Top Ten Songs of the Summer
#3 – Rihanna – ‘Umbrella’ (2007)
Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella’ is the song that popularized the concept of the Song of the Summer. Following this smash hit, which spent seven consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, music writers and fans alike started speculating about which tune would claim the title each year.
So for kicking off this mad exercise, and also because it’s a great song, ‘Umbrella’ makes it to the top three.
Throwing back to the week of Nov. 30, 2013, we find Lorde atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Royals.’ The rest of the top ten is a mix of the same artists and songs that have been dominating the chart for several installments of Throwback Weekends, but we do have a new entry at #2.
Eminem’s ‘The Monster,’ featuring Rihanna, spent four weeks in the #2 spot before finally reaching #1 in December. This was Eminem’s fifth #1 on the Hot 100 (and, as of today, his last) and his first since 2010’s ‘Love the Way You Lie’ (another collaboration with Rihanna). As for Rihanna, this is one of 14 #1 hits on her resume, putting her behind only The Beatles and Mariah Carey on the all-time list.
While no official announcement has been made, it seems likely Rihanna will grace us with a new album this year.
It has been seven years since the billionaire goddess last dropped an album — 2016’s career-best Anti — but her appearance as the halftime performer in next month’s Super Bowl suggests new material is on the way. Why take the country’s biggest stage with nothing to promote?
‘We All Want Love’ is a cut from Rihanna’s 2011 album Talk That Talk, at that point her sixth album in seven years. She released Unapologetic the following year, then took an uncharacteristic four-year break before dropping Anti, arguably her best work to date.
And since Anti… six years and counting, with many promises of new material, none of them fulfilled. Rumors of an imminent release have persisted since at least 2019.
‘Same Ol’ Mistakes’ is the ninth track on Rihanna’s excellent 2016 album Anti. After releasing seven albums in eight years, Rihanna took her time before releasing Anti, waiting four years after 2012’s Unapologetic to drop this record.
The approach worked, with Anti generating the best reviews of her career and producing four hit singles.
It’s been another four years since Anti‘s release and, despite rumors about her ninth studio album, there’s no indication yet of when we might hear it.
Meet Me In Montauk 