If you’re all following me on Twitter and Instagram, you’ll know that I’m currently on the 777 tour with Rihanna. This is probably the most exciting trips think I will ever experience. I’ve been updating you all periodically through social media (thank you for being so patient by the way, WiFi is hard to come by when you’re so frequently travelling) and I will be doing my best to give you a day by day experience of each leg of this incredible machine of a tour on the blog.
Day one for me started with leaving London and flying to LA to meet up with the Universal and Roc Nation team and jump on board the boeing 777 jet. The flight was delayed so in the end took about 13 hours and by the time we arrived at The Standard Hotel in West Hollywood there was only enough time for a bite to eat and then it was time for bed.
The next day I got up bright and early and met up with newly made friend and tour colleague Mark Ellen (who is covering the tour for Elle) and went for a little walk down Sunset, I was so excited to see a bit of LA before having to leave and Mark gave me a brief history of The House of Blues before we grabbed a coffee at Mel’s Drive In which was so authentic I fell in love!
LA at sunrise
The infamous House of Blues
Mels Drive In
After meeting up with the rest of the team which consists of Arieta and Lauren from River Island and Natalie Hartley from In Style as well as Mark from Elle, we grabbed some breakfast and hopped in a cab making our way to the private airport at LAX to embark on this inevitably crazy journey.
The 777 Tour schedule
Wearing Brat & Suzie tee, Warehouse Jacket, Zara skirt and Ash shoes. 
Five Five Fabulous x River Island – Rihanna 77 Tour Day 1 from FiveFiveFabulous.com on Vimeo.
When we boarded the flight everyone was in good spirits, we were met with 777 tour goody bags on our seats and mingled with everyone else on board before the lady herself jumped aboard and personally greeted everyone. Rihanna looks incredible in person, and she was so sweet and enthusiastic, wearing all back and a back pack she poured Ace of Spades champagne for everyone and made announcements over the tannoy welcoming us all to the tour of a lifetime! I have fallen in love with her Bajan accent and she makes cussing sounds so very cool!
On the fight to Mexico the plane was like one big party, everyone was up drinking, eating, having fun and getting to know each other. It was by far the most enjoyable plane ride ever and made for a great distraction to my fear of flying.
Upon landing at Mexico City we headed (and endured ridiculous traffic) to the Plaza Condesa, where DJ Congo Rock (who is supporting Rihanna throughout the tour) was playing his set getting the whole place moving. I didn’t know what to expect when Rihanna came on stage as I’ve never seen her live but she was amazing. So energetic, ridiculously cool and an effortless performer. She wore boxer shorts, a bralet and oversized jersey. After apologising for being a little late, she kicked off the set with ‘Cockiness’ (instantly making me want to learn some dancehall moves after watching her on stage) and gradually made her way to the closing song ‘We Found Love’. Her fans went crazy and I’ve never seen a crowd so transfixed by someone before.
After Mexico City was done we were back in transit and made our way to the airport to jump back on board the jet and head on an overnight trip to Toronto, Canada. At this point I have had 5 hours sleep in about 62 hours and had travelled to three different cities. I’ll be filling you in on everything from Toronto tomorrow (or whenever I next get WiFi) as right now I’m currently in the hotel lobby waiting for the van to take us to her gig.
Make sure you stay up to date on Twitter and Instagram and don’t forget to enter the River Island competition to win tickets to the London leg of her tour!
[All images taken by Reem on a Fujifilm X10 and belong to Five Five Fabulous.]
