As a regular contributor on The Movie Show, we couldn't wait to catch up with our pal Sean Munsanje just as soon as he'd recovered from the whirlwind week that was Rihanna's 777 Tour. Among a handful of lucky journalists, Sean (who you'll know from FM104) travelled to 7 countries in 7 days for 7 concerts, all in celebration of Rihanna's seventh album, Unapologetic. Hard to believe she's already popped out 7 albums at the tender age of 24! Read on for all the juice from the trip and don't miss Sean's show - The Juice - on FM104, Sundays from 10am - 12pm!
So Sean, you were one of the lucky ones who got the chance to jet around the world with none other than Rihanna, how excited were you going on this trip?
I was so excited boarding the plane. I was on board two minutes going through my goodie bag that was on my seat when it instantly got crazy as Rihanna not only boarded but came down the plane to say hi to everyone! No one expected that and then one hour into the flight no one expected her to come down again with champagne and cognac! It was so much fun!
Were you a huge fan before?
I'm a big Rihanna fan. How can you not be really when every song she releases is a hit!
Give us the breakdown of the trip, what was going to happen on each day?
There was no time for anything on the trip except concerts and travel. Even sleep was a luxury. I really got a feel for what it must be like to be an artist on tour as I was in 7 different cities around the world and didn't really see much of any of them. Most of what I saw was from a coach. You just accept it after a while that your on one big party week and the cities are a backdrop for the madness!
And did the initial plan go according to plan?
There was a lot of delays boarding and de-boarding the plane in each city but I think that was mainly down to trying to get 300 people from 82 different territories in and out of the countries immigration. There were times you wondered if Rihanna was in bed and that's what the delay in take off was but most of the time if we were waiting we were on board being served first class food and drink! How could I complain about that!
Was it as bad as the article in The Sun made out? They said '777' more like '666'!? What exactly happened?
Well I met Rihanna on the first and second day and saw her at a couple of after parties. It wasn't possible with so many people there to have proper access to her which was a bit disappointing but I knew going into this that that was unlikely given the amount of people on the trip.
So what is she like?
Rihanna is surprisingly exactly as I imagined. Full of attitude and sass, party animal, and great craic. She was one cool chick!
From your pics it seemed like one continuous party, what was that like?
I usually can't go out on the town more than two nights in a row but somehow I managed to party non stop for a week! I think when you can't go home you just keep going and really the plane became our home and the air stewardess became our BFF's! Anything you wanted you could have at any time of day. Champagne, Grey Goose, food. I became a big fan of Bloody Marys on board when returning from a gig!
Was she out every night with you guys?
Rihanna wasn't out every night but she did come to the after parties a number of times. I don't know how she performed for seven nights and then managed to come out to the afterparty at about 4am (never before that time!). She even served drinks at one stage at the party!
Craziest moment from the trip?
The craziest moment was when everyone went crazy on the plane. People were hoping for a press conference every day but Rihanna never did one. Starved for quotes, exhausted and boozed up, a sing song turned into chants for RiRi to come down and give a quote. It was actually all just a bit of craic. Then the now infamous streaker Tim ran through the plane naked. It was hilarious. I think everyone needed to just let off some steam.
Best memory?
My best memory is the whole week! It feels like one long night out that everything and anything happened. I'm exhausted now but I'd do it all again in a heartbeat and i'm so appreciative to Rihanna and Universal Ireland for the trip of a lifetime. It's not a week I'll ever forget.
To keep up with Sean's latest celebrity escapades, check out The Juice on FM104 this Sunday!
