Rihanna sets hearts racing at F1 show

Rihanna sets hearts racing at F1 show

SINGAPORE - For the past two days, Rihanna had titillated her fans by posting on her Instagram page a stream of pictures of herself in bikinis while chilling in Thailand.

But Singapore fans hoping to catch the Barbadian superstar in similarly saucy outfits during her performance here last night would have been disappointed.

Giving her usual revealing togs a miss, Rihanna stuck to one outfit - a quirky knee-length dress with what looked like a green overcoat and sneakers - for her gig at the Padang as part of the 2013 Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix.

In fact, her back-up dancers had more costume changes than she did.

But then again, Riri, as she is affectionately known to her fans, doesn't need sexy outfits to heat up the stage.

She kickstarted her 90-minute set at about 10.45pm with Phresh Out The Runway, unleashing non-family friendly moves that included plenty of hip-thrusting, gyrating and self-touching.

She also twerked up a storm throughout her performance, with moves that would put Miley Cyrus to shame.

The energy picked up when she launched into familiar hits You Da One, Man Down and Rude Boy.

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Rihanna then asked the crowd to scream her name before she belted - you guess it - What's My Name.

She kept up her fiery performance, dishing out more hits like Umbrella, All of the Lights, Hate That I Love You and We Found Love as she turned up the heat.

When Rihanna was previously here in 2008, she left fans feeling they didn't get enough bang for their buck.

Having coughed up between $98 and $228 for her show at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, fans had expected more than her short 60-minute appearance.

On Sunday's one-and-a-half hour set probably soothed their five-year-old heartaches.

Belting a good mix of songs old and new, the performer put on a highly energetic show and made sure that the estimated 65,000 in attendance got their money's worth.

We want more

She capped off the night with Stay and Diamonds, leaving her fans screaming for more when she sauntered off stage past midnight.

Delighted fans include 19-year-old Temasek Polytechnic student M. Ghangaa, who had queued since 9.30am near the venue to reserve the best spots in the fan zone.

She managed to secure a space for herself right in front of the stage.

For teacher Amanda Yeo, 34, it was an unforgettable concert.

"I loved that she sang all the crowd favourites," she said.

"It was a fitting end to a great night."

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Pop star hits Thailand before show

Where's Rihanna? Up till about six hours before the Barbadian pop star's performance here on Sunday, fans were asking that question and debating if she had landed here.

On Friday, Twitter was abuzz with news that the star was supposedly in Singapore and was at a Beach Villa at Resorts World Sentosa.

Fans then kept a watchful eye on her social media activities, hoping to catch a glimpse of her ahead of the show.

Rihanna revealed her whereabouts on Instagram later that day with a photo of a plate of oranges and the caption "Good morning from Thailand".

It appeared she was on a brief break from her tour, in Phuket. She posted photos of her getting cosy with elephants as well as shots of her in several skimpy bikinis on a boat.

Her tweets also seem to hint that she had paid a visit to the infamous Thai "ping pong show" which features scantily-clad female performers.

It was only around 3pm on Sunday that Rihanna hinted on Twitter that she was finally making her way to Singapore.

She touched down around 5.30pm in her posh private jet, dressed simply in jeans, a black tank top and a studded cap.

Rihanna's Singapore stop was part of her Diamonds World Tour in support of her 2012 album Unapologetic.


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