- Rihanna performed at the private pre-wedding bash of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani‘s son.
- It was her first full live show in almost eight years, not counting the 2023 Super Bowl.
- There’s been rampant speculation on how much she was paid, with estimates north of $5 million.
It’s the concert we all wished we were at but sadly had to watch through grainy phone camera footage: Rihanna’s one-night-only comeback.
The 36-year-old singer performed her first full live show in almost eight years — not counting her 15-minute slot at the 2023 Super Bowl Halftime show and 2023 Academy Award performance — at the pre-wedding party of Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Indian multibillionaire Mukesh Ambani, and his soon-to-be wife, Radhika Merchant.
For the lucky 1,200-plus guests — including Mark Zuckerberg, Ivanka Trump, and Bollywood stars — the singer took to the stage in Jamnagar, India, to deliver a concert-length 19-song set, including hits such as her career-launching “Umbrella” and No.1 hits “Diamonds” and “Work,” according to NME.
RIHANNAAAA pic.twitter.com/bdxrSd32D9
— Rihanna Online (@RihannaOnlineBR) March 2, 2024
The show also included live renditions of the songs “We Found Love,” “Stay,” “Rude Boy,” and “All Of The Lights,” and ended with the whole Ambani family joining Rihanna onstage.
“I’m here tonight in honor of Anant and Radhika. Thank you for having me here. God bless your union. I wish you all the best. Congratulations,” she said to the couple, according to The National.
Rihanna received a payday somewhere between $5 and $9 million, according to estimates
There’s been rampant speculation on how much Rihanna was paid for her performance. According to anonymous sources cited by India Today, her performance fee is somewhere between $8 and $9 million.
The Daily Mail meanwhile estimated a starting price of $6 million for the gig.
Both won’t be entirely far-fetched guesses if you consider that the pre-wedding celebration budget maybe $120 million, the Daily Mail claimed, citing unnamed sources.
There’s no question that the three-day bash — which is still ongoing until Monday — is wildly extravagant, even by the standards of Indian weddings.
The elder Ambani, the chair of the Fortune 500 company Reliance Industries, has an estimated net worth of $113 billion, and it’s clear from the drone show to the decor and the flowers and festivities still to come (including the wedding itself which is scheduled for July) that no expense has been spared.
The Ambani family reportedly spent over $100 million on the pre-wedding ceremony of daughter Isha Ambani and her now-husband, Anand Piramal, according to The Guardian.
Booking megastars is also something the family has done before. At Anant’s sister’s wedding in 2018, Beyoncé performed.
A year later, in 2019, Coldplay’s front man, Chris Martin, and The Chainsmokers entertained guests attending Akash Ambani — the soon-to-be-wed Ambani’s older brother — and Shloka Mehta’s pre-wedding bash in Switzerland. The couple also had Adam Levine serenade them at their post-wedding bash.
Read the original article on Business Insider
