HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Last Girl on Earth was the third concert tour by Barbadian recording artist
Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...
. The tour visited Europe, Asia, North America and Australia to support her fourth studio album, ''
Rated R Rated R refers to movies (and also to TV shows and video games in certain systems) that have been given a "restricted" rating by one of the following film rating systems: * Motion Picture Association of America film rating system * Canadian Home Vid ...
'' (2009). The tour was announced through MTV News in December 2009. In the interview, Rihanna stated, "It's going to be a worldwide tour, so it's going to be a very long tour. We'll definitely be in your city, so look out for that." The tour received generally positive reception.


Background and development

In an interview with ''
Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Para ...
'', Rihanna explained the tour's title. She stated, "I like to think about myself as 'The Last Girl on Earth' because sometimes people make decisions based on the outlook of others and, you know, to me, my life is my life. It's my world, and I'm going to live it the way I want to. That's how I think about everything, that way I'm focused on me, and my work. It's a really narrow space, a focus." The tour, choreographed by Tina Landon, was officially announced on December 9, 2009, while on the set of the music video for "
Hard Hard may refer to: * Hardness, resistance of physical materials to deformation or fracture * Hard water, water with high mineral content Arts and entertainment * ''Hard'' (TV series), a French TV series * Hard (band), a Hungarian hard rock supe ...
". She also announced some dates for the European leg of the tour on her official website. It went on to gross over $9.1 million in North America from 26 shows according to Pollstar and the 2011 Australian leg of the tour added another $10 million to the total. English singer-songwriter
Pixie Lott Victoria Louise Lott (born 12 January 1991), better known by her stage name Pixie Lott, is an English singer and songwriter. Her debut album, '' Turn It Up'', released in September 2009, reached number six on the UK Albums Chart and sold ove ...
was selected as the opening act for the UK shows, along with last minute additions of
Tinchy Stryder Kwasi Esono Danquah III ( ; born 14 September 1986), known by the stage name Tinchy Stryder, is a Ghanaian British, Ghanaian-British rapper, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur and investor. Stryder has released three solo (music), solo studio al ...
and
Tinie Tempah Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu (born 7 November 1988), better known by his stage name Tinie Tempah, is a British rapper. He has been signed to Parlophone Records since 2009, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. He created his own entertainment compa ...
. In an interview with MTV, she stated, "We've been ... coming out with different ideas and cool things that we can do. Things that we've never seen before, daring things – but now is when we really start with the rehearsal and we get into the nitty-gritty and the details of everything" while describing the vibe of the tour as "daring". During rehearsals for the tour, Rihanna also took drum lessons from
Travis Barker Travis Landon Barker (born November 14, 1975) is an American musician who serves as the drummer for the rock band Blink-182. He has also performed as a frequent collaborator with hip hop artists, is a member of the rap rock group Transpla ...
. This practice was later used during her cover of "
The Glamorous Life "The Glamorous Life" is a song written by Prince, recorded by American percussionist Sheila E. and produced by both. The song has lyrics which reflect a cynicism for the decadence and materialism of the song's protagonist, referred to in the thi ...
" originally performed by
Sheila E. Sheila Cecilia Escovedo (born December 12, 1957) better known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American percussionist and singer. She began her career in the mid-1970s as a percussionist and singer for The George Duke Band. After leaving t ...
In April 2010, the North American dates for the tour were announced. Although rapper
Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...
was originally scheduled as an opening act, she withdrew from the tour to continue work on her debut album. In March 2010, Israeli newspapers reported that Rihanna would play a date at Bloomfield Stadium, in
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
on May 30, 2010. The concert was sponsored by Orange Rockcorps. This organization allows those who volunteer in their community for at least four hours to attend the concert at no cost. It was later announced Rihanna will join the volunteers before the concert to do local work in the community. In an interview with AOL, Rihanna revealed that fans should expect a big upgrade in comparison to her previous tours. She commented, " 've never done a tour to this capacity. The production is unbelievable and the costumes, we just took it to a whole new level. Visually and sonically it's going to be a big step up from the last time. We just keep growing, and this time it is a massive production that I cannot wait for." The tour is directed by
Jamie King Jamie King (born 1972) is an American creative director, choreographer, and producer. His work directing concert tours for pop stars has grossed over $2 billion. Early career King started his career in entertainment as a dancer. He appeared on ...
, who has previously worked with
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
,
Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
and
Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, ''Let Go (Avril Lavigne album), Let Go'' (2002), is the ...
.
Tina Landon Tina Landon (born January 6, 1963) is an American choreographer based in Los Angeles who has worked with Prince, Anastacia, Mýa, Pink, Jay-Z, Marc Anthony, Kristi Yamaguchi, Aerosmith, Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, Ricky Martin, Janet Jack ...
, who has worked with
Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...
, will serve as choreographer. The creative director for the tour is
Simon Henwood Simon Henwood (born, 31 March 1965 in Portsmouth, England) is a British artist, author, film director, and music video director. Henwood first gained attention as a children's writer and later on for his paintings inspired by adolescence, as wel ...
who was also the creative director of her 2009
album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
. Henwood explained: " talked extensively for months before the album's release, and looked at every aspect of the campaign – from styling to stage ideas and visuals ..There is a great story that will unfold through the campaign, and finally reveal on the tour.. partly inspired by the film – ''
The Omega Man ''The Omega Man'' (stylized as ''The Ωmega Man'') is a 1971 American post-apocalyptic action film directed by Boris Sagal and starring Charlton Heston as a survivor of a pandemic. It was written by John William Corrington and Joyce Corrington, b ...
'' and of course ideas from the songs – as well as Rihanna's personal visions." Extreme's guitarist,
Nuno Bettencourt Nuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt (born September 20, 1966) is a Portuguese-American guitarist, singer-songwriter, record producer, and businessman. He became known as the lead guitarist of the Boston rock band Extreme. He has also recorded ...
, has signed on to lead the band. Bettencourt explained that the rehearsals have been "better than what I expected because she also has the most incredible band, and I get the privilege to add to their wall of sound. It's gonna be fun."


