Rihanna Shuts Down Times Square For 'Seven' Concert

NEW YORK — Rihanna shut down Times Square on the eve of her Loud album release.

Performing live for MTV's "The Seven" on Monday evening (November 15), Rihanna hit the stage with sleek red hair, a funky printed jacket, light-yellow hot pants and a black T-shirt for a funked-up version of her album's second single, "What's My Name?." Her fans sang along to every lyric of the Drake collabo (The MC didn't join Rihanna for the live taping.)

During sound check, excited fans had already started chanting the singer's name, and Rihanna, in a fur parka, sang part of the duet for the enormous crowd, along with a few other songs.

Although "What's My Name?" is brand-new, during the show, Rihanna sounded like she'd been singing it for years. After dancing around onstage, Rih proclaimed, "Thank you, New York! It's amazing! It's a lot of people," she said. "I'm really excited. I'm looking forward to sharing it with the world. I want everybody to get Loud tomorrow."

As for the new LP's lighter tone, Rihanna explained, "I'm forever changing, growing, so it'll never be the same thing. This album for me was really my way of expressing myself to the fans in an unapologetic way."

The singer also talked to "The Seven" hosts about working with Drake on the album. "[It was] really good," she said of her pal. "We know each other. We're good friends. It's easy for us to work together."

The video for "What's My Name?" was just released and Rihanna said she wouldn't pass up the chance to shoot one for her Nicki Minaj collabo, "Raining Men." "We're trying to figure out the singles now, so who knows?" she said.

What did you think of Rihanna's "The Seven" performance in Times Square? Tell us in the comments!