Rihanna is currently recording a new album for release this fall but she still has a several stops to make on her ‘Loud Tour’ before the next era of her career can officially begin. One of those shows occurred at the Anhembi Arena in Sao Paulo, Brazil yesterday where the Pop star performed an interesting rendition of ‘Don’t Stop The Music’.
Watch the footage below:
What made this performance so perplexing was the fact that Rihanna performed quite well but her singing was horrid. She has certainly improved as a live entertainer but she still lacks an understanding of the special qualities of her voice and that is the key reason why it is difficult to take her seriously as an artist.
At this stage in her career, it is nonsensical to compare Rihanna to any other act except herself. It is blatantly apparent that she lacks the vocal magnitude of her idol, Mariah Carey, or even Beyonce yet it many would appreciate her more if she at least learned how to use her voice.
Perhaps, Rihanna is simply singing music that doesn’t really compliment her tone. Indeed, she sounds far more comfortable singing Reggae-inspired music, such as ‘What’s My Name’ and ‘Man Down’, than she does with Dance/Pop.
Have a listen to Tanya Stephens – a Jamaican singer/songwriter whose tone is strikingly similar yet more mature than Rihanna’s sound – below and image Rihanna doing music like that:
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well all Imma say is Rihanna after being in the industry for 6 years>>> Beyoncé after being in the industry after 6 yrs regardless if Destiny’s Child was a big group Beyoncé could NOT have had a bigger success in her first 6 years like Rihanna has. Lets see where Rihanna is once shes reached (and she will) her 14th year…. Then lets come back and have this conversation….
I say this all the time, Rihanna should embrace more of her Caribbean heritage in her music. She is terrible at breathing while performing I notice as well which may alot to do with why she sounds so winded and shaky.
I was surprised at how winded she sounded…she should probably get vocal training. If Madonna did it (she wasn’t a strong singer either, but improved over time) she can to. I think her energy was good!
@OnlyMikio…what are you talking about? Beyonce at her absolute WORST is better then Rihanna at her absolute BEST performance wise. Like…Beyonce has never sounded BAD..her vocals have just gotten better and better. And as a performer, AGAIN she was never bad, she just had gotten better and better. You can look at Beyonce performing Crazy In Love and it STILL shits on anything Rihanna has done thus far. And if your talking as far as sales…um as a SOLO artist Beyonce has STILL outsold Rihanna. So….um…yea. Your crazy. And by Rihanna’s 14th year…she probably have about 14 albums bc thats the ONLY way she’ll last that long.
Trent i think you gave Rihana some credit bc she actually didn’t walk around like she was half sleep in this performance…but it still was boring. And like you said, she still sounded bad…yea…so um…Rihanna is definitely in her own lane. She can’t sing. She can’t dance. yet..she’s more successful that most pop acts. That is her own lane alright. Bc thats NEVER been done before.
@OnlyMikilo
Does that make her more talented than Beyonce? I think not. Rihanna still can’t sing and her performance style looks like a Vogue fashion shoot with backing band and dancers.
It’s funny how the only ammo Rihanna stans have are “her #1′s”. What about her vocal ability? What about her amazing stage presence? What about her as an ARTIST? Not some manufactured, fast food music factory that has to change her hair every couple of months to remain relevant.
I’m not sure how anyone could possibly compare Beyonce and Rihanna…
lol… I love the worthless commentary from the Beyoncé stans. You wouldnt know music if came, sat on your lap and gave you a hard on. Ive been studying and have been a musician for years and I know what talent is, and damn sure know what music is. You should probably start by looking it up in the dictionary for clues. Once you get a clue, then we can have this conversation again. You guys think just because someone releases and album a year that they are just creating popcorn music… dare I bring out my statistics on artists who have dropped 16 compilations in 10 years or 40 plus in a 35 yr career… those people are LEGEND to this day. Try googling Aretha Franklin and Prince. Should I bring up my Madonna statements… She couldnt sing for SHAT and shes legend… so Beyonce is at her 14th year as an artist… Rihanna is at her 6th… Beyoncé at her 6th was a mess with her barely starting to find her voice…. yeah her vocal melisma was cute and had all you gays going crazy when she did the Uh Oh dance… but Dangerously in Love…. it only went Platinum off of her praise with the last Destiny’s Child album…. cause that album was only half good.
