‘Only Girl (In The World)’ which lifts off on a rocket of synths. But, a few too many cloying acoustic numbers see the set sag slightly.

It’s left to her versions of ‘Run This Town’ and ‘Turn Off The Lights’ to get the night back on track – these are two mighty anthems of the highest order. Then it all seems to go briefly wrong during ‘Where Have You Been’. She stops the music and looks back at the band. ‘What the fuck is that? Why is the track off with the band? This is the shit you have to deal with on a rock ‘n’ roll tour.’ But it’s soon apparent this is another ‘bit’ - having previously told the crowd to scream brand names at the top of their lungs: ‘Everybody say HTC!’, ‘Everybody say River Island!’ - as she then reels off the names of the companies involved in streaming the show.

It all goes to prove that RiRi is the perfect popstar – and a brand herself. Maybe the next chant should just be: ‘Everybody say RiRi!’

Check back later today for our full review.

Rihanna played:

Cockiness
Birthday Cake
Talk That Talk
Wait is Over
Man Down
Only Girl (In the World)
Disturbia
S&M
Phresh Off the Runway
Unfaithful
Take a Bow
Hate That I Love You
Where Have You Been
What’s My Name?
Run This Town
Live Your Life
All of the Lights
Diamonds
Umbrella
We Found Love