Yesterday was beyond anything I’ve ever experienced and dreamed of. I got front row at Telenor Arena in Oslo and the stage was so close I could touch it. This has not been the case at the stadiums so I’m really thankful for the whole set-up in Norway.

I’m gonna write a proper review later but right now I need to chill. The lack of sleep is real. Here’s a picture bonanza though:

/Alex

Hi everybody! I’ve arrived in Oslo and I couldn’t be more excited for tomorrow. Rihanna’s dancers are already in town but I’m guessing she’ll stay in London, where she’s been seen out with Drake the past couple of days, until it’s time to perform.

Meanwhile, I’m having an amazing time. It’s my first time in Oslo so we’ve been walking all day today, taking in the sights. I even managed to buy (correction: be given *THANK YOU*) a pair of Trainers.

All four colors are on sale at YME. Their staff is super nice and got very involved in the purchase. We talked about Rih and apparently they’ve been given concert tickets by PUMA (lucky bastards). If you didn’t get that lucky, but want to attend, there’s still tickets on sale.

/Alex

It just hit me. I’m witnessing Rihanna live on Saturday. That’s THIS WEEK. Like HOW did time move so slowly and then just JUMPED on me like this? Today was my last day at work and when I left my co-workers all wished me a happy trip and that’s when it hit me. IT’S TIME.

I have no clue what to wear. I don’t think I’ll be front row because I’m not queuing, but I have Golden Circle Early Entry so I’ll definitely be reallllyyy close. Close enough for her to see me? How the ph do I stand out? Suggestions on this matter are most welcomed (please).

Ebba is already in Manchester together with Hanna and Tara.

She doesn’t have a computer but told me to forward this to the world:

”I cannot describe how excited we are for the show. TOMORROW. That’s crazy. For now we’re just enjoying the city and chilling at our hotel. There’s a lot of navies in Manchester now. It’s been a long time since I met some navies. And it’s gonna be the first time I’m meeting a lot of my Twitter and Instagram friends so I’m EXCITED.” /Ebba

With Sledgehammer‘s release yesterday and an overall high of emotions over AWT creeping up on us, the past week have been all about preparing gifts. We’ll share the projects we’ve been working on for Rih once they’re all done, promise.

And seeing how the time has come for our shows, we’re gonna try and be better with the updates. Here’s our schedule for the week, make sure to check in for reports on the shows!

June 29th – Manchester (Ebba)
July 2nd – Oslo (Alex)
July 4th – Stockholm (Ebba & Alex)
July 7th – Copenhagen (Ebba & Alex)

Oh, and by the way: if you’re reading this and are attending the Oslo show, let me know! I wanna get in contact with other fans and hopefully find some people to experience it all with. I’ll be in Oslo with family but they have seated tickets and I’m on the floor so… friends needed!

/Alex

The 9th Berlin Biennale for contemporary art, open to the public from June 4 until September 18, has a giant RiRi on display. The piece entitled Ewaipanoma (Rihanna) was made by Colombian artist Juan Sebastián Peláez and can be seen at the Kunst-Werke Institute for Contemporary Art.

The Ewaipanoma are old mythical creatures described as having a mouth in their chest and eyes in their shoulders. As grand colonizer Walter Raleigh went to strip Guyana (where Rihanna’s maternal family is from) of its resources and hand them over to the British crown in 1595, he came across the rumor/tale of these ”headless men”. Quoting local children and the occasional anonymous Spanish bastard, he went on to pen down the myth of the Ewaipanoma in a book called The discovery of Guiana (as if the land wasn’t discovered long before his white ass settled down on it…).

Juan Sebastián Peláez work is described to the visitors as ”featuring upright, oversize photo-cutouts of headless human bodies—captured in athletic positions, sporting bikini swimwear, or posing in the limelight in glitzy, bling gowns—with faces surreally integrated into their chests. Both the bodies and faces are sourced from pop queens and soccer stars from the Caribbean or Latin America. A giant Rihanna welcomes visitors here in the courtyard. While hinting at the sometimes monstrous body modifications typical of celebrity culture, these works also reference longstanding projections of otherness. For these works Peláez was inspired by drawings from sixteenth-century explorers of the New World (like Sir Walter Raleigh), who on returning home described having encountered so-called “Blemmyae,” headless natives with faces on their upper, naked bodies.”

I see it as a comment on pop stars’ mythical status in today’s society and how stories of these larger than life creatures are just as man made (and manipulated) as the old myths. Spoken by one person, passed on to the other, spread at the hands of whomever sees a gain from spreading them. What Raleigh did by writing a book in the 16th century, fans/management/the person themselves do today by posting on social media. Yes? No?

And what happens when hundreds of people post pictures of themselves in front of a giant Rihanna that’s been manipulated to look like an Ewaipanoma, followed by hundreds of fans reposting those images as well? Is it possible for the piece itself to reach mythical status? Wandering millions of miles from the original sighting on it’s way through the thick jungles of cyber space.

And here I am forwarding, interpreting and manipulating the message through a blog post. Because I too want to be part of the myth building simply because I feel part of Rihanna (both myth and person). In that way, it’s not just her or the Ewaipanomas that evolve with each person whispering their name. So does the whisperers as we engage with the world through and with them.

Maybe RiRi will stop by herself during her AWT show in Berlin on August 16? I can definitely see it happen.

/Alex

Yes! The sun has made it to our Northern part of the world and my back is finally the shade of a tomato again. The struggle’s been real but we’ve made it through winter peeps. Celebration is called for. Personally, I do this by resting my eyes on Rihanna’s entrance to this season.

Such a stylish modern boho in her maxi dresses, prints, thigh highs and expensive bras. *prayer hands discreetly wiping off the drool*

And there’s more summer feels to come as she’s gone back to Barbados for some well deserved vaca before the European leg of her world tour starts (GAH THE FIRST STOP IS ONLY 17 DAYS AWAY!!!!!!!).

Almost afraid to post these next pics because panties will get moist and fangirls faint but let’s not let that stop us.

Hahahahhaaa don’t even know how to react to her anymore?!?! I’ve given up. There’s no proper way of living this life with Rihanna on the same planet.

Even if this is a Rihanna blog, can we stop and paus for Melissa $$ Forde for a sec too? Because….

Also very happy to be getting some Leandra coverage again. No one provides us with better videos than her.

RIHunited in BIM ?????? pic.twitter.com/JG50tUjbxG

— BUY ANTI (@SadeS2RiRi) June 1, 2016

/Alex