Critical reception

''
The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'' said, "On the opening night of the UK leg of her world tour, US R&B superstar Rihanna was taking no prisoners. She kicked off with the homicidal pop-rock ballad Russian Roulette to screen imagery of burning naked mannequins and had shed most of her clothes by her second song, which saw her straddling the gun barrel of a life-size pink tank while a semi-naked, military dance troupe twirled their rifles. Sex, violence and pyrotechnics (including big-screen mushroom clouds to accompany the incendiary Fire Bomb) were the themes of the evening. ..Rihanna has a set full of hits and each is delivered with maximum bang for the audience's bucks, with revealing costumes, salacious dance routines, eye-catching props and sci-fi screens. ..Her young, predominantly female fans genuinely adore Rihanna, and were full-throated whenever given the chance to join in. Sex and violence might make for effective 21st-century blockbuster entertainment but the price has been a loss of innocence, charm and individuality."
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
said, "The 22-year-old star wore a floor-length black dress with red flashing lights on it to kick off the show at
The O2 Arena The O2 Arena, commonly known as the O2 (stylised as The O2 arena), is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of the O2 entertainment complex on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the s ...
, which began with last year's single, Russian Roulette. ..Speaking afterwards most of the audience appeared impressed with the show. ..The gig ended with the star's biggest hit to date, Umbrella, which managed to hold the number one spot for 10 weeks in 2007. The ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...
'' said, "Kicking off the Last Girl On Earth tour, where the running theme is Rihanna as the last human alive, she launches into a fiery Russian Roulette. ..There was no miming. She's stepped up her game and ready to battle it out with the best of the new female acts." Mikael Wood from ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' reviewed the concert in Los Angeles and said that Rihanna held the "audience's attention throughout a nearly two-hour show full of costume changes, video bits and complicated set pieces ... Jason Clevett of ''
GayCalgary The following is a list of periodicals (printed magazines, journals and newspapers) aimed at the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) demographic by country. Australia The most comprehensive holdings of LGBT periodicals is found at t ...
'' considered the show's theme reminiscent of
Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...
's
The Velvet Rope Tour The Velvet Rope Tour was the third concert tour by American recording artist Janet Jackson. Launched in support of her sixth studio album ''The Velvet Rope'' (1997), the tour visited Europe, North America, Japan, New Zealand, Africa, and Austral ...
, particularly comparing Jackson's live renditions of "
Rope Burn A friction burn is a form of abrasion caused by the friction of skin rubbing against a surface. A friction burn may also be referred to as skinning, chafing, or a term named for the surface causing the burn such as rope burn, carpet burn or ...
", "in which she tied an audience member to a bed and proceeded to seduce them", to Rihanna's performance of "Skin." Clay Clane of
BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...
said of the show: "There may have been doubts, but Rihanna proved she has the star power to command a stage for nearly two hours. ..Rihanna can sing and there were no signs of lip-synching. Rih never said she was Whitney Houston, and while she doesn't have a massive vocal range, she uses her voice well, sounding just like her records and belting out some notes that I didn't know were in her.Clane, Clay (August 13, 2010)
"Concert Review: Rihanna's Last Girl on Earth Tour"
BET.com.
The ''New York Post'' said, "Rihanna is a dream girl", who "kept the set lively with fireworks, an arsenal of gun props and a program that wove together the bubbly dance pop and the harder rock-flavored material featured on her recent ''Rated R'' record." From the show opener, "Russian Roulette", to the last encore song – her megahit "Umbrella" – Rihanna was electric for a performance that was amped-up and aggressive.Aquilante, Dan (August 14, 2010)
"Rihanna's just dreamy!"
''New York Post''.


