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And Finally Artist News
Rihanna never wanted to make a heavy metal record, says live guitarist
By Andy Malt | Published on Monday 20 March 2023
Rihanna’s live guitarist Nuno Bettencourt has addressed a long-standing rumour that the pop star previously wanted to record a heavy metal album but the idea was shot down by her then label Def Jam. A rumour that mainly began with remarks made by Bettencourt himself.
“That’s complete lies”, he tells Classic Rock magazine about said rumour and the quotes from him that got it started. “That’s fabricated. It’s so incorrect. I promise you on the life of my children that those words never came out of my mouth. It’s a good story, which is why it got written I guess, but it’s absolutely not true”.
The rumour dates back fourteen years, when Bettencourt first joined Rihanna’s live band. He was then quoted by The Daily Star as saying: “I’ve been asked to play with pop artists in the past but turned them down because they didn’t really get the vibe”.
“But when I spoke to Rihanna she was totally into transforming herself into a heavy rock chick”, that quote went on. “She was listening to Led Zeppelin and new acts like Paramore and said that was the direction she wanted to go, so I said yes”.
Asked why this sound did not feature on the album she was touring at the time, ‘Rated R’, he reportedly added: “I think the label had a seizure, so they went down another route”.
But now he claims that he said absolutely none of that back in the day. Though, if that’s the case, how does he explain how he came to play guitar for a pop artist like Rihanna?
In the Classic Rock interview he says: “What happened was that they got in touch with me because they said they wanted a guitar player, and wanted to rock out the show, and they had seen some of my stuff online. I said, ‘Why would you want me, there’s no guitar on a lot of the songs?’”
“And I was told, that they just wanted me to be me, and do it on ‘Umbrella’ and everything, with heavy chords and riffs”, he goes on. “I was like, ‘Wow, that sounds fucking exciting for a guy like me who loves all genres of music’. That’s probably how that story started”.
So, it seems, what Bettencourt revealed to those pesky journalists back in 2009 was that Rihanna wanted to “rock out” while performing her pop hits on stage, and they twisted that into her wanting to “rock out” on record too. But, Bettencourt would like you all to know, however much rocking out may have occurred during Rihanna’s shows, “she didn’t want to do a heavy metal record”.
Best known as a member of the band Extreme, Bettencourt joined Rihanna’s live band for her 2009 world tour, and has continued to perform with her ever since – most recently at her Super Bowl half time show.
