By Rebecca Thomas
Earlier this year, Beyoncé announced that she had retired her alter ego, Sasha Fierce. A brash, vampy R&B diva with a weakness for vintage Thierry Mugler bodysuits, Sasha seemed to turn up whenever the typically timid Ms. Knowles had a big onstage performance to deliver. On Thursday night (August 12), another pop&B star seemed in need of her own Sasha Fierce. Rihanna's sold-out Madison Square Garden concert garnered ovations but it felt a few beats shy of the epic show worthy of her ever-growing catalog of smashes.
Yes, there were a stream of flashes of the performer the 22-year-old is on the verge of becoming: A playful, capable drum solo that ended with Ri tossing her sticks into the crowd; a masterful medley that included hooks from "Love the Way You Lie" and B.o.B's "Airplanes" and segued into Sheila E.'s '80s hit "The Glamorous Life."
But there was also a sense that her screaming fans weren't connecting as much to her as they were to the hits, frequently joining her on the lyrics without being provoked. And that was mostly because Rihanna held back when it came to banter, save for the moments between numbers when she shouted-out the Empire City. No "Unplugged"-like intros to the songs, no sing-along requests to the fans in the rafters, not even a "How y'all doin' tonight?" test of the temperature.
Having survived what was perhaps the most tumultuous year in her personal and professional life, her full-bodied singing was rich and lent a poignant quality to tracks, particularly from her darker Rated R. But her interpretations lacked theatricality — that certain oomph that could take them to the next level. Too often, she contorted her mouth into a kind of Elvis curl, a sexy sneer that never fully evolved into the range of emotions that Destiny's Child vet Beyoncé can call forth in a single song (or a "Single Ladies," for that matter).
Yet it was clear she could go there. The cherry-topped Barbados-born star swaggered easily onto the stage in eye-popping costumes that borrowed heavily from bondage attire. And her dancing, when she decided to shake it, was loose and low on songs like the dancehall-sampling "Rude Boy" and the propulsive "Don't Stop the Music."
Her fierce alter ego is just waiting to be unleashed. Might I even suggest a fitting tag? Maybe the woman born Robyn Rihanna Fenty could take inspiration from the indie-rock-fueled "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" and reinvent herself as Knives Fenty, after the flick's Knives Chau? (Or maybe not.)
Whatever she decides, she should rest assured that a good alternate personality is only temporary — she stays just long enough to do her job. As B explained this past winter, "I don't need Sasha Fierce anymore, because I've grown and now I'm able to merge the two."
Do you think Rihanna should adopt an alter-ego? Let us know in the comments!