After canceling her performance at the Grammys, reportedly due to bronchitis, Rihanna pushed her "Anti" U.S. tour back a month. Last night, the revised tour officially kicked off in Jacksonville, Florida, and by the looks of it, RiRi fans couldn't have hoped for a bigger spectacle.
The show began with the dramatic chords of "Stay," Rihanna's 2012 smash hit featuring Mikky Ekko. The stage was taken up by a massive cubic structure bearing LED projection mapping capabilities. Rihanna emerged away from the dazzling structure, in a white hooded cape on a platform toward the center of the stadium. "Round and around and around and around we go," the entire crowd belted in sync with the iconic pop star. After "Stay," she quickly went through her hook from Eminem's 2010 single "Love the Way You Lie," before moving on to material off her new album.
As she segued into the Anti track "Woo," a bridge descended from the ceiling, which Rihanna promptly walked upon. She performed the remainder of "Woo" on the bridge, suspended barely above the crowd, and during the next song, "Sex Me Back to Sleep," she appropriately threw her robe into the crowd to reveal something much sexier. The bridge eventually made its way to the main stage, where she was joined by her backing dancers, all decked out in their own matching PUMA getups.
And that was just the first three songs! Watch 10 more minutes of high quality footage below, and take a look at the final setlist, which will presumably remain more or less consistent throughout the entire tour.
"Anti" tour setlist, 03/12/16 Jacksonville, Fla.:
1. “Stay”
2. “Love the Way You Lie”
3. “Woo”
4. “Sex With Me”
5. “Birthday Cake”
6. “Numb”
7. “Pour It Up”
8. “BBHMM”
9. “Pose”
10. “Consideration”
11. “Live Your Life/All Of The Lights/Run This Town”
12. “Umbrella”
13. “Desperado”
14. “Man Down”
15. “Rude Boy”
16. “Work”
17. “Take Care”
18. “How Deep Is You Love/We Found Love”
19. “Where Have You Been?
20. “Needed Me”
21. “Same Ol’ Mistakes”
22. “Diamonds”
23. “FourFiveSeconds”
24. “Love On the Brain”
25. “Kiss It Better”