Music review: Rihanna shines bright like a diamond at Manila concert

The stage was for the most part, bare. No overwhelming props onstage, no impressive light displays, or spectacular pyrotechnics.

At slightly past 10 p.m., the Caribbean Queen herself emerged to raucous cheering, sporting a starkly white three piece outfit: a basketball uniform made trendy with its laser-cut details and high-cut white sneakers. Sure, she played with the pieces and revealed herself in a fantastic one piece later on, but it was rather understated for someone who was practically half-naked on the cover of “Unapologetic,” her latest album (the songs from which comprised most of her setlist).

Yet with one word, Rihanna elevated the cheering to explosive decibels—“MANILA!”—and plunged into her set.

Rihanna’s Diamond World Tour made its Manila stop last night at the SM MOA Concert Arena, marking the R&B singer’s second visit ever to the Philippines. Though most things about it were toned down, in hindsight, it was probably to better make Rihanna “Shine Bright Like a Diamond” (which closed off the concert). And shine bright, she did.

RiRi's vocals and larger-than-life persona filled the stage. Though her back-up vocals were minimal and she improvised her dance moves during instrumentals, she managed to transform the concert into one giant, pumped-up club—helped along by the lack of audience banter and song and band introductions.

Her setlist included songs such as “Man Down” and chart-topping hits “Rude Boy” and “What’s My Name.” She delighted fans further by crooning “Umbrella,” her first international hit single.


But she certainly knew how to pace herself, slowing things down and belting out her well-loved ballads “What Now” and “Take A Bow,” among others. She even encouraged her fans to sing along.

Soon after, the audience found themselves dancing to her catchy medley of “We Found Love,” “S&M,” “Only Girl In The World,” and “Don’t Stop The Music.” The mellow “Stay” and the aforementioned “Shine Bright Like A Diamond” rounded out the set for the encore.

Rihanna also gave just a sentence or two about her second visit in the Philippines and one “I love you, too” said to her fans. She did, however, interject “MANILA!” into every song, well-aware of what a crowd-pleaser it was. Suffice to say, though, it was no surprise that the concert ended in a little over an hour.

Never let the lack of spectacle fool you. The finale and the concert itself was Rihanna, raw—and this is what everyone there came for. — VC, GMA News