IT WAS ONLY, INCREDIBLY, A WEEK AGO.
Rihanna’s 777 Tour: A seven-day excursion with seven shows in seven days in seven countries, beginning on November 14th, and ending on the 21st. One of the more amibitious publicity stunts in recent pop music history, to be sure. Rihanna, along with her entourage and publicity team, would board a Delta Boeing 777 twinjet along a group of die-hard fans (#RihannaNavy). There also happened to be 150 journalists, representing 82 countries. The guests would arrive on the morning of Wednesday, November 14th at LAX, and board the plane.
And yet: Theory and execution, especially where pop stars are concerned, can deviate wildly from one another. In less than a week, the journalists would be emotionally distressed wrecks, producing a scene that seemingly resembled less Almost Famous as it did Argo.
Only those on the plane will ever truly understand, and they're no doubt tired of talking about it. And they did, in fact, talk about it. So much, in fact, that they've provided the world a comprehensive composite of the series of events that culminated with the plane landing in Newark, New Jersey this morning, and streaming out a number of journalists looking as though they'd returned from that flight in The Langoliers.
What happened? How did it happen? And who was the guy who ran down the aisle naked, and what's with his harmonica?
This is the true story of Rihanna's 777 Tour, from the words of the journalists who lived through it.
[Ed. Some Tweets have been edited for readability and brevity, as people in the process of losing their minds also, as a side-effect, tend to lose their ability to speak and/or Tweet coherently.]
THE PLAYERS
Everyone is listed with his or her press relationship to the 777 Tour.
Elliott Wilson (@ElliottWilson) - Rap Radar
Julieanne Smolinski (@BoobsRadley) - PopDust
Soo-Young Kim (@SooeyPooey) - Complex Magazine
J. Escobedo Shepherd (@Jawnita) - SPIN Magazine
Erika Ramirez (@3rika) - Billboard Magazine
Jeff Rosenthal (@itsthereal) - Rolling Stone
Maud Deitch (@MaudDeitch) - MTV
Mary H.K. Choi (@choitotheworld) - MTV
Jason Newman (@JasonRNewman) - Fuse TV
Tim Dormer (@TimDormer) - Nova FM (Australia)