The last time Rihanna visited "Saturday Night Live" she introduced us to her new sidekick, an introverted nerd MC with a bladder-control issue named Shy Ronnie (Andy Samberg). The duo returned this weekend in "Ronnie and Clyde," where a bank robbery goes awry due to Shy Ronnie's unwillingness to enunciate ("Boner alert" may be our new favorite Rihanna lyric). In addition to playing one heck of a sexy gangsta, Rihanna delivered two solid performances:
Song 1: "What's My Name"
-10 for lack of Nuno! Rihanna appears to have traded in her touring guitarist Nuno Bettencourt for some new dude. What gives?! UPDATE: Is that indeed Nuno!? Rihanna's publicist says the former Extreme guitarist is indeed still playing with Rihanna, but the web is split.
+4 for paying attention to the stage set-up and creating a Kanye-esque backdrop that didn't look like the typical "SNL" stage
+3 for singing live
-1 for singing live off-key
+2 for wearing four different outfits at once, including short-a-loons
+1 for giant smile at the end of the performance
-1 for weird devil horns at the end of the performance
Song 2: "Only Girl (In the World)"
+3 for enunciating opening line so now we know it's "love me like I'm a hot ride" (and not pie or guy, as some have suggested)
+1 for lighting that made the stage look like a giant bubble tea
+2 for getting into the Halloween spirit with a creepy zombie stare (55 second mark)
+2 for adding some fuzzy rock to what's on record a very Eurodisco tune in a kind of "Shut Up and Drive" way
+1 for furious head shake into twirl (2:50 mark)
-4 for keyboardist's questionable mohawk
Overall:
-3 for excessive hip grinding
+3 for excessive hip grinding
Final GPA: A
You're the only girl in the world (who performed on "SNL" this past weekend) for us, Rihanna.