Rihanna is back on the album promo trail- yes, she has another album out about a year after the last- and touched down on the set of Saturday Night Live to showcase two tracks from the November 19th released Unapologetic.
First up was new single Diamonds, which was accompanied by some weird animated background that initially had me worried was a ploy by directors to distract us from the potentially damaging vocal that was to come. But it wasn't that bad. Honestly.
I've been really interested in hearing Rihanna sing Diamonds live ever since the song debuted in September. With the sustained belting being quite extensive throughout, I did wonder if the Barbadian beauty was going to be able to maintain the stamina - let alone hit the notes- when it eventually came to performing live.
The reality is Rihanna kind of copped out when showtime came around, relying on a heavy backing track to cover a lot of the notes I wanted to hear tackled live. Her tone was great though, and her control of her lower range, as well as her timbre, was much improved. Also I was really surprised that she managed the fifth octave run at the end of the Diamonds.
Overall, it wasn't the most assured performance, Rihanna seemed introverted and nervous throughout, but it wasn't the car crash I was expecting.
[Youtube vid for those who can't view the Daily motion video above. Note it's pitch has been shifted.]
Rihanna - Diamonds - SNL 11-10-12
The second performance was of the totally new song Stay and was something altogether more accomplished and dare I say, impressive. Rihanna looked and sounded more comfortable from the outset; which isn't surprising considering the song was well within her range, only featuring one big note in the form of a brilliantly executed A4 at 3.27.
The payoff from not having to worry about hitting tricky notes meant Rihanna could focus on the emotion of the piano driven ballad, and as a result she managed to set the tone brilliantly with her delivery. It's the first time that I've genuinely been affected by a Rihanna vocal. I wasn't crying or anything, but it moved me more than any previous live (or recorded) vocal from the singer.
[Youtube vid for those who can't view the Daily motion video above. Note it's pitch has been shifted.]
Rihanna - Stay - SNL 11-10-12
Though this wasn't a bad showing by Rihanna it's actually made me less bothered about the release of Unapologetic. Perhaps I'm finally started to suffer from that Rihanna fatigue some of you began feeling about 3 albums back.
