Search results
Having co-written Rihanna’s 2006 ballad “Unfaithful” and been dubbed a “genius” by the then–19-year-old in an interview with MTV, Ne-Yo helped craft three tracks on 2007’s titanic ...
- Andy Greene
Andy Greene is a Senior Writer that has been on staff at...
- Maura Johnston
She channels the original's LP exuberance, does a little...
- Mosi Reeves
Danny Brown Comes Down On 'Quaranta' The wild card Detroit...
- Jon Dolan
Jon Dolan is the Reviews Editor at Rolling Stone. He was...
- Andy Greene
- 'Rehab'
- 'Where Have You Been'
- 'Needed Me'
- 'Don't Stop The Music'
- 'Diamonds'
- 'Bitch Better Have My Money'
- 'FourFiveSeconds'
- 'Take A Bow'
- 'Stay'
- 'SOS'
Justin Timberlake wrote this double-platinum hit with his producers and supplies guest vocals. But Rihanna’s wounded vocal holds the spotlight on this melancholy ballad, comparing her feelings for a lover to addiction. When they first meet, she’s never felt something so strong. When he leaves, she feels empty and hollow. “It's like you were my favo...
It opens on a sly interpolation of the Geoff Mack country standard "I've Been Everywhere," a song that truly has been everywhere, to the extent that when a version done by Johnny Cash in 1996 resurfaced in a U.S. Postal Service ad last year, a lot of listeners may have been surprised to hear him "covering" Rihanna. Not that anything about this trac...
This anti-romantic anthem is one of the edgier momentson her latest album, musically and lyrically. The production is dark and futuristic, slinking along at an ominous crawl as Rihanna brushes off a lover with an attitude that would destroy most men on the receiving end. “I was good on my own,” she begins. “That’s the way it was / You was good on t...
Michael Jackson earned a writing credit for the sampling of "Mama-say, mama-sa, ma-ma-koosa," a hook the Gloved One borrowed from Manu Dibango’s “Soul Makossa” to put the thrill in the "Thriller" hit "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'." But it's more about the near-euphoric throbbing of that club beat as Rihanna effortlessly lives up to the disco-friendl...
A brooding ballad driven by a nagging dance beat, RiRi's 12th chart-topping entry on the Billboard Hot 100 was written by Sia in collaboration with the song's producers, Benny Blanco and Stargate. You may tempted, in fact, to believe that's actually Sia repeating "Shine bright like a diamond" but that's just Rihanna doing all she can to channel wha...
This platinum single peaked at No. 15, which is higher than most murder ballads were charting in 2015. It’s on the darker side of the Rihanna spectrumand yet she sounds completely natural delivering threats with the off-handed shrug of a professional. Is it dark and disturbing? Yes. But that’s what makes it work, work, work, work, work, work. The p...
You may have seen the power trio of Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney do this on the Grammys. And by power trio, I mean a trio of powerful figures, including an actual Beatle (still bigger than Yeezus). McCartney's contributions here are kept to strumming an acoustic guitar and possibly contributing some harmony. The lead vocals are shared by ...
It could be argued that this single is Rihanna at her schmaltziest. And you would win that argument. But here’s the thing. The vocal plays to all her soulful strengths. And the lyrics are occasionally kind of funny, which offsets the schmaltz. Take the opening verse: “You look so dumb right now / Standing outside my house.” And the second verse is ...
This ballad stalled at No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot 100, but that didn’t stop it from finishing 13th on the year-end Hot 100. It starts as a piano ballad with an aching vocal from Rihanna and never kicks in like you half-expect it to the first time through, not even after Mikky Ekko makes his entrance. The best part is the two voices coming togetheron ...
Her first chart-topping entry on the Billboard Hot 100 samples Soft Cell’s New Wave reinvention of the old Ed Cobb song “Tainted Love” to glorious effect. She even paraphrases a few of the lyrics, pouting “You got me tossin’ and turnin’ / Can’t sleep at night.” The first single released from “A Girl Like Me,” the singer’s second album, it spent thr...
- Ed Masley
- Pop Music Critic
Sep 27, 2023 · Perhaps the greatest curveball on Rihanna’s sleek, dance-inspired Anti is the love ballad on the back half of the album: “Love On The Brain.” In the hands of Rihanna, the doo-wop backing...
Nov 4, 2017 · 16K views 5 years ago. Get Rihanna’s eighth studio album ANTI, available now: Download on TIDAL: http://smarturl.it/downloadANTI Download on iTunes: http://smarturl.it/i_dlx_ANTI ...more.
- 5 min
- 16.9K
- badgalrihrifr
Feb 13, 2023 · After Rihanna hinted at dropping new music and was confirmed to headline the Super Bowl 2023 halftime show, she's finally also blessed us with some long-awaited music since 2016 — an emotional...
Feb 20, 2024 · While A Girl Like Me is filled with high-energy, danceable tracks (including the nostalgic "Break It Off" with Sean Paul), Rihanna's second single was the melodramatic ballad "Unfaithful." Penned by then-labelmate Ne-Yo , "Unfaithful" peaked at No. 6 on the Hot 100.
People also ask
Does Rihanna have a soul ballad?
What songs did Rihanna write?
What is the best Rihanna song?
What is the greatest curveball on Rihanna's 'anti'?
Rihanna isn’t just a magnetic personality, she’s got a great voice—a quality not always apparent in her brasher music, but one that comes out immediately in her ballads. And while the tracks here highlight her vocal range, they also explore a tenderness and vulnerability that make her as much an artist you can turn to for comfort and ...
