Fiery pop-singer Rihanna appeared as a guest judge on last night’s show. The “Man-Down” singer sat alongside her mentor, L.A. Reid, who signed her to Def Jam six years ago.
Taped at Reid’s plush Hamptons home, the two patiently watched and judged the boys. Rihanna took a liking to one 14-year-old boy, Brian “Astro” Bradley, who reminded her of Roc-nation rapper J-Cole, according to Hello Beautiful.
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Reid, one of three judges on the show, also served as President of Def Jam. He admits to finding something special in Rihanna, but also admits his mistakes, saying how sad he was that he let Lady Gaga go.
“One day, this artist came to my office. She played piano, she had on white go-go boots, thigh-high boots. She sat down at the piano and she played and she sang and when she was done, I said, ‘You are an amazing artist, a true artist and you will change music’ and I signed her. Her name was Lady Gaga,” reports Hello Beautiful.
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“Then a few months later, I got her demos and it was a work in progress and I was having a bad day. A bad day. And I said, ‘You know what? I really don’t like it. Let her have her freedom. Let her go find her career.’ And it was the worst thing I’ve ever done.”
See Rihanna and Reid judge the contestants below. Let’s hope we see more guest-judging!