tuberculosis lemur: Rihanna Finds 'Love' In London For Grammys Special

Friday, December 2, 2011

Rihanna Finds 'Love' In London For Grammys Special

RiRi performs 'We Found Love' from O2 arena during nominations special, where she nabs an Album of the Year nod.
By James Montgomery

Rihanna performs on the Grammy nominee show
Photo: CBS

Rihanna is the current queen of the Hot 100 with "We Found Love," so it sort of made sense that on Wednesday night's (November 30) "Grammy Nominations Concert Live!!," her performance was beamed in from an appropriately queen-sized venue: London's O2 arena.

And, as you'd probably expect, she did "Love," and did it with style. She welcomed the Grammy audience to the party, then, as the song's electro-calypso beat bounded in, cut with the charm and got loose. Striding and stomping across the stage in a striped top and short shorts, she thrust her fist in the air, cocked her hips and bounced with joy. And when Calvin Johnson's tweaking buildup to the chorus hit, she ordered the crowd to "Make some f---ing noise!"

And they did. Things quickly erupted into a full-fledged freak-out, with the audience leaping for the rafters and Rihanna — and her denim-clad dancers — doing much the same. Then she used a little bit of her royal authority, ordering her subjects to "Jump! Jump!" as the track roared into its final third (you can probably guess how they responded to her decree).

For the finale, she stood on a riser, took in the cheers from the crowd, and watched as confetti fell from the roof. And as all that happened around her, she slowly descended and disappeared beneath the stage. She may have gotten shut out of most of the big categories during the nominations portion of the telecast — though, you know, that Album of the Year nod must've been sweet — but she certainly did all right in the concert part of it. In London, on the big stage, it was almost a coronation of sorts. She'll just have to make do with the crown for right now.

What did you think of Rihanna's O2 performance? Let us know in the comments!

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