Diamonds World Tour

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The tour's atmosphere was built around five acts and an encore, with Rihanna's outfits designed by Riccardo Tisci of Givenchy, Raf Simons of Christian Dior, Alber Elbaz, and others, with footwear by Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik. The show opened with Rihanna singing 'Mother Mary' while kneeling in front of a female monument in a 'prayer-like' pose, then moved through sexually charged performances like 'Birthday Cake' and Caribbean-inspired sets featuring 'You da One' and 'Man Down' (during which a mug shot of Rihanna with her birth name 'Robyn Rihanna Fenty' appeared on screen). The third set opened with 'Jump' featuring dubstep bass line and pyrotechnics, while the fourth set was a ballad-heavy segment including 'Love the Way You Lie (Part II)'. The fifth act featured a money-themed outfit for 'We Found Love', and the encore closed with 'Stay' and 'Diamonds'.

In Their Own Story

The tour kicked off on March 8, 2013 in Buffalo, New York, after a series of behind-the-scenes videos posted on Rihanna's YouTube channel showed preparations: dancer auditions, costume fittings, stage construction (which took a team of over 58 people plus over 100 local crew per show), and rehearsals for the dance routine of 'Pour It Up'. The tour officially ended on November 15, 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Commercially, the tour grossed $137,982,530 (USD) from 87 shows according to Billboard magazine and was the fifth highest grossing worldwide tour of 2013. Rihanna broke records: she became the youngest artist to ever headline a sold-out show at France's National Stadium at age 25, the youngest to have sold-out shows at Millennium Stadium (June 10, 2013) and Twickenham Stadium (June 15 & 16, 2013), and in South Africa she became the first female and youngest artist to sell out FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.

Reader's Guide

The set list included songs from a selection of Rihanna's studio albums, divided into five acts and an encore. Act 1 opened with 'Mother Mary' and 'Phresh Out the Runway', followed by 'Birthday Cake', 'Talk That Talk', 'Pour It Up', 'Cockiness (Love It)', and 'Numb'. Act 2 was Caribbean-inspired, beginning with a guitar solo by Nuno Bettencourt, then 'You da One', 'No Love Allowed', 'Man Down', 'Rude Boy', and 'What's My Name?'. Act 3 featured multi-colored leather pants and included 'Jump', 'Umbrella', 'All of the Lights', 'Rockstar 101', and 'What Now'. Act 4 was a ballad set with a long red dress: 'Loveeeeeee Song', 'Love the Way You Lie (Part II)', 'Take a Bow', 'Cold Case Love', and 'Hate That I Love You'. Act 5 featured a money outfit for 'We Found Love', 'S&M', 'Only Girl (In the World)', 'Don't Stop the Music', and 'Where Have You Been'. The encore was 'Stay' and 'Diamonds'. Support acts included 2 Chainz, ASAP Rocky, David Guetta, and Haim among others. The tour was met with praise from critics who noted artistic growth.

Did You Know?

• Rihanna headlined a sold-out show at France's National Stadium during the tour, though claims about her being the youngest artist to do so at age 25 are unverified.
• She performed sold-out shows at Millennium Stadium (June 10, 2013) and Twickenham Stadium (June 15 & 16, 2013), though records of her being the youngest artist to achieve this are not widely established.
• In South Africa, Rihanna sold out FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, but claims of her being the first female and youngest artist to do so are factually dubious.
• The tour grossed $137,982,530 (USD) from 87 shows according to Billboard magazine.
• The stage took a team crew of over 58 people to construct and over 100 local people crew to turn it down on every show.