Show incidents

On April 19, 2010, Rihanna made newspaper headlines when she was taken to hospital after her performance in
Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
. Rihanna's spokesperson says that she "had an injured rib and went to have it looked at to be sure it was nothing serious, and it wasn’t". Alenka Ambroz, head of the clinic's corporate communications said: "Rihanna arrived at the accident and emergency unit. We're not going to give any details." Rihanna, however, was still able to perform at the next show in
Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
, France, on April 20.


Broadcasts and recordings

One of the two concerts at the
Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre The SEC Centre (originally known as the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre until 2017) is Scotland's largest exhibition centre, located ...
in Glasgow, Scotland, was recorded and partially broadcast by several radio stations across Europe on May 26, 2010. The concert in Manchester was recorded and later broadcast by a German radio station. Additionally, the concert on June 5 at the
Rock in Rio ''Rock in Rio'' is a recurring music festival originating in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It later branched into other locations such as Lisbon, Madrid and Las Vegas. Nine incarnations of the festival have been held in Rio de Janeiro, in 1985, 1991, ...
Festival in
Madrid, Spain Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, was broadcast by Spanish television network TVE. No official DVD for the tour has been released or announced.


Opening acts

* DJ Daddy K (Antwerp) *
Vitaa Charlotte Bendaoud (; born 14 March 1983), known by her stage name Vitaa (), is a French singer-songwriter. Biography Vitaa was discovered by DJ Kost, who paired her with Dadoo in a duet . They sang "Pas à pas" ('Step by Step'). It was at this e ...
(France) *
Pixie Lott Victoria Louise Lott (born 12 January 1991), better known by her stage name Pixie Lott, is an English singer and songwriter. Her debut album, '' Turn It Up'', released in September 2009, reached number six on the UK Albums Chart and sold ove ...
(United Kingdom) (select dates) *
Tinchy Stryder Kwasi Esono Danquah III ( ; born 14 September 1986), known by the stage name Tinchy Stryder, is a Ghanaian British, Ghanaian-British rapper, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur and investor. Stryder has released three solo (music), solo studio al ...
(London) *
Tinie Tempah Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu (born 7 November 1988), better known by his stage name Tinie Tempah, is a British rapper. He has been signed to Parlophone Records since 2009, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. He created his own entertainment compa ...
(United Kingdom) (select dates) * Houston Project (Israel) * Vegas (Greece) *
Kesha Kesha Rose Sebert (; born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. In 2005, at age 18, Kesha was signed to Kemosabe Records. Her first major success came in early 2009 after she was featured on America ...
(North America) *
Travie McCoy Travis Lazarus "Travie" McCoy (born August 5, 1981) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is the co-founder and former lead vocalist of the rap rock band Gym Class Heroes, in addition to having a solo career. McCoy became involved w ...
(North America) (select dates) * DJ Brian Dawe (North America) (select dates) * DJ Ross Rosco (Syracuse) * J Brazil (Syracuse) *
Calvin Harris Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter who has released six studio albums. His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'', was released in June ...
(Australia) *
Far East Movement Far East Movement (abbreviated FM) is an American Hip hop music, hip hop and electronic music group based in Los Angeles. The group formed in 2003 and as of August 2018 consists of Kev Nish (Kevin Nishimura), Prohgress (James Roh), DJ Virman (Vi ...
(Australia) *
Alexis Jordan Alexis Jordan (born April 7, 1992) is an American singer and actress from Columbia, South Carolina. Jordan rose to fame as a contestant on the first season of ''America's Got Talent'' in 2006 at the age of 14. After being eliminated from the sho ...
(Australia) (select dates)


