Review: Rihanna Music October 1, 2013 - 12:31AM Reviewer rating: Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars Rod Laver Arena Monday, September 30 Rihanna might have built a career on defiance - this is the woman who returned to the man who assaulted* her, rapper Chris Brown, and wrote songs about it - but after keeping audiences waiting at least an hour in Adelaide and Perth last week, she surprised the Melbourne crowd by starting Monday night's show right on time. Her record label boss Jay-Z might have had a word to one of his brightest charges; the apparent slurring and indifference that marred last week's shows were here replaced with cool professionalism, even if the audience still took a while to warm to the lesser-known album tracks that dominated the concert's first half. "Melbourne, watchy'all know about this reggae shit?" the 25-year-old implored at the start of one of a few songs that paid tribute to her Barbadian roots. That the answer was "not much" mattered little by the time she launched into Rude Boy, followed by What's My Name. The costume changes flowed almost as fast as the hits thereafter. From thigh-high boots to vinyl bustiers to glittering pant suits, she looked great in all of it, and yes, there was no shortage of the well-reported crotch grabbing, but it's hardly gratuitous when paired with lyrics like, "I love it when you eat it, suck my cockiness." Steely-faced for the majority, if her diction was a little off at times, the emotional nuance and snatches of vulnerability displayed in ballads like Love the Way You Lie more than made up for it. The final stretch was a reminder of just how much Rihanna has dominated commercial radio over the past five years. The stadium rose to their feet for euphoric dancefloor hits We Found Love, Only Girl in the World and Don't Stop the Music, and stayed for impassioned renditions of Stay and Diamonds in the encore. Other Australian audiences may not have been so lucky, but on this occasion Rihanna brought her A-game. Corrected