/ 14 October 2013

Mixed reaction to Rihanna’s Jo’burg concert

Mixed Reaction To Rihanna's Jo'burg Concert

Pop singer Rihanna performed to 67 000 fans at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg as part of her Diamonds World Tour on Sunday.

Traffic jams on the way to the stadium prevented some fans from seeing the star in action, while others were underwhelmed by her performance.

In what is fast becoming a norm, the opening act was a DJ instead of a performing artist. DJ duo GTA from Miami, Florida, prepared the crowd for the night and has been the opening act for the singer during the tour.

Rihanna performed some of her biggest hits, including Man Down, Rude Boy, Pour It Up, Only Girl In The World and Please Don't Stop The Music. For the encore, Rihanna returned to the stage to sing Stay and ended the 90-minute show with Diamonds before walking off stage with a South African flag draped over her shoulders.

The singer's fourth world tour began on March 8 2013 in Buffalo, New York, and the Jo'burg concert was her second performance in South Africa. She was Jay-Z's opening act during his South African tour in 2006, almost two years after she was signed.

Fans met the concert with mixed reactions – many were dissatisfied by the Barbados singer's lack of costume changes and an expectation of a performance similar to that of Lady Gaga.   

?The night felt like a party instead of a concert by a "world-class" performer and alternated between Rihanna singing, competing with a backing track, dancing to the music and encouraging the crowd to sing the song lyrics.

Those in the suites had to contend with terrible sound, but Rihanna die-hard fans sang along to every song and praised the singer highly.