Summary
- Rihanna deals with pre-performance nerves by taking shots before each show, despite being an established performer.
- She has songs that reference alcohol, and her choice of drink varies depending on the occasion.
- During her performance hiatus, Rihanna focused on other projects like her Savage X Fenty line, which has become a billion-dollar brand. She has since stepped down as CEO but remains involved in her beauty and skincare lines.
Rihanna might be one of the most well-known performers in the world, but that doesn't mean that she is exempt from getting nervous before a show. Many people deal with their nerves in different ways. Some people might listen to some relaxing music. Others might read a book or try talking to people who they know might be able to help them calm down and distract their minds away from what they're nervous about.
But Rihanna is different. Despite having to go out on stage to sing to thousands of people, Rihanna took up this one bad habit that isn't always the best thing to do right before she has to go on stage and perform.
Rihanna Does Shots Before Each Of Her Performances
Everyone feels pressure and nerves in one way or another. It would be a little odd if anyone didn't get nervous from time to time, especially in the bigger events in life.
So when someone like Rihanna has to perform in front of thousands, especially if this is multiple nights on tour, or when she played the Super Bowl, where there may have been people who aren't as into her music as others, this can cause the pressure to mount.
In order to deal with this pressure, Rihanna uses a somewhat unconventional method that many might try and stay away from, which is to do shots before each of her performances.
This may come across as surprising because Rihanna is an established performer, having first risen to fame in 2005, with the release of her first hit single "Pon De Replay" and then in 2007, with the release of the single that really established her as an artist "Umbrella."
However, anyone who is familiar with Rihanna's music will know that she has a few songs that have references to drinking alcohol in them. Songs such as "Pour It Up" and "Birthday Cake" are just some of her hit songs that have these references and are club classics for this very reason.
Of course, Rihanna isn't the only artist to do this ritual, as Lil Wayne is another artist who will have a drink or two before performing as a way of calming his nerves.
Whilst she hasn't revealed exactly what alcohol she drinks as a shot, having only previously said that she drinks liquor but not specifying which one, she has spoken about what her alcohol of choice is in other scenarios.
Rihanna has said that when she goes out for food, she likes to have a Jameson and ginger cocktail with her meal. She also said that if she's at a party she will drink a variety of cocktails but if she's out clubbing, this will be when she's drinking liquor.
Why Did Rihanna Stop Performing?
Despite having these pre-show rituals and having an increasingly popular music career, Rihanna had previously gone a bit of a performance hiatus since 2017 for five years, with her return to live performances being in 2022 when she performed at the Super Bowl halftime show.
This return not only sparked her return to the music industry, but she also used the opportunity to announce to the world that she was pregnant with her second child. But aside from having children during this time, Rihanna wanted to focus on other projects away from the music industry.
After all, by the point that she took a hiatus from the music industry, Rihanna had been making music for just over ten years, and with her clearly having some other passions that creating and performing music wouldn't have given her the time to do, that was her time to explore those passions further.
What Did Rihanna Do During Her Hiatus From The Music Industry?
One project that Rihanna decided to put a lot of her focus into during this hiatus was her Savage X Fenty line. Even though it was only launched in 2018, it has gone on to become a billion-dollar brand, which was perhaps helped by Rihanna being able to put her full focus into it.
This has been helped by Rihanna partnering with Amazon Prime to showcase the fashion shows that the line was involved with, as well as getting a number of industry greats, such as Megan Thee Stallion and Demi Moore, to be ambassadors for her brand.
However, since then, Rihanna has stepped down as CEO of her Savage X Fenty lingerie line, and while she is still involved in the company as an executive, she has decided to let someone else take the reins of the company she has worked so hard to build from the ground up.
There is then also her Fenty Skin and Fenty Beauty lines, which are also pulling in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue every year. She has aimed to make these lines as accessible as possible to people of all different skin types so that there is something for everyone and they still remain successful to this day.