I got much more to say but I also have a job….. Trent you should hire me for free.99 to whip these fools into shape…
@OnlyMiklo
Is that the best you’ve got? “I’ve been studying and have been a musician for years” blah blah blah. Those artists of the past had talent, something you still haven’t proved Rihanna of having. Are you seriously putting her in the same lane as Aretha and Prince?! Your entire comment went down the drain. Madonna couldn’t sing, this is true, but she made up for it with her performance skills. Rihanna? Not so much
I havnt heard Rihanna Sing this horrible in a long time. Its a shame. She needs to stop smoking and reduce her drinking. It ruining her voice. If she continues like this, she will become another Whitney. Whitney’s voice completly gone because of substance abuse.
She should defo go into doing more carribean music However, she has said many times she wants to be like Madonna and do it ALL.
I dont know why her fans put up with this. They should have used that money and went to the ‘FAME Tour’. Chris/Beyonce are REAL performers. Real talk.
@OnlyMiklo ‘Scuze you…Dangerously In Love went 4x Platinum in the US…Shut THAT shit up.
@OnlyMiklo and how dare you say something about Beyonce finding her voice…..go the fuck above and watch the goat please.
For some reason i find it very hard that your a “real musician” and have the audacity to attempt to defend such a NON-musician like Rihanna. It doesn’t even take a Beyonce stan to see that a Rihanna comparison is completely ridiculous. It takes anyone with eyes and ears. Has she made any “timeless” or “legendary” music in the 5 albums she’s put out? Of course not. But the other artist you mentioned have. Everything Rihanna releases is for the radio. And I personally find nothing wrong with releasing an album every year. The only reason Rihanna releases an album every year (and changes her entire look and hair color with each album btw) is because she knows that is she disappears for even a 2nd, your fan base with completely disappear. True musicians and artist with God given talent don’t have to worry about that. Artist who sell their image do. There is always someone younger and prettier coming up. But because Beyonce is ACTUALLY TALENTED, that would explain why her LOWEST selling album (with a horrible 1st single, and a flop 2nd) still did higher 1st week numbers then Rihanna’s HIGHEST (with a #1 single). Everybody knows to take Rihanna just as seriously as Ke$ha. She makes good fun pop music. And she’s pretty. Nothing more.
So I followed the link from trent on twitter and I have to say that it was absolutely worth it.
The Beyonce and Rihanna stans need to just leave each other alone. Let Beyonce be prego and happy and let Rihanna release her new tune on friday.
@Americanboi you took the words out of my mouth.
a mess. i wish she would quit with all the back tracks an stop letting her back up singers do most of the singing.
Trent you have more faith in rihanna than i do. i really don’t think her voice can get much than this.
LEAVE BEYONCE OUT OF THIS PLEASE. I DO PEOPLE FEEL THE NAME TO COME THE GREAT WITH THE LESSER. I LOVE RIHANNA BUT DONT COMPARE HER TO BEYONCE.
Rihanna needs vocal lessons. Someone needs to walk up to her and tell her that.
Rihanna has talent. All she needs is vocal lessons and a good choreographer.
Oops, sorry Trent…forgot about Tanya, but you were asking for it when you mentioned Beyonce in the post. Just finished the song and there is no way Rihanna will capitalize on her roots; Man Down didn’t go as far as they expected, so she’s likely to stick to whatever is hot right now. You can hear that Tanya Stephens has this ear for melody and a certain swagger to her vocals, some people just have that natural talent and Rihanna just isn’t one of them.
Plus, this Beyonce and Rihanna comparison is just stupid. They are both talented and have earned their way to stardom.
Dont get me wrong. I really like Rihanna. I love her music. I love her personality, i think shes a rock star. But i’m not going to act like she’s this big time mega talented legendary artist. She serves her purpose. She gives us great pop music, accompanied with nice visuals (music videos and fashion). It would be nice if she were even half way decent LIVE and didn’t put you to sleep, but its completely fine that shes terrible. Just give me good music, give me great videos and nice Vogue covers and im sold. But for god’s sake don’t compare her to Beyonce.
