Rihanna Shows it All During ‘American Idol’ Finale

Rihanna has always been one to hit the stage in risqué outfits—and she didn’t disappoint when she performed for the American Idol finale. The singer from Barbados hit the stage in a revealing ensemble: a studded bra and tiny hot pants. Rihanna wore a fringe skirt with double splits on top of the hot pants, which failed to keep the singer covered up.

Instead of rocking her edgy short ‘do, Rihanna sported some long dreads for her performance of her latest single, “Where Have You Been.” As usual, the 24-year-old’s toned body looked amazing in the provocative outfit as she pranced around the stage, showing off her sexy dance skills.

Rihanna and her background dancers all appeared to be dressed like primitive warriors in their all-black attire. The stage filled with bright lasers and smoke as the energetic performance got the crowd moving. The singer was also still rocking her usual black cat nails that were recently featured as Kelly Osborne’s Obsession on E!’s Fashion Police.

The Battleship actress revealed the dreadlock hairstyle earlier this week on Twitter. She lay on her bed and snapped a picture of herself with the new ‘do, deciding not to wear any make-up for the quick candid. As a caption for the image she posed, “Wake bake shake dem dreads.”

The singer’s success, especially with her hit “Talk that Talk” recently going platinum in the U.S, has given her quite a hectic schedule that’s taking its toll on her. Rihanna told reporters, “One morning last November I woke up and started crying so hard. If I cry, it’s because I’m very angry and I can’t do anything about it because I’ve run into a dead end. That’s when the tears would come down.”

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top