VMAs Producer: Rihanna Performance Will Be A “Holy Crap” Moment

Published: Thursday 25th Aug 2016 by Sam
rihanna-festival-2016-thatgrapejuice

Rihanna will not only be performing at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards, she’ll be receiving the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard honor.

We have our reservations about how deserving she is of the latter, but the reality is that come rain or shine, the Bajan beauty will be walking away with the award.

It naturally heightens expectation for her live showing come Sunday night.

Details are being closely guarded, but one of the key organisers of the Madison Square Garden spectacle is spilling.

His words await after the jump…

Speaking to EW, the Awards’ executive producer Jesse  Ignjatovic

“I’m really excited because she’s taken this opportunity to inject her own creativity into it. If we’re talking on Monday the 29th or after the show Sunday, everyone will be surprised with what she’s done to make this honor her own and something that’s extremely impactful. Rihanna’s medley will touch on “the biggest tracks of her career as well as music from her latest album, Anti. I can tell you it’s going to be one of those holy crap VMA moments,” he says. “She’s not playing. She’s bringing it.”

Hmm. This will quite literally be a wait and see.

Because beyond it being the producer’s job to hype up the show, Rih is so consistently inconsistent that’s it’s difficult to get excited about what she’ll deliver. Simply because it’s anyone’s guess as to whether it’ll rock or suck.

Like the masses, we’ve become so used to seeing her phone it in that when she does pull her finger out, it’s more a surprise than expected – a fact which is tragic in itself.

Still, it’ll be interesting to see which way the wind blows come Sunday night.

Your thoughts?

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  1. Molly #TheMostRelevantBitch August 25, 2016

    She’s probably gonna give the best performance of her career. This is a huge moment shes gonna come thru!

    • Ayyseify August 25, 2016

      Right! Love her.

      • Ughhhh August 25, 2016

        Yassssss. Rihanna is very creative and always goes against the grain so I am ready for this! And TGJ shut the f**** up! The Vanguard Award is for captivating and iconic videos and Rihanna is one of the Top female artist currently that delivers in that category!

        Notice how I said “one of the” which means there are a few more so don’t bîtch

    • Jamie August 25, 2016

      Yes!!!! She better bring the reason people started checking for her on that stage. Can’t wait to see Chris Brown do his thing.

    • Truth(yaaasss honey) August 25, 2016

      19k honey

  2. Grayna August 25, 2016

    Crap indeed. Next.

    • Nigeria loves rihanna August 25, 2016

      Hater indeed next!

      • Grayana August 26, 2016

        riahnna doesn’t know that nigeria exists.

  3. B_Roni August 25, 2016

    She probably gonna do this is what you came for and invite drake in for too good and perform some other stuff. From what I heard, it’s supposed to be close to 10 minutes. Who knows though. Either way I will be glued to my television.

    • Ughhhh August 25, 2016

      It’s 16 mins. And did you read the article she is performing all her greatest hits.

      • Angel candice August 26, 2016

        Greatest hits… Lol

  4. LB August 25, 2016

    “Rihanna’s medley will touch on “the biggest tracks of her career as well as music from her latest album, Anti


    But of course, navi aren’t worried because they know it will be a HIT PACKED EXTRAVAGANZA that will also hopefully promote Love on the brain.

    It will have 100% crowd involvement because they know ALL her songs. It will be epic, cannot wait.

    • Angel candice August 26, 2016

      Everyone knows her songs… Thank God, this will save from doing what she doesn.t know how to…. I mean singing.

  5. Nigeria loves rihanna August 25, 2016

    I bet Beyonce jealous b*** gonna hand the award to riri. Go riri, snatch all the wigs & hair cap. Legend solidified!!!! Haters stay mad forever.

    • Ughhhh August 25, 2016

      No she isn’t. Jay z will hand that award to Rihanna before Beyoncé would. Or LA Reid… Or she might give her best friend an actual job for once and let her do it

      • Ayyseify August 25, 2016

        lol don’t do m! I did lol tho

  6. RICHIE_RICH August 25, 2016

    Wishing her the best . Congrats

  7. iSpeakTruthNoFallacy August 25, 2016

    PLEASE Don’t hype this sh*t up! Let the performance speak for itself. As a Rihanna fan, I want nothing more than this being the moment of her career; however, I don’t want it to be hyped because it brings about expectations and there’s nothing worse then when those expectations fail. Producers said the same exact thing about Britney’s BBMA R2-D2, robotic performance.

