During the past weekend London paper Daily Mirror claimed Rihanna had been told to “dress conservatively” for her Dec. 31 performance at Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Palace.

“Rihanna is tearing her hair out,” the Daily Mirror reported, citing an anonymous source. “She knows that she’ll have to compromise her style to fit in with local traditions, but a huge part of her show is her sexy stage gear.”

The Daily Mirror also said Rihanna might have to get a license before she stores any booze in her dressing room. The tabloid also asserted Rihanna is being paid $500,000 for show.

Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it? Middle East city orders sexy singer to dress conservatively and deep-six the liquor. That is, if she wants to earn her half mil appearance fee.

But is it true?

The company behind the concert – Flash – issued a statement denying the Daily Mirror’s allegations, including the cover-up angle as well as the reported fee.

“The facts and figures recently reported around Rihanna’s Abud Dhabi concert are totally inaccurate,” Flash said in a statement published on the English language Gulf News Web site. “Rihanna is bringing an incredible new stage show to the capital and there’s no doubt the event will be fantastic; an ideal way to celebrate the beginning of a new decade.”

So which side is correct? The Daily Mirror reporting that Rihanna needs to stash the booze and cover up her bod if she wants to collect a $500,000 appearance fee? Or the Flash statement claiming recent “facts and figures” reported about the concert are inaccurate? Guess we’ll have to wait until Thursday night to find out.

Click here to read the Daily Mirror’s account.

Click here to read the Gulf News’ account.