On this day, 19 Dec 2008, Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman played the Cardiff International Arena on her Good Girl Gone Bad Tour.
The setlist was composed of songs mostly from Good Girl Gone Bad but also included some songs from her first two albums.
Her chart-topping single "Umbrella" earned Rihanna her first Grammy Award and catapulted her to global stardom.
With sales of over 250 million records worldwide, Rihanna is one of the best-selling music artists of all time. She has earned 14 number-ones and 31 top-ten singles in the US and 30 top-ten entries in the UK. Her accolades include nine Grammy Awards, 13 American Music Awards, 12 Billboard Music Awards, and six Guinness World Records. Forbes ranked her among the top ten highest-paid celebrities in 2012 and 2014; as of 2019, she is the wealthiest female musician, with an estimated net worth of $600 million.
Wales Online Review -
Rihanna Cardiff: Review of Rihanna's concert at the Millennium Stadium
Elena Cresci reviews Rihanna's concert in Cardiff, at the Millennium Stadium, where she kicked off her UK tour.
Global superstar Rihanna kicked off the UK leg of her worldwide tour in Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium and more than 60,000 fans flocked to the Welsh capital yesterday for the 25-year-old’s Diamonds World Tour.
With Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Beyonce ruling the roost, pop hasn’t been this brash, loud, or addictive since the height of Spears and Aguilera.
Rihanna commands just as well as her multi-platinum selling peers.
She knows what her fans want and gives it to them.
At just 25, she’s had an astonishing amount of hits, all of which are greeted with screams and shrieks from her adoring audience.
It’s hardly the most intimate of venues, but somehow it seems fairly low-key for a mega-stadium tour.
The kind of wacky stunts, props and crazy costumes you’d expect from contemporaries like Pink or Lady Gaga just aren’t here.
It’s certainly all about Rihanna rather than any gimmicks, but if you’ve got a venue like the Millennium Stadium to play to, it seems a shame not to take advantage of it.
Pop music moguls realised long ago that nothing sells as much as a young, attractive girl gyrating onstage while wearing little more than a bra and some hotpants.
Raunch is an integral part of what Rihanna does, but lately it feels she’s a one-trick pony.
For large chunks of the Diamonds show, it’s all crotch-grabbing, suggestive moves and, of course, songs about sex.
And it’s a real shame, as Rihanna is perfectly capable of doing more than just come-hither grinding.
But then, it wouldn’t be Rihanna without a bit of swagger.
Divided into three acts, the show had plenty of room for all 12 of Rihanna’s number one hits.
If Rihanna’s sick of singing earlier hits like Umbrella and Please Don’t Stop the Music, she certainly doesn’t show it, tackling each with showstopping gusto.
There’s no doubt Rihanna’s deserving of her pop princess status – but hopefully the next time she arrives in Cardiff, she’ll be a little more creative.
Just last week, Rihanna sang to a sold-out venue at France’s biggest stadium, the Stade de France in Paris.
And while the Barbadian songstress didn’t sell out the Millennium Stadium last night, more than 60,000 tickets were sold for the gig.
Tens of thousands of fans packed into the Millennium Stadium, which was transformed into a dazzling stage for Rihanna’s fourth worldwide tour.
When tickets first went on sale in November, some Welsh fans queued throughout the night to ensure they had tickets to the pop extravaganza.
By midday, the excitement around the hitmaker’s performance was clear, as Rihanna and Diamonds World Tour were trending on Twitter.
Warm up acts were DJ Duo GTA and French house music producer David Guetta, who played to Rihanna’s legion of fans before her hotly-anticipated arrival onstage.
Opening the show at around 8.40pm, Rihanna kicked off the show with an electronica number from her newest album Unapologetic.
Starting with a high-octane performance of Phresh off the Runway, the show had plenty of room for all 12 of Rihanna’s number one hits, including “Umbrella”, “We Found Love” and “Don’t Stop the Music”. Bright lights and visuals accompanied the singer throughout, as well as backing dancers and a full band.
The night was rounded off with a glittering performance of the tour’s title song, “Diamonds”, sung while Rihanna was dressed in a full-length sparkling dress worthy of the song’s subject.
The Diamonds World Tour consists of seven other UK dates as well as 38 across Europe, including Germany, Holland and Denmark. The glittering worldwide tour finishes in New Orleans on November 15.
Commuters and fans were warned to expect increased traffic with the pop princess’ arrival. First Great Western laid on five extra trains towards Swansea and Bristol Temple Meads for fans making their way home after the big performance.
A number of city centre roads were closed from 4pm until midnight, including Westgate Street and Station Approach.
Next on Rihanna’s tour are two dates at the Manchester Arena.
Setlist
Pon de Replay
Break It Off
Let Me
Rehab
Breakin' Dishes
Is This Love
(Bob Marley & The Wailers cover)
Kisses Don't Lie
Scratch
SOS
Good Girl Gone Bad
Hate That I Love You
Unfaithful
Sell Me Candy
Don't Stop the Music
Push Up on Me
Shut Up and Drive
Encore:
Question Existing
Umbrella
