Loud Tour was the fourth overall and third world concert tour by Rihanna. The tour was launched in support of Rihanna’s fifth studio album Loud (2010). Critics acclaimed the show for its liveliness and higher caliber of quality when compared to Rihanna’s previous tours. The Loud Tour was a large commercial success, experiencing demand for an extension of shows in the United Kingdom due to popularity. In London, Rihanna played a record breaking 10 dates at The O2 Arena. The tour ultimately grossed an estimated value of US$90 million from 98 reported shows and a total audience of 1,200,800. The Loud Tour became the 7th highest grossing tour of 2011.
SYNOPSIS
The show began with a short video introduction featuring Rihanna sitting on a throne wearing a black coat and a short red wig. The middle screen splits revealing Rihanna inside a purple ball wearing an electric blue dress. She begins singing “Only Girl (In the World)” surrounded by her dancers all wearing bright neon costumes. The next song, “Disturbia”, follows with Rihanna taking off the blue dress and dancing around in a colorful daisy duke, leading into “Shut Up and Drive” where a car covered in graffiti is present in the middle of the stage. The first segment ends with “Man Down” where Rihanna gets inside the car and descends beneath the stage. The first video interlude titled “Le Sex Shoppe” features Rihanna dressed in white dress and a suit smoking a cigar while the words “sex” and “temptation” are whispered throughout the video. The second segment begins with a cover of Prince’s “Darling Nikki” where Rihanna, dressed in a suit and holding a cane, rubs against her female dancers. The song moves into “S&M” where her female dancers remove her suit to reveal a tight black leotard and chain her to the stage. After a pillow fight with her male dancers, Rihanna then performs “Let Me”, followed by “Skin” where Rihanna brings a fan onstage and gives him/her a lap dance as she descends back beneath the stage for a costume change. A brief guitar solo follows performed by Nuno Bettencourt. Rihanna returns to the stage atop a pink tank shooting puffs of smoke, with her and her dancers dressed in military gear, to perform “Raining Men”. After climbing out the tank, Rihanna then performs “Hard” dancing around the stage while her dancers wield pink rifles. A mashup of “Breakin’ Dishes” and Sheila E.’s “The Glamorous Life” is performed next, followed by another mashup of “Run This Town” and “Live Your Life” with Rihanna leaving the stage for another costume change.
The second video interlude features Rihanna wearing a red dress while waving sheets of chiffon in the air and ends with the spoken line: “I hate that I love you.” Rihanna returns to the stage wearing a bright yellow dress in brown thigh high boots to perform “Unfaithful” on a platform behind purple neon bars. The song then moves into a solo version of “Hate That I Love You” with Rihanna sitting in a chair next to the guitarist. The segment ends with “California King Bed” with smoke covering the stage floor, followed by another guitar solo by Bettencourt. The third and final interlude features a remix of “Pon de Replay” with images from Rihanna’s music videos. “What’s My Name” opens the final section with Rihanna wearing a colorful sequined bra and jean shorts, dancing with her dancers. The next song, “Rude Boy”, features Rihanna surrounded by her male dancers with various television screens in the background. Rihanna then puts on a pair of sunglasses and chants with the audience for “Cheers (Drink to That)”, followed by “Don’t Stop the Music” with vigorous choreography. Rihanna then performs “Take a Bow” and says goodbye to the audience. The encore begins with “Love the Way You Lie (Part II)” which Rihanna performs on top of a piano, before moving into the final song, “Umbrella”, with Rihanna in a gold outfit, dancing with her dancers, with confetti falling from the ceiling and golden rain drops falling in the backdrops. A performance of “We Found Love” was added to the setlist and closed the show starting on November 14.
COMMERCIAL RECEPTION:
The tour grossed $90 million overall, making it the 7th highest grossing tour of 2011. Average ticket price of the ticket was $74.95, and the average tickets sold were 15,395. The total tickets sold were 1,200,800 and the average gross was $1,153,846 per show.
SETLIST:
“Only Girl (In the World)”
“Disturbia”
“Shut Up and Drive”
“Man Down”
“Darling Nikki”
“S&M”
“Let Me”
“Skin”
“Raining Men”(Dance Introduction)
“Hard”
“Breakin’ Dishes” / “The Glamorous Life”
“Run This Town” / “Live Your Life”
“Unfaithful”
“Hate That I Love You”
“California King Bed”
“What’s My Name?”
“Rude Boy”
“Cheers (Drink to That)” (Selected dates)
“Don’t Stop the Music”
“Take a Bow”
“Love the Way You Lie (Part II)”
“Umbrella”
“We Found Love” (Selected dates)
DVD:
Loud Tour Live at the O2 was the second live long-form video Rihanna. It was first released on December 13, 2012 through Def Jam Recordings. The DVD and Blu-ray Disc release feature her concert at The O2 Arena in London as part of the Loud Tour (2011), in support of her fifth studio album Loud (2010). Directed by Nick Wickham and produced by Ciarra Pardo and Emer Patten, it was filmed during the last three shows in London.
Loud Tour Live at the O2 debuted within the top ten on over ten national music video charts. It was most successful in France and Belgium (Wallonia) where the release peaked at number two. On the US Billboard Music Video Sales chart, the album peaked at number 11.