Rihanna back in great form at Coliseum

Welcome to the new Rihanna.

Her voice is strong. Her dance moves are fierce. And, like Janet Jackson before her, she's fully in control of her well-paced, tightly scripted 110-minute show.

Rihanna is assured enough to work it in a bright spangled bikini (Heidi Klum, who was in attendance, would surely approve) and still be taken seriously -- serious enough to deliver the controversial "Man Down" believably. And she easily held her own with surprise guest performer Kanye West on "All of the Lights."

Though Rihanna's had a tough time in recent years, dealing with the very public aftermath of her injuries at the hand of her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown, her album "Loud" and this current tour show that she has healed enough to allow herself to have a good time again.

After all, above anything else, Tuesday night's show at Nassau Coliseum was about having a good time.

That means she can go from being chained to stripper poles to a lighthearted pillow fight during "S+M." All her bold statements were tinged with humor, turning a tank into a T-shirt cannon or parading around, military style, in a mini-dress of dog tags with pink machine guns.

While her upbeat dance numbers have been her most popular hits, her biggest moments of the evening came during the soulful "Unfaithful," quickly followed by an acoustic "Hate That I Love You" and the massive power ballad "California King Bed."

"Thank you for your support," she said, introducing another glorious ballad, "Take a Bow."

The gratitude seemed heartfelt. The support has clearly had a positive effect.