Rihanna made a comeback on stage, even if it was just for one night.
The 36-year-old singer performed her first full live show in almost eight years – not counting her 15-minute slot at the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show and her Academy Award performance the same year – at the pre-wedding party of Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Indian multi-billionaire Mukesh Ambani, and his soon-to-be wife Radhika Merchant last weekend.
She regaled the 1,200-plus guests – including Mark Zuckerberg, Ivanka Trump and several Bollywood stars – on a stage in Jamnagar, Gujarat, delivering a concert-length 19-song set, including hits such as her career-launching Umbrella and the No. 1 hits Diamonds and Work, NME reported.
Dressed in a flowing fluorescent green bodycon ensemble accentuated with a shimmering gown, Rihanna performed barefoot – an homage to the Indian culture – with her attire blending seamlessly with the opulent setting.
Film celebrities including Shah Rukh Khan, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shreya Ghoshal and Shiamak Davar grooved to her tunes.
However, despite bagging a whopping fee for her appearance, she was slammed by netizens after many opined that she put in “bare minimum effort” once videos of the performance went viral.
Many called her act “lazy”, “lacklustre” and “boring”.
The pop star’s performance, which reportedly came with a hefty price tag – double that of Beyonce’s fee for a similar event a few years ago –, has ignited debate and disappointment among fans.
There’s been rampant speculation on how much she earned for her performance. Sources told India Today that her performance fee could have been somewhere between US$8 million ($10.7 million) and US$9 million.
The Daily Mail estimated a starting price of about US$6 million for the gig.
“Rihanna was paid twice more than Beyonce to perform in India. Went home with a fat cheque and business deal after her lazy performance. There’s something about this woman we need to study,” said an X user.
The pop superstar was declared a billionaire and “richest female musician” by Forbes in 2021, causing one critic to call the Jamnagar show “charity work”.
“I’ve always said she’s an incredibly lazy performer. She never took the time to improve her performances,” one person remarked on social media.
Another agreed: “Rihanna has always been dry and lacklustre, I don’t know why people are surprised.”
Some fans defended Rihanna, saying that the singer normally gives low-energy performances.
Freelance writer Ashley Reese wrote: “She has always performed like this live lol.”
Other Rihanna defenders said fans should be more sympathetic to the singer because this is her first performance after two pregnancies.
All the same, Rihanna appeared unfazed by the commotion as she broke her silence on Instagram by promoting a range of underwear from her brand Fenty’s latest lingerie collection.
The three-day Ambani bash, which ended on Monday, was wildly extravagant, even by the standards of Indian weddings.
The elder Ambani, the chairman of the Fortune 500 company Reliance Industries, has an estimated net worth of US$113 billion. And, from the drone show, decor, flowers and festivities, it is clear that the family spared no expense: About US$120 million, the Daily Mail claimed, citing unnamed sources.
All eyes are now on the wedding, which is due in Mumbai in July.
Indo-Asian News Service
