Tickets go on sale for Rihanna's New Year’s Eve show

National Staff

• Last Updated: November 23. 2009 12:16AM UAE / November 22. 2009 8:16PM GMT

ABU DHABI // Tickets for the pop singer Rihanna’s New Year’s Eve concert in the capital go on sale tomorrow.

The concert organisers, Flash Entertainment, said the prices of tickets for the show at the Emirates Palace hotel would range from Dh395 (US$108) to Dh1,695.

Previous performances at the hotel by artists such as Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Coldplay and Elton John have attracted up to 15,000 music fans. The show will be the singer’s first in the Middle East.

Rihanna was rumoured to have cancelled a gig in Dubai in May after she was assaulted by her then-boyfriend, the singer Chris Brown.

Brown pleaded guilty to assault at a court in Los Angeles in June and publicly apologised for his behaviour. In recent weeks Rihanna has spoken publicly about the incident in interviews promoting her most recent album, entitled R Rated.

Rihanna, who has sold more than 12 million records, is known for songs such as Please Don’t Stop the Music and Umbrella.

Since releasing her hit debut album in 2005, called Music of the Sun, she has won more than 50 music awards. These include a Grammy; two MTV Video Music Awards; three Billboard Awards and a Black Entertainment Television Award.

The 21-year-old artist, born Robyn Rihanna Fenty, is from Barbados, where she was “discovered” by the record producer Evan Rogers. She moved to the US at the age of 16 and signed to the label Def Jam Recordings.

Tickets for the show can be purchased through www.boxofficeme.com, www.timeouttickets.com and www.ticketingboxoffice.com, as well as at Virgin Megastore outlets.

newsdesk@thenational.ae