    • Ughhhh August 25, 2016

      Is that doubt? Lmao you’re scared ahaha you don’t want your fave to disappoint you. Understandable

      • iSpeakTruthNoFallacy August 25, 2016

        It’s not doubt, but she is a human being not a god. I want to be blown away and shocked. Furthermore, from seeing her live on the AWT to her performance on the BBMA’s, she has been beyond on point this era. Plus, she also knows how to rise to the occasion, so a great performance is anything but expected, but don’t hype up the performance like this b*tch is going to take off to space in jetpack so y’all can boost ratings.

  8. stardom August 25, 2016

    What’s up with all this foolish talk to attract viewers, first Britney now this.
    Sadly said artist are not strong performance or as good as they use to be in britney’s case.
    They are really gunning for their highest ratings but it’ll be sad if after all these hyped performance all we get is mediocre s h I t.

    • Hmmm… August 25, 2016

      I don’t see the issue. Didn’t you hear? 2016 is an ode to mediocrity. A time when anyone can be anything no matter how talented they’re not. Donald trump gets a presidential nomination. Kendall Jenner gets a Vogue cover. Rihanna gets the vanguard award. Mediocrity is IN right now. It’s all the rave. Brothers and sisters this is the dark era the sky people warned us about. The last trial will come in the form of Selena Gomez accepting a Grammy. Take heed. Repent! Repent before it’s too late!

  9. Bey&Rih August 25, 2016

    Sam, you are absolutely disgusting! Keep your bitter remarks to yourself. Despite if you feel she deserves the award or not, obviously the VMA’s do. Let this young lady shine. Did she forget to tip you?

  10. ???????Chile, take this “Itty Bitty Piggy” to the market and make sure you hold her hand while crossing the street!??????? August 25, 2016

    I’m so freaking ready, yet unprepared. I gotta get myself together for this performance.

    • iSpeakTruthNoFallacy August 25, 2016

      I am too! I’ve got my liquor and a fat a*s blunt just ready!

  11. Realtalk August 25, 2016

    She will do good mainly because it’s a strong question of her deserving of this award. Also LA Reid should present the award and solely make mention of giving Beyonce a strong shout out for her speaking on seeing Rihanna becoming a big star where LA Reid was going to pass her up not given her a chance. So many thanks should be given to Bey for her notice of the future. Also for Kanye don’t care if he perform or not especially if he rants and hope his crying a$$ daughter need not be there she’s not ready to be at awards shows

    • blue August 25, 2016

      what? you do realise that beyonce commented on rihanna’s talent after she had already been signed right? or the fact that nobody at def jam really gave rih a chance until s.o.s?

    • SMH August 25, 2016

      Girl shut up. Beyonce doesn’t deserve any props in regards to Rihanna’s career, Jay Z made that happen. You beyonce fans kill me, always desperately trying to make beyonce a driving force in Rihanna’s career when she’s been struggling to be her competitor all this time. Just stop.

      • BEY>RIH August 25, 2016

        “Struggling to be her competitor”, your so f***ïn delusional, it hurts.

  12. S****** Blonde August 25, 2016

    Rihanna is not known for her performing abilities, so unless she use the shock factor, I don’t see “her moment” join the list of MTV iconic performances.

    • Bey&Rih August 25, 2016

      Says a Madge stan who built her career on “shock factor”…Girl shut up already!

      • S****** Blonde August 25, 2016

        And there’s nothing wrong with that but at least Madonna is a great performer, even now at 58, something we cannot say about Rihanna at any age.

    • blue August 25, 2016

      you say she isnt a great performer than i look at all her award show performances and she slays them, and is usually one of the best performances of the night. hell people keep saying she isnt a singer yet owned bbma just standing there and singing.

      this rihanna isnt a good performer narrative needs to end because all it does is create this false shocked reactions when she pulls in performance like the grammy’s stay, 45s, of LOTB and everyone is like “oh my goodness she can sing!!!!!”

    • JOHNVIDAL August 25, 2016

      Bishes please at least Madonna can perform and has stage presence and is actually involved in everything in her career (we´re only talking about performances so I won´t even address songwriting, the quality of their respective catalogues, the real success and many other things 🙂 where Rihanna is simply a lessor to Madonna).

      • Bey&Rih August 25, 2016

        You do realize Madge is more than double Rihanna’s age, and has been in the business before Rihanna was born right? You sound stupid to compare her catalog to some in their 20’s, although Rih already has more #1’s than dinosaurdonna…#GoFigure

  13. Blue Ivy Rod August 25, 2016

    This performance if done right and is entertaining, will open doors to bigger venues such as Superbowl and Glastonbury. She should go in on this performance and really show off her improved vocals

  14. HELP August 25, 2016

    mens fashion shop now bottlekapp.com

  15. Kyle August 25, 2016

    Looking forward to seeing her! His year VMAs will be lit! Can’t wait to see my fave Queen Brit!!