What is with the constant negative articles about Rihanna? Yes, she is no vocal powerhouse and never has been, however she is young and has had huge success ever since she burst onto the scene. Moreover, she continues to be successful break records. There is nobody like her in the industry right now. I think people should take a step back and cut Riri some slack!
everyone needs to have amo bey got her shoutrs and stage performances rih got her hits and likability, beyonce stans stay tring to bring down rihanna every chance you’ll get! is it so hard to believe that some of us happen to love rihanna just the way she is?? if i want a powerful voice i’ll listen to christina, if i want stage performance i’ll watch beyonce rihanna is just rihanna she can NEVER, will NEVER be beyonce. here’s my thing if u don’t like someone i could care less what they do… for example i’m no gaga fan so if i see a gaga post i skip it cause guess what i don’t give a flying fuck about the ho… its really very simple. u don’t like rih then ignore and the world will be better for us all!!!
And for the record fuck a typo!!!! some of you’ll really needs to get a life thoooo, rih gets around 500k per show…let me repeat RIHANNA GETS AROUND 500,000 PER SHOW!!!!!! so while you’ll complaining tha bitch is onto her next 500k! her shows still sell… have noticed the crowd at these concerts?? ppl screaming going crazy. ppl love that ho no matter how much you’ll talk! remember this…”THAT RIHANNA REIGN AIN’T GON LET UP”
It’s amazing how much shade folks like to throw Rihanna. Since she gets so much hate, she’s doing something right. Plus, most the haters ain’t buying shyt she puts out so why they stressing. Can’t wait to see Rih fall buy unfortunately it ain’t happening. And about Ms. tits and azz Beyonce, if she didn’t show as much azz as she has, she certainly wouldn’t be where she is. Trust, she’s no Patty.
Sex sells. I dont think anyone on here said anything pretaining to Rihanna’s highly sexual image. Beyonce’s image is sexy to. the difference is one has talent outside of selling sex and the other doesn’t. As i read through the comments i don’t think anyone is “hating” on Rihanna. We’re simply stating the obviouse. She can’t sing, nor can she dance…so why should she be compared to someone who can sing, and can dance…??? And how much Rihanna makes per show means nothing when in comparison to Beyonce. Forbes has released the list of highest earners already if I remember correctly Rihanna’s name was no where to be found. Beyonce made me on her 9 month vacation then Rihanna has trotting around the world on tour. Again…Rihanna isn’t losing. She’s just loosing in comparison to BEYONCE which is what this entire arguement was about. Rihanna IS in her own lane.
This midget-faced goat needs to stop!!!!!!!!!!
@Micki did you just bring up Madonna? Madonna lip syncs at her concerts!!! WTF
Lmao @ the. Dumbasses who continuously watch her performances complaining about the same shit.
@americanboi i hate to admit but OnlyMiklo was right about success part. i love Beyonce’s first 6 years in the music business have been NOTHING compared to Rihanna’s 6 years. Rihanna is competing on the same level as people that were out before her. I’m a beyonce fan, but BEY has the most fake fans ever. her fans talk the most junk, but at the end of the day, they won’t buy what she’s putting out. 4 hasn’t even sold a million copies in the US yet. It SHIPPED a million but not sold. It only took LOUD TWO MONTHS to do that.. Which is what Bey’s latest album has yet to do. Say what you wan’t about Rih but she’s obviously doing something right because her albums sales are based on supporters
@jenna EXACTLY!!!! people keep hating on her but you clearly see her shows are selling out
@staNn actually she made $500,000 a show plus a percentage of tickets sales during her Rated R tour (Last Girl On Earth). This time on the Loud tour she makes more…… these people keep hating but she laughing ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK
Wow Rihanna is making sure she doesn’t fade. lol. I’m not bothered but reading the comments. LMAFO! Beyonce fans shouldn’t waste their time with the few Rihanna fans who are delusional and pressed aboout the FACT that Beyonce has established herself in the last 15 years and she doesn’t have to prove to the public that she remains relevant. However, Rihanna’s case is she has to put out albums/singles every year to keep the public interested. She didn’t have to rush with this next project but that’s her. Her new single is supposed to be out next week. I think the public will eventually get tired of her but I don’t think it’s going to happen now. If Rihanna wants to be known for her music and craft she needs to focus on building her artistry instead of giving out radio generic hits that she is easily known for. And for the haters who are pressed about “4″ not being as successful. So far it sold over 1 million wordwide including #1 in 14 countries. Beyonce has been well respected and regconized not just an entertainer but a person as well. Rihanna stans want their fav to be like Beyonce #OOPS!
