THERE WAS a crush of fans at the after-party at the upscale Limegrove Lifestyle Centre in St James, but few got the chance to rub shoulders with Barbadian superstar Rihanna, hours after she had thrilled thousands with her LOUD Concert at Kensington Oval Friday night.
Some people had paid as much as $120 for the big fete, their passport to be upstairs Limegrove hobnobbing. Among them were patrons who had shelled out $1 000 or $500 for the concert, while $40 got others in for the downstairs feting.
When Rihanna and her entourage finally made it to Limegrove from Kensington shortly before 3 a.m., security could hardly contain the swelling lines trying to enter the venue. Unfortunately, Rihanna was hardly there for 15 minutes when rumours began circulating that she had left.
By this time the party was at fever pitch and few seemed to have been aware of her departure as the music blasted from the DJ systems and dancing and socialising were in full swing.
VIPs and their guests partied in specially reserved suites, none more sought after than the one occupied by the star herself.
Asked about seeing his daughter perform as he sat in the Barbados Tourism Authority’s (BTA) suite, Rihanna’s father Ronald Fenty replied: “I think that the promoters should have brought her in a long time ago.
We brought in Neo, we brought in everybody else, we never thought of bringing in Robin and she had an action-packed show full of people. I really think that there will be something to talk about for the next 20 years.”
Fenty said he did not get the opportunity to speak with his daughter after the show, but was hoping to do so at some point during the morning.
Trailing the singer’s entourage into Limegrove, young Barbadian performer Jaicko told the SUNDAY SUN: “The show was an amazing display of Rihanna’s talent.”
Mia Brathwaite, Rihanna’s 11-year-old cousin, said: “The show was great, the performance was excellent.”
She, her mother and several members of Rihanna’s family were at the Limegrove event.
Words such as “awesome”, “unbelievable” and “tremendous talent” were generally used by visitors to describe Rihanna’s performance, with a visitor from Germany telling the SUNDAY SUN it had been her dream to see the Barbadian perform and she just could not miss the concert.
President of the BTA David Rice said of the concert:
“I thought it was absolutely marvellous. I think it showcased Barbados at its best. I think that we had a full house, but what was more important was that everybody enjoyed themselves.”
