Tag Archives: Rihanna

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Song of the Day #614: ‘Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour) (Live)’ – Jay Z, Rihanna, Bono & The Edge

So far as I know, the only song performed at the Hope For Haiti Now telethon that was written specifically for the event was ‘Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour).’ It also boasted the star-studded night’s star-studdiest lineup, with Jay-Z joined by Rihanna and U2’s Bono and The Edge.

Now there’s a collection of people I never would have guessed I’d see on the same stage. Rihanna and Jay-Z have been frequent collaborators, of course, but U2 has never been mistaken for a rap act (despite The Edge’s spoken-word vocal performance of ‘Numb‘).

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Song of the Day #606: ‘Rude Boy’ – Rihanna

Rihanna’s Rated R is a decidedly dark and downbeat affair, but one song bucks that trend. ‘Rude Boy,’ the latest single, is a raunchy dance-hall come-on that checks any trace of inner pain or turmoil at the door.

Rihanna has pushed her sexuality front and center in the promotion of Rated R, taking the album’s title to heart. It’s as if the 22-year-old wants to prove that the past year has forced her to grow up in all sorts of ways. Or else she just wants to use her ample, um, assets to sell more records. Either way, I’m not complaining, though I sometimes have the urge to cover her with my jacket and walk her home.

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Song of the Day #539: ‘Fire Bomb’ – Rihanna

Best Songs of 2009 – #2

I wonder what Rihanna’s follow-up to Good Girl Gone Bad would have been like had she not been beaten up by boyfriend Chris Brown last February. Clearly she was capable of the sort of darkness and edginess she displays on Rated R but apparently it took that ugly incident to inspire her to capture it on record. I hate to say her pain is our gain, but it’s true.

I suppose 2008’s ‘Disturbia,’ written by Brown, was a start down this path but the songs on Rated R that tackle the violent incident directly and indirectly are a whole new ball game.

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Rihanna – Rated R

What a fascinating career Rihanna has already had.

By 2008, she had sold more than 12 million albums worldwide and notched more #1 singles than any other woman this decade (or century, or millennium). And she was just 19 years old, having gone from an unknown schoolgirl in a small town in Barbados to an international megastar.

And then, on the night of the 2009 Grammys, she became the most famous victim of domestic violence since Tina Turner when her boyfriend, singer Chris Brown, viciously beat her during an argument in his car. The pictures of Rihanna following the incident were horrific, as was the prospect of her returning to Brown’s side — which she did, briefly, before thinking better of it and leaving him for good.

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