@rory
As a Bey fan I don’t consider Rihanna as a threat to Bey under no circumstances. Comparing Rihanna’s successs now to Bey’s six years ago is uneccesarily. Beyonce has already proven her throne and she’s not worrying with competing with Rihanna. I do believe Rihanna does have the potential to become an established artist. Maybe this 6th album will do justice for her.
@rory
I just dislike the fact that some ignorant Rihanna fans shade Beyonce because of “4″
@ci’yonce im not shading her. i was just stating the facts. If she was all of that 4 would be at least where LOUD was three months after it’s release
@Ci’yonce i just don’t like the fact that this blog keeps comparing a woman with 15 years of success with a woman with 6 years. no one wants ri to be like bey. That would be boring as hell. I like both of them for different reasons. I like the fact that Bey is a strong vocalist, pretty and a performer. i like the fact that ri is unbelievably consistent, pretty, and makes music that a more wider audience can enjoy (pop, r&b, and reggae). and that’s what triggers her sales popularity
@Rory…um your facts are incorrect sir. Rihanna didn’t go platinum in the US quickly at all. a matter of fact she just recently breached the 1 million mark in the US. The majority of her album sales are World Wide. She’s sold 5 million world wide…but just a little over a million in the US. Beyonce’s 4 has sold over a million WW and is almost at 800k in the US. Its actually selling fairly well to say shes BARELY promoting it, and none of the singles have done well. So….right. Again…I need you Rihanna stans to get it together and know your facts. Like i said, Rihanna is definitely winning in her own LANE. But if your going to compare her to Beyonce…she falls short…and by alot.
Rihanna spent the entire time pulling her panties out her ass
And again…6 years into Beyonce’s career…she was STILL DOING BETTER THEN RIHANNA. Lets do the MATH people. Beyonce has 4 SOLO albums. Rihanna has 5. Beyonce has sold more with 4 albums then Rihanna has with 5. All Rihanna has is more #1 singles, and like i stated above, thats bc Rihanna makes great radio music! I’ll never take away that the girl makes good music, she does. But as far as talent and success…the scores are the scores. Beyonce WINS! So don’t compare em. Its rather insulting.
My friends that attended to the show said that she didn’t change outfits, cutted a lot of songs and was introspective, shy and shit.
She said something that i couldn’t understand in 2:40, but probably she was pissed off cause someone pulled her hair. C’mon i saw people doing the same to Beyoncé and she keep it classy and cute! Rihanna has a bad attitude and thinks she is the shit.
BTW, she didn’t sell out! There was a plenty os seats. LMAO
Beyoncé can sell out her four shows and sell out an extra show. LOL THAT’S POWER! Rihanna barely couldn’t sell 2.
LMAO
@AmericanBoi and whatever the hell your name is…..yeah… I am a MUSICIAN… I have been an instrumentalist for 10 yrs, classically trained and self taught on multiple wind instruments (brass and woodwind). As they say don’t argue with a Beyoncé stan because they are narcissist fools and feel that every pussy fart on record is amazing… Yet Ill say this… A lot of yall don’t make any sense in this post. You say she will eventually become an established artist. If she was not an established artist she would not have the legions of fans and legions of haters like yourselves. However I digress… you can lead a horse to water but you can make him drink. In this case…… think.
I do agree that sometimes a certain type of music will not agree with some singers’ voices. Like Katy Perry for example. She actually sounds quite decent when singing folk/acoustic songs, but pop songs like Firework only serve to display the worst aspects of her voice when she performs it live.
