Guitar virtuoso Nuno Bettencourt (EXTREME) has joined forces with RIHANNA and will be her 2010 world tour lead guitarist.

The unexpected combination of Grammy Award winning R&B; artist Rihanna, and rock guitarist Nuno Bettencourt, has in fact become what Nuno says, “A great opportunity to blend our talents to create a high energy experience”.

Nuno is best known for his work in the multiplatinum rock band Extreme, where they were Grammy nominated for their Billboard Chart topping hit, 'More Than Words'. Nuno has worked on many projects including, multiple solo albums, film scores and has also worked with notable artists such as JANET JACKSON, PERRY FARRELL, ROBERT PALMER and many others.

Rihanna’s choice to have Nuno in her band is a great surprise, and Nuno assures that her live sound is really complimentary to his “style”. When he heard the direction Rihanna wants to go in a live setting Nuno said, “Wow, this rocks! It’s heavy and funky, and it hit me that this is “my” thing, this is “my” style…”

Once Nuno and Rihanna blended their talents and began the first round of rehearsals, Nuno stated, “…it did not disappoint. Even better than what I expected because she also has the most incredible band, and I get the privilege to add to their wall of sound. It's gonna be fun. Come see and hear it for yourself!“

Streaming Live from London, November 16th, Rihanna and Nuno will be performing tracks from her album, Rated R, to a free online audience. Join in on the largest free music event of the year at nowplaying.nokia.com/join-us/. Rihanna’s latest album drops November 23rd.

Nuno’s new endeavor as lead guitarist for Rihanna has just been one of many significant events for him in 2009. The renowned guitarist recently wrapped up dates of the Extreme reunion tour and just recently made a music video for the CBS hit comedy, How I Met Your Mother. In addition, Nuno celebrated his twenty year anniversary as an endorser of Washburn Guitars with the debut of his signature N4XX and also released a signature Randall half stack, the NBKING100, both to critical acclaim.

It is clear Nuno has been one of the most influential rock guitarists of our time, and will continue to do what he does best, perform. As for the future of Extreme, Nuno explains, “NO… this is NOT the end of Extreme. We have a live DVD and CD coming out in early 2010 and we will be writing new material throughout the year. We had a great run across the globe on Saudades de Rock... and we'll be back.”