Rihanna

Tuesday evening, Barbadian singing sensation Rihanna showed up on the red carpet at the Costume Institute Gala in New York City. The event took place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Also sitting at the same table with Rihanna were Marc Jacobs, Madonna, Victoria Beckham, and Stella McCartney.

But Rihanna had a surprise for everyone: she performed two songs with the night’s featured entertainer Kanye West. The duet was apparently a request by West himself, and the request was approved by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, who was in charge of the evening’s festivities.
When the gala at the Met was over, Rihanna was seen at the Monkey Bar, venue of a party given by Marc Jacobs, chatting with young actress Blake Lively, star of the TV hit Gossip Girls. Rihanna also attended a party at Bungalow 8 hosted by Harvey Weinstein along with some girlfriends.

Even before the gala Tuesday night, Rihanna had already had a busy day. She was seen leaving her hotel near Gramercy Park in a bold yellow jacket that was studded with rhinestones, and she was also spotted having lunch in SoHo at Bar 89. The singer also recently scored four nominations for the 2009 Urban Music awards in the categories “Best Female Act,” “Artist of the Year,” “Best Music Video” (for the single Rehab), and “Best R&B Act.”