When footage of Rihanna’s impressive showing at the 2012 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show surfaced, many people hoped that the improvements in her vocals were not simply a fluke. Well, last evening their prayers were answered as the former bleating Bajan continued to exceed expectations on ‘Saturday Night Live’.
Opting to perform only new material from her ‘Unapologetic’ album, Rihanna sang both her current single, ‘Diamonds’, as well as a rendition of a song called ‘Stay’. The studio version of the latter tune features Mikky Ekko and you can hear a preview of it by clicking the pretty orange link here.
Watch Rihanna turn heads in the right direction on ‘SNL’ below:
‘Diamonds’
‘Stay’
Rihanna hit a few flat notes during ‘Stay’, especially when she tried to sing in falsetto (who know she even had a falsetto?) but she was in relatively fine form on ‘SNL’. She is slowly starting to understand the various facets of her voice and the skin-crawling nasality of her previous shows has almost completely vanished.
What Rihanna mainly needs now is breath control so that she will have the ability to belt with power instead of yelling the high notes of her songs. Of course, the only way she will develop that skill is if she stop smoking and starts treating her voice as seriously as she does her hair.
Thanks Mr. World Premiere!