Rihanna looked GORG performing “Where Have You Been” on the season 11 finale of last night’s American Idol. Girl rocked a double leg-bombing black number and dreads, and shook her hips with a crew of tribal-esque dancers.
The set was foggy and laser lights exploded all around her. Plus, there was a wicked acrobat just chilling at the side, totally lost in the other theatrics.
Her performance was a welcome break from the suspenseful finale, which crowned Phillip Phillips as the new idol.
Watch her performance here:
We’re not all that surprised to see these topless behind the scenes photos of Rihanna because they’re directly from her video “Where Have You Been.” We already got glimpses of those scaly crocodile pasties when she was wading through swampy water, looking for her prey love.
But apparently those glimpses weren’t enough so the singer posted more nearly-naked photos on Facebook for us to gawk at. Girl looks fierce, so she can pull it off. She also posted a shot of her back, showing the intricate textured body paint used to create the scales.
Check out the photos:
Rihanna reportedly peeved off Saturday Night Live’s producers by calling in sick for the final dress rehearsal but the girl put on a good show regardless. The dress rehearsal is done live in front of a studio audience right before the actual show and it’s taken pretty seriously, so when she bailed and came in looking fine, it didn’t bode well.
Rihanna started with “Birthday Cake,” making some believe Chris Brown would make an unexpected cameo (he didn’t) but it soon turned into a medley of “Talk That Talk.” Rihanna was spotlighted in front of a giant spiderweb which was illuminated by green lasers.
Some people complained that there was an echo effect added to her microphone that made her voice sound shaky, but that went away with her follow-up performance of “Where Have You Been,” which had an Arabian-themed backdrop.
Host Eli Manning was a bit awkward but it was Kristen Wiig who ultimately stole the show with her impression of the Tan Mom. Whether or not Rihanna was sick, she put on a good performance, though we didn’t get to see her anticipated “Shy Ronnie” digital short.
Watch it here:
After three behind the scenes videos we’re finally granted the final visuals for Rihanna’s “Where Have You Been.” RiRi is a tribal, voodoo hunter prowling for her mate in the Dave Meyers directed video.
Here are five key scenes:
The Swamp
The music video opens in a foggy, moss-strewn pond with a submerged Rihanna peering above the waterline and diving back down like an alligator. When she comes up completely she’s naked except for the scaly pasties covering her lady bits.
The Desert
Next, Rihanna is the only lady leading a crew of warriors in the sandy, rocky desert. Everyone wears tribal or animal prints and Rihanna rocks red Hammer pants that sway perfectly with her dance moves.
The Cave
Next, Rihanna is in a dark cave, sitting on a zebra-print carpet in a black lacy dress. She dances gracefully with the other ladies, sometimes prowling so low she looks like a tiger stalking prey. The best part is when she huddles with the dancers and they create a giant, blinking eye with their arms.
The Owl Nest
Rihanna nests on a gigantic, twiggy patch, shaded by pink blossoms, calling for her mate.
Kaleidoscopic Forest
We saw kaleidoscopic scenes in Nicki Minaj’s video for “Starships” and now Rihanna pulls the same trippy moves. Her eyes are framed by a gold mask and her body doubles and triples with every movement.
Rihanna returns to her mossy swamp at the end of the video to continue searching for her lost companion.
Watch it here:
Rihanna channels wildlife in her voodoo tribal video for “Where Have You Been,” sporting zebra prints, bone accessories and scale-like pasties.
Unlike the multiple video teaser ploys that I’ll leave unnamed (ahem Justin Bieber) I’m not yet sick of Rihanna’s promos because instead of giving us cheap thrills with 30 second clips we get a substantial look at how much work is put into the rehearsals, wardrobe fittings and filming.
The back-to-nature sets for the Dave Meyers-directed video look pretty intricate, including a mossy swamp and a soft nesting ground from which Rihanna grazes, shaded by a pink blooming branches.
“This is another part of wildlife,” she says. “I guess we’re gonna call this the “owl set up.” Why an owl? Because they have a hundred percent kill rate! That’s why.”
After 17 exhausting hours of shooting the crew is still in good spirits and joking around before grappling all their energy for two intense dance scenes, one in a desert wasteland an the other in a foggy cave.
This is the third behind the scenes look in the series, which also includes a look at the dance rehearsal and wardrobe fitting. The official video for “Where Have You Been” comes out on April 30 on Vevo.
Looks like Rihanna’s new video for “Where Have You Been” will have a voodoo tribal feel, as the dancers don shredded shawls, beaded jewels and wooden bangles.
I’m getting tired of musicians releasing promo after promo for their new music videos (take Justin Bieber with “Boyfriend”). By the time the video comes out, I’m either severely annoyed at seeing the five-second clips so many times or I feel like I’ve seen the entire video already.
However, I like that Rihanna is giving us a behind the scenes look again, in her second teaser for “Where Have You Been.” The video takes us behind the scenes of a costume fitting, panning racks and racks of feathered jewelry and animal prints (salivate). In the video, RiRi jokes around about the pasties she has to wear to prevent any wardrobe malfunctions but she insists she doesn’t need any pasties.
Watch the video here:
RiRi played hard at Coachella this past weekend but she works hard too. The makeup free popstar and her choreographer teased her upcoming video “Where Have You Been” by documenting a recent dance rehearsal.
About dancing, Rihanna said it’s all about ”evoking an emotion through your body.” She says: “I was never gonna shoot this video if I couldn’t do choreography. It would be pretty pointless. It would be disappointing.”
Though unnecessarily self-conscious about how she looks, she and her choreographer Hi-Hat were all business and jammed in as many moves as they could. Rihanna even forfeited her hour long lunch break to eat french fries while dancing.
Watch the video below:
The first look from Rihanna’s upcoming video for “Where Have You Been” is GORG. The video is reportedly dance-heavy and though there’s no word on when the video will be out, the song hits the radio on May 8. One thing to look forward to: choreography from HiHat. He also did Rihanna’s Grammy and Brit Award performances.
One Direction is complete again
What would the almighty One Direction be without Zayn Malik? The teen heartthrob went home to the UK following the sudden death of his aunt but returned to his band mates earlier this week. Harry Styles was happy to have his friend back and tweeted this photo.
Which Kardashian is this?
Okay, well it’s a half-Kardashian. Even Kendall Jenner, member of Young Hollywood, feels socially withdrawn at times. Jenner used a comforting orange towel to shield her face and imagined she was somewhere less intimidating. You know, because there’s nothing more frightening than a luxurious pool in Los Angeles.
Rihanna shows the goods
Rihanna’s first task of the day was to take this topless photo of herself and share it with the world. As the media tends to do, they dissected the photo and decided that… yes… this was clearly a direct hit at Chris Brown’s model girlfriend Karrueche Tran — a declared arch enemy on Twitter. The swords are drawn. And in case you’re wondering, the photo is accompanied by lyrics from her song “Where Have You Been.”
