Nuno Bettencourt, the renowned lead guitarist of the celebrated rock group Extreme, showcased his exceptional skills while performing for Rihanna during her Last Girl on Earth tour in 2010, the Loud tour in 2011, her Diamonds tour in 2013, and the Super Bowl LVII Halftime show in 2023.
At 57 years old, Bettencourt is widely acknowledged as one of the top guitarists of the 21st century. He gained recognition as a leading guitar player throughout the ’80s and ’90s, often appearing on Guitar World Magazine’s listings of the top players.
Bettencourt possesses an impressive skill set and has even revealed that the late Prince regarded him as one of the top three guitarists in the world. His guitar solo on Extreme’s “Rise”remains a benchmark for shredding performances in the annals of guitar history.
Despite his remarkable talent, Bettencourt expressed in an interview with Planet Rock published on July 17, 2023, that playing alongside Rihanna presented musical challenges. He remarked:
“When somebody like Rihanna reaches out to you to perform, everybody thinks ‘Oh, that’s cute. It’s a pop artist, whatever.”
He elaborated on the intricacies of performing for the hitmaker of “Rude Boy”and the challenges of transitioning across diverse music genres:
“Let me tell you something, what I had to do night after night… put on a reggae hat (for one song) with a reggae feel, and go into R&B, then go into some punk rock and pop rock that she did, and then club tracks. All sorts of (things), all those different feels.”
Nuno Bettencourt asserts that most guitarists would struggle playing for Rihanna
The artist known for “More Than Words”shared with Positive Grid in an interview available on YouTube on September 13, 2024, that he would never sacrifice his musical tone or playing style for any gig:
“The tone doesn’t change at all. I’ve never done anything where somebody says ‘You can’t use your rig, or you can’t be you.’
Bettencourt recounted how he came to perform for Rihanna, detailing how the nine-time Grammy Award winner’s team reached out to him, with an emphasis on maintaining his unique style:
“That was the cool thing about doing the Rihanna stuff. When they reached out to me, I said, ‘Why would you want to use me? Like, I do what I do,’ and they go, ‘No, man, we want what you do,’ so I get to be myself. So it’s the same rig, same everything.”
While discussing the technical aspects of collaborating with a versatile artist like Rihanna in his July 2023 interview with Planet Rock, Bettencourt noted that most guitarists would not be able to handle the demands of such a gig:
“I’m sorry, most of the guitar players who I admire could not in their lifetime play that gig. I mean that in the most complimentary way possible.”
He mentioned that even Slash, the iconic guitarist from Guns N’ Roses, would face challenges performing with Rihanna:
“Slash is one of the greatest rock guitar players of all time, but I guarantee – and he’d be the first to tell you – that if he jumps up and he’s got to play a clean intro to ‘Rude Boy’ from Rihanna, it ain’t happening.”
Bettencourt also reflected on the career opportunities that arose from working with the Fenty Beauty mogul, including his performance at the Grammys in 2015 and how his musical versatility prepared him for that experience.
In June 2024, Primary Wave, an indie music producer, announced its decision to acquire Bettencourt’s publishing rights, administrative rights, and recording interests related to his solo songs and all Extreme tracks, excluding their 2023 album, SIX.
While the financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed, part of the agreement included access to Public Wave’s marketing team and infrastructure, encompassing licensing, digital strategies, and opportunities in film and TV for Nuno Bettencourt.
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