Fringe Review: Only Girl (In The World)

Reviewed at the Arkaba Hotel on 9 March 2019

Presented by Only Girl (In The World)
Reviewed 9 March 2019

One of the most popular female artists of the last 10 years would have to be Rihanna, an artist who has released 8 studio albums while changing her sound and image throughout. Only Girl (In The World) is a tribute to this great singer, showcasing her extensive discography through 90 minutes of both song and visuals.

The Arkaba Hotel was the perfect choice of venue for a performance like this, with the stage well set and room for a dance floor which audience memebrs made good use of especially towards the end of the show. Annaleese Fuda lead a full band both with a backing singer and two backing dancers. Fuda has a strong and powerful voice, capable of some of those big Rihanna notes as well as having excellent energy and stage presence for the more upbeat numbers also. Songs chosen were taken from Rihanna’s more recent albums, with a few throwbacks to some of her older tracks also.

Annaleese commanded the stage from beginning to end, and her vocals have really shone through with some of the more stripped back and slower songs like Russian Roulette and Stay. It was made very obvious that she has become very familiar with and comfortable performing several of the songs chosen. With more upbeat and catchy numbers like S&M and We Found Love, Fuda got the crowd involved with the dance floor filled with audience members during these numbers. With so many iconic songs, the crowd were even joining in with big numbers like Umbrella. During costume changes and breaks between song sets, video interludes featuring Rihanna’s famous music videos played either side of the stage.

Rihanna is certainly no easy artist to match, but credit to Annaleese Fuda and the team behind this production; the effort was put in and it’s paid off. Rihanna fans were in for a treat, but even the casual fan of just a few of her songs still had plenty to enjoy here.

Reviewed by Daniel Knowles

One Night Only – Season Ended

https://www.adelaidefringe.com.au