JOHANNESBURG: They came dressed in bedazzled T-shirts, pink and grey wigs with bunny ears and, of course, navy hats – the uniform of their idol.
Some came from as far as Durban and Cape Town, and the spiralling queues of thousands of other Rihanna “stans” waiting to be let through the FNB Stadium gates was not going to deter them from their goal – to watch the singing sensation and have a party.
US singer Rihanna began the South African leg of her Diamonds World Tour on Sunday night with her characteristic energy and fanfare.
Capetonian Maggie Ramiah and her three Durban friends – Roxanne Munisami, Diane Meduramuthu and Sandrika Kissorielal – made a “girls’ trip” of the concert and arrived in Joburg on Saturday.
“We’re huge Rihanna fans and were not about to watch her concert without each other. We bought our tickets in April and had been planning this weekend for months. It’s one for the memory box,” a beaming Ramiah said. The stadium was packed to near capacity and when US singing sensation Rihanna emerged from the smoky back of the stage, audience roared with screams and cheer.
Rihanna emerged dressed in a black diamante studded jumpsuit, jacket, spikey cap and black heels.
She may have been close to 40 minutes late, but that was soon forgotten as she leapt straight into her chart topping hits. “Joburg! What the f**k is up?”, she asked, teasing her fans.
The star was last in the country in 2006, when she came as rapper Jay Z’s opening act. “I’ve been dying to come back, thank you South Africa, are you ready to have fun with me?” She asked her screaming fans. The 25-year-old sang her hits Birthday Cake, Talk that Talk, You’re the one and Man Down while dancing and twerking – much to the fans’ delight. - The Star