Rihanna ready to rock Abu Dhabi

Rihanna is to perform in the CApital on New Year's Eve.

The R&B singer Rihanna will be the headline act for a New Year's Eve concert in Abu Dhabi, it was confirmed yesterday. Her possible appearance had prompted speculation for some time. The news will please thousands of fans who were left disappointed after the singer, 21, pulled out of a planned concert in Dubai on May 28, citing personal reasons. On the same day as the cancelled concert, Rihanna's boyfriend, Chris Brown, a fellow R&B singer, was scheduled to appear in court charged with threatening and assaulting the star following an altercation in Los Angeles in February.

Brown later made a public apology for his behaviour. The New Year's Eve concert will be Rihanna's first major performance since then. She has kept a low profile following the court case. Rihanna, whose full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty, has had a string of hits, including SOS, which was number one in the US, the more recent Umbrella, and the worldwide hit Don't Stop the Music. She was born in Barbados and moved the the US at age 16 to pursue a musical career. She has sold more than two million albums during her four-year career.

In 2005, her debut album Music of the Sun reached the top 10 on the Billboard charts. Last year, the Latin pop diva Shakira performed at a lavish New Year's Eve party at the Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi. Details about this year's concert and the location are expected to be released soon. [e-mail]