  16. well well August 25, 2016

    they better not hype it to high. you know the trick is the reverse.

  17. JOHNVIDAL August 25, 2016

    LOL If it ends being such thing it definitely won´t be thanks to her 🙂 (see Katy Perry at the Superbowl and the biggest budget/theatrics one can get or see any Rihanna performance anywhere).

  18. Meme August 25, 2016

    Can I ask 1 favor of you guys here at TGJ? If Rihanna indeeds shut it down on Sunday, can you please just write a post, giving her her recognition without shade. For someone who has consistently killed the game over the past 10 years, I have yet to see y’all give her her praise. It’s sad. We should be happy that we have black artist who are still surviving in this white industry. Let’s come together and praise our own come Sunday. Not tear her down.

    • JOHNVIDAL August 25, 2016

      You mean like how her fans tried to make it seem at the Billboard awards as if that performance had slayed anybody or anything? I´m sure you thought that was great 🙂 Not even going to address the epic reach that was that idea some of her fans had that she reminded them of Whitney motherpucking Houston LMAO

      • Blue Ivy Rod August 25, 2016

        her mannerisms and presence reminded most of Whitney. You stay coming for Rihanna, you damn well know she did a good job and actually sounded better than the actual studio version.

      • Hmmm… August 25, 2016

        Rihanna’s stage presence has never in her life come close to Whitney’s. Don’t disrespect Whitney like that. And we all know how SHAAADDDYYY Whitney was when it came to “singers” who can’t sing. There is no way. John is right. That’s what the Navy seems to forget. The standard for Rihanna’s talent is so low that when she gives a decent performance it’s taken like something to rattle the girls. It doesn’t matter how tolerable Rihanna’s performances get. She is one of the worst singers in the industry. If you were to rank every female singer in the business right now, Gaga, Bey, Ariana, Adele, Alicia Keys, even Tinashe, would rank higher. Rihanna would be at the bottom of the batch. Right next to Taylor swift.

      • Mr.StLaurent August 25, 2016

        @BlueIvyRod Rihanna as NOTHING like Whitney stage presence.

        Before her downfall, every performance from Whitney had a standing ovation at the end.

        That’s what you call a singer ?

      • Blue Ivy Rod August 25, 2016

        Guys she has Whitney’s old vocal coach and a lot of her mannerisms and presence reminded me of WHITNEY. NO ONE SAID SHE SANG LIKE OR GIVE PERFORMANCE LIKE HER, JUST CHANNELED HER ATTITUDE. Jesus, y’all know exactly what I mean unless you can’t comprehend past a grade 4 level.

      • Blue Ivy Rod August 25, 2016

        TinaShe? Alicia Keys? Gaga? Stop. No one sound Rihanna has a voice like Whitney but I am holding y’all accountable for the bitterness. RIHANNA ROBYN FENTY SINGS BETTER THAN AND HAS MUCH BETTER VOCAL TALENT THAN THE MANY POP GIRLS YOU HAVE NAMED. UP TO THIS DAY, I STILL CANNOT FIND A POP ACT THAT COULD MASK HER VOICE TO ANY GENRE OR DEVELOP MUSIC AND CAN STILL SOUND AUTHENTIC. I AM WAITING FOR THE DAY FOR ANY OF THE POP GIRLS TO DO WHAT RIHANNA HAS AND IS DOING. GAGA CAN SING BUT SHE HAS NO VOCAL TRANSGRESSION, SHE SOUNDS THE SAME. ARIANA IS A GOOD BELTER BUT THAT’S IT, ALICIA KEYS SOUNDS A MESS ALL THE DAMN TIME, ADELE HAS A BASIC VOICE. YOU TRIED IT, RIHANNA HAS SHOWN VOCAL PREOGRESSION TIME AND TIME AGAIN, HER BREATHING IS GETTING BETTER, HER TRANSITIONS RE MORE SMOOTH, HER BELTING IS STRONGER, HER RANGE HAS IMPROVED AND YOU’RE TELLING ME THAT SHE IS BAD SINGER BECAUSE OF A FEW VIDEOS WHEN SHE IS OFF? OKAY COOL. FOR A GIRL WHO HAD NO VOCAL TRAINING AND SOUNDED LIKE A DYING CAT IN HER HERO COVER WHEN SHE WAS 13 COMPARED TO WHERE SHE IS TODAY, YOU HAVE TO GIVE HER PROPS. SHE HAS WORKED HARD FOR WHAT SHE GOT TODAY AND IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND MUSIC THEN SHUT UP AND DON’T CRITIQUE, JUST STICK TO YO FAVES

      • Mr.StLaurent August 25, 2016

        “Whitney old vocal” ?????
        Are you crazy ?!