However, I’m not too sure if this is the case for Rihanna. She could barely sing when she first came on the scene with Carribean-type of music. Though to be fair, that was six years ago and she was a teen. She’s improved vocally since then (though not by a massive margin).
I think she just needs to be tossed in a musical boot camp where they train the shit out of her until she becomes a competent singer and a great performer. I mean, at this point in her career she has no excuse whatsoever to be so terribly inconsistent as a performer and singer. She’s not a newbie anymore, she’s almost six albums into her career and can be considered a showbiz veteran at this point. A long time ago, performances like this wouldn’t be considered acceptable even for a beginner.
I like her music, and will continue to enjoy it, but until she steps it up with the live performances, I’m not even gonna waste my time watching anything other than her videos.
@OnlyMikio….just because you make music doesn’t make you an “artist”. And she does have a legion of fans. Just like Cassie has fans. Everyone has fans. What does that mean? Kim Kardashian has stans. Whats ur point? Does that make her talented? And again…i didn’t come on here talking about how “great” Beyonce’s music was…All i have EVER said was TALENT and ALBUM SALES. Whos music is better is actually questionable. I believe they both make good music…but you don’t have to be talented to make good music these days. If you were the “artist” you say you are i then i believe you would know the magic that takes place in a studio.
Whats funny is…not one of your Rihanna stans actually address what everyone is saying. We say she can’t dance, she can’t sing…Beyonce can dance, Beyonce can sing…and yall scream “Your hating on Rihanna, she is successful.” um HELLO STUPID nobody said she WASN’T successful! SHE IS! We said she has no talent. She has no talent. SHE HAS NO TALENT. And Beyonce DOES. Period.
@americanboi please stop making up stuff because while you’re add please google when loud sold a million. it didn’t just go platinum. it’s sold over 1.4 million in the U.S. as a matter of fact here’s an article from March of this year http://toyazworld.com/2011/03/03/rihannas-loud-now-platinum-in-the-us-actual-sales-not-shipments/
@Americanboi and how are u comparing Beyonce’s first six years with her solo albums. Her first few years were with Destiny’s Child!!!!!!!!!!!!!! not solo. So when she did go solo, she already was known. that’s no fair to compare to someone that was NEW on her first solo album. Rihanna has albums that has sold more than Bey and the same goes the other way around. Do your research. Good Girl Gone Bad alone sold 9 million worldwide, Loud is almost at 6 million, Rated R at 3.5, Music of the Sun 2 million and A Girl Like Me at 3 million. Give the girl her props because 4 is a flop. sorry
@rory theres no reason to argue with that contradictory fool… He says just because you make music it doesnt make you an artist. I guess because you make a painting and people come to see it, that doesnt make you an artist. Just because you dance that still doesnt make you an artist…. Just because you have studied music and perform doesnt make you an artist… Even though being an artist is a person who creates/produces art in many forms as a profession or even just a hobby. BUT Im not an artist. I just sit in my room and make fart noises on my very expensive Euphonium then I go and sit in a concert hall and make fart noises on it, oh and people come and see me and the symphony yet… we aint artists. Oh yeah and Rory Rihanna can’t sing apparently, tho she has a lucrative record deal… not just a modeling career and one single that did well on the charts and still trying to get a second album out after several years. Rihanna can sing, Rihanna has danced… if she wanted to continue to do those things in her career she would… just like she does for when she performs What’s My Name. I wish I had a block button on websites for idiots stans like American Boi who sit around and lie and try to make Beyoncé better because of an album sale number… shes been a solo Artist since 2003 with 4 albums and all these accolades and it does not make her a better Singer and Dancer than another. Shes been on the scene since 1997, A total of 14 years not 6. She better produce a few million sales after 14 years in the bizz… But once American Boi showed he cant count, but can produce statistics from a tumblr post…. then I let it go to God Rory, I think you should too.
OnlyMiko is 100% right about everything posted. Beyonce is a initiation of a musician, no real music coming from her, ever did and probably ever will. She’s just a good singer and thats all, and thats all she’ll ever be. Hell and even compared to JHud, Christina, & Fantasia she’s barely good, she’s mediocre at best at her career.
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