Rihanna opened her show in Paris on Saturday, just as in Stockholm on Friday, with “Cockiness”— which is a fitting kickoff song, and it seems like the perfect way to describe her attitude while promoting her new album, “Unapologetic,” (a title which is also in line with her current attitude.)
The Paris gig at the beautiful Le Trianon theater was a short one — only about 45 minutes due to an early curfew. However, the after-show party at exclusive club VIP on Champs Elysées did not disappoint. When the singer arrived around 3 a.m., she was joined by an entourage that included P.Diddy, Pharrell Williams, Omarion and Akon.
“We are here for Rihanna,” P. Diddy announced, “and she has a wish. Only hip-hop!”
The music changed instantly and the party got started.
Guitarist Nuno Bettencourt first made his name in the Boston rock group Extreme, but for the past three years he has been Rihanna’s go-to guitarist. He says he enjoys playing the more intimate gigs on this tour.
“I definitively see another side of her on stage,” he told me on the plane yesterday. “Tours tend to be overly choreographed. It’s not just the dancing, but where you walk and when to talk to the audience. Now I’ve seen her free, to say exactly what she wants – even though it isn’t completely fit for children’s ears.”
Only three concerts remained on Rihanna’s 777 tour: Berlin, London and New York. Metro’s Katarina Matsson has followed in the superstar’s footsteps, on her jet, at the concerts and parties — one of the few reporters allowed on the plane.