        Whitney was very graceful, effortlessly good when on stage.

        Don’t compare what’s not comparable.

      • Hmmm… August 25, 2016

        No one sound Rihanna has a voice like Whitney but I’m holding y’all accountable for the bitterness?? Can someone please translate this sentence back to Standard American English, please? DEATH at you thinking that you know anything about music while simultaneously believing for one second that Rihanna is a better singer than Gaga. And absolute Death at a Rihanna fan coming for Ariana and Adele’s vocal ability. And Rihanna has had a helluva lot more than “a few” bad vocal performances. And for the sake of conserving time and energy for future reference, You didn’t need to write that entire paragraph of whatever that was you just said. You could’ve just wrote, “I am a moron”. And it would’ve been the same thing.

    • well well August 25, 2016

      xD are you joking? do you really think sam can shut up?!? you know it’s gon’ be some shade fest, throwing beyonce and hive all that. like always. 😉

  19. Leanne August 25, 2016

    There is nothing iconic or legendary about Rihanna and I’m not a hater! She has catchy songs and is very successful but it’s more than that too be iconic! Everything you see now, Madonna done 30 years ago!

    • JOHNVIDAL August 25, 2016

      Obviously. The 3 or 4 delusional Rihanna stans in this site (the 3 or 4 that are that delusional I mean) live in some kind of buble or something.

    • Blue Ivy Rod August 25, 2016

      She has foundations (diamond ball- critically acclaimed), social media giant (making headlines for going outside), fashion royalty, pop royalty, name beside the legends (coming for madonna now) in the history books, 14 number ones, multi platinum selling albums, global superstar.. etc.. No one is saying Madonna isn’t a queen but the fact remains that Madonna wasn’t where she was at year 10 like Rihanna is at hers. Bye now.

    • JOHNVIDAL August 25, 2016

      Yas Rihanna slay!!!! lol

  20. stardom August 25, 2016

    Loool

  21. SMH August 25, 2016

    Lol Rihanna is doing something right. She’s had beyonce’s entire fan base pressed and bothered for a decade. And don’t bother responding unless you’re happy with proving me right lol.

    • Lolz August 25, 2016

      You’re so right. That means Beyonces doing something right to keep people like you pressed

      • Blue Ivy Rod August 25, 2016

        That makes no sense. How is he pressed if he is outlining the timeline of how long the HIVE were bothered by Rih? Just because Bey is a “thief” doesn’t mean you could try to take his clapback and make it your own

      • Lolz August 26, 2016

        Honey this person is pressed majority of his comments have something negative to do with Beyonce. Now stay out of it no one called for you.

  22. Rihboy August 25, 2016

    I’m here for it!!!

  23. #JACKIE August 25, 2016

    I’m sure it’ll slay Stiffney’s performance Kii.

  24. Briano August 25, 2016

    Rihanna been passed worship me fakeyonce

  25. Blue Ivy Rod August 25, 2016

    These gays think they know music and vocals when they only stan for the girls they see in the mainstream pool. If your musical tastes start and end with Bey or Gaga then have a seat because those girls didn’t sound the wya they do all the time nor most of their life. Basic bottoms give basic clapbacks and reads.

    • Rihboy August 25, 2016

      You sound like a mad basic bottom. Just tune in love. Good day.

  26. Sherrele August 25, 2016

    Lmao. Yea will See how this go! In all honesty.

  27. SippingmyTea ☕ August 25, 2016

    Can’t wait to see this outfit! riri gurl you bae but you be tripping sometimes with these outfits!

  28. King B August 25, 2016

    Beyoncé is gonna hand her the awards? Honestly, I would love to see they hug on TV and shows their friendship. These stanbases make out as if they are beefing. They love each other. Bey is Rih’s idol. I would be the happiest person in the planet if an award is given by my idol. I’m not sure if MJ ever presented some awards to Bey, during World Music Award if I’m not mistaken.

    • lol at bey is rih idol_poor_you August 25, 2016

      lmaooooooooooooooooo

  29. The truth August 25, 2016

    Rihanna will be performing 4 times firming the vmas Beyonce will be doing a prince tribute and Britney will open the show just saw it on entertainment tonight

  30. Caribbean native August 25, 2016

    queen will dominate

  31. FC/JC August 25, 2016

    Illuminatis watching, she bet not F*** it up!

  32. Nowd Reddish tran ivy blobukz Need UK timely Ukuno eremixi August 26, 2016

    The moment will be ready cause she bout do her best performance

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