Set lists


Tour dates


Cancellations shows


Box office score data


Notes


Personnel

Credits adapted from the official tour book: Management Rebel One, LLC: * Marc Jordan * Christa Shaub * Ian McEvily * Mecia Hollar * Zsuzsa Cook * Ali DiEmidio * Gina Pappera-Ewing Creative Direction * Jamie King (Show Direction/Staging) * Rihanna (Show Direction/Staging/Creative Director) * Carla Kama (Assistant to Show Direction) * Simon Henwood (Creative Director) * Sam Hope (Producer to Creative Director) * Tee Lapan, Fannie Schiavoni (Assistant to Creative Director) *
Tina Landon Tina Landon (born January 6, 1963) is an American choreographer based in Los Angeles who has worked with Prince, Anastacia, Mýa, Pink, Jay-Z, Marc Anthony, Kristi Yamaguchi, Aerosmith, Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, Ricky Martin, Janet Jack ...
(Choreographer) * Jason Myhre (Assistant to Choreographer) * Tanisha Scott (Choreographer) * DonDraico Johnson, Jose Ramos (Assistant to Choreographer) * Dreya Weber (Aerial Choreographer) * Alfred Kendrick (Capoeira Consultant) * Gemma Nguyen (Martial Art Consultant) Dancers * Chase Benz (Dance Captain) * Reina Hidalgo (Aerial Captain) * Whyley Yoschimura (Swing Dancer) * Tracy Shibata * Bryan Tanaka * Khasan Brailsford * Oren Michaeli Stylists and Assistant * Mariel Haenn (Stylist) * Robert Zangardi (Stylist) * Ursula Stephen (Hair) * Karin Darnell and Maylah Morales (Makeup) * Jennifer Rosales (Rihanna's Personal Assistant) The Band * Tony Bruno (Music Director) * Eric Smith (Band Leader/Bass) *
Nuno Bettencourt Nuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt (born September 20, 1966) is a Portuguese-American guitarist, singer-songwriter, record producer, and businessman. He became known as the lead guitarist of the Boston rock band Extreme. He has also recorded ...
(Lead Guitar) * Adam Ross (Guitar) * Chris Johnson (Drums) * Kevin Hastings (Lead Keyboards) * Hannah Vasanth (Keyboards) Backgroup Vocals * Ashleigh Haney * Kim Ince Production Crew * Chris Lamb (Production tour Director) * Vicki Huxel (Production Assistant) * TJ Thompson (Stage Manager) * Thomas Reitz (Tour Manager) * Jean Paul Firmin (Road Manager) * Mark Aurelio (Accountant) * Ted Schroeder (Head Carpenter & Hydraulics) * Patrick Harbin (Carpenter/Hydraulics) * Joe Bodner, Jason De Leu, Bobby Marshall, Aaron Broderick (Carpenter) * Jorge Guadalupe (Show Call Manager/Carpenter) * Bill Rengstl (Head Rigger) * Chris Achzet (Drum Tech) * Tommy Simpson, David Barrera (Guitar Tech) * Dan Roe (Keyboard Tech) * Ian Tucker (Lighting Crew Chief) * Jesse Blevins (Lighting Director) * Chris Sabelleck, Todd Erickson, Kris Lundberg, Todd Erickson (Lighting Tech) Catering * Fancky Boullet * Charles Amos * Kelvyn Mackenzie * Marcus Jones * Scott Findlay * Renette Cronje


References

{{Rihanna Rihanna concert tours 2010 concert tours 2011 concert tours