Rihanna Sings For Haiti Relief On ‘Oprah’

As we mentioned earlier,Oprah devoted her whole show today to the tragedy in Haiti, highlighting the continuing need for relief with help from Rihanna, Maxwell and Wyclef Jean. Rihanna, who had been tipped as the show’s featured performer, sang Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song,” with the Barbadian pop star adding her own twist to the world’s best Marcus Garvey-inspired reggae tune. The live recording is available for download on iTunes (where it’s #36 at the moment), but you shouldn’t miss Rihanna’s powerful performance on the video below:

EW’s Music Mix thinks the performance was “not bad,” although Rihanna has “never had the strongest live voice, and her limitations showed here at times.” We agree, but we equally troubled by the fact that RiRi showed up for a gravely somber occasion looking like she just came from her prom, or rather, her imaginary prom from 1983. She couldn’t have toned it down a little just for this one, gravely somber TV appearance? Maybe we should be thankful she wore clothes period.

If you feel like passing on her “Redemption Song,” you can always donate to Haiti relief right here. Or spend your $1.29 on Maxwell’s powerful live recording of “Fistfull of Tears,” which was also performed on Oprah‘s Haiti special.