Ahuh Ahuh Yea Rihanna
Ahuh Ahuh Good girl gone bad
Ahuh Ahuh Take three... Action
Ahuh Ahuh
No clouds in my storms
Let it rain, I hydroplane in the bank
Coming down with the Dow Jones
When the clouds come we gone
We Rocafellas
We fly higher than weather
And G5’s are better
You know me
In anticipation for precipitation
Stacked chips for the rainy day
Jay, Rain Man is back
With little Ms. Sunshine
Rihanna where you at?
You have my heart
And we'll never be worlds apart
May be in magazines
But you'll still be my star
Baby, cause in the dark
You can't see shiny cars
And that's when you need me there
With you I'll always share
Because
ChorusWhen the sun shines, we’ll shine together
Told you I'll be here forever
Said I'll always be a friend
Took an oath I'ma stick it out till the end
Now that it's raining more than ever
Know that we'll still have each other
You can stand under my umbrella
You can stand under my umbrella ella ella eh eh eh
Under my umbrellaella ella eh eh eh
Under my umbrellaella ella eh eh eh
Under my umbrellaella ella eh eh eh eh eh eh
These fancy things
Will never come in between
You're part of my entity
Here for Infinity
When the war has took it's part
When the world has dealt it's cards
If the hand is hard
Together we'll mend your heart
Because
Chorus
You can run into my arms
It's OK don't be alarmed
Come into to me
There's no distance in between our love
So go on and let the rain pour
I'll be all you need and more
Because
Chorus
It's rainingraining
Ooh, baby, it's rainingraining
Baby, come into to me
Come into to me
It's rainingraining
Oh, baby, it's rainingraining
You can always come into me
Come into me
"Umbrella" is a pop song written by Terius "The Dream" Nash, Christopher Stewart, Thaddis "Kuk" Harrell and Jay-Z for Rihanna's third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007). Featuring vocals by co-writer Jay-Z, it was released as the album's lead single during the second quarter of 2007 (see 2007 in music). "Umbrella" is recognized as the most successful song of 2007 on the United World Chart, gaining more than 8,160,000 points. It has been announced as the 6th most successful song of the last decade with 8.614.000 points, winning a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration in addition to receiving nominations for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
Following an incredibly successful chart run around the world and a warm reception from music critics, the song achieved #1 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the "Ten Best Singles of 2007", as well as #3 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007. It was also named Song of the Year in Blender Magazine's Readers' Poll 2007.
Background and writing
The music was written by Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Thaddis "Kuk" Harrell and the lyrics and melody were written by Terius "The Dream" Nash with the rap intro written and performed by Jay-Z. The song was produced by Stewart with vocal production by Harrell.
"Umbrella" was not originally written for Rihanna. Christopher "Tricky" Stewart composed the song in 2007, with American pop singer Britney Spears in mind. Her label rejected the song, claiming to have a suitable amount of songs to work with for her future album Blackout, while also Spears having professional difficulties at the time.
Concurrent to the event was the Grammy season of 2007. Stewart and Terius "The Dream" Nash decided to pass the song onto Mary J. Blige, and also L.A. Reid, the then-CEO of Island Def Jam, Rihanna's label. Blige however, was unable to hear the song in full due to her obligations to the Grammys at the time. Def Jam representatives remained eager to secure the song for Rihanna, the writers themselves still awaiting a response from Blige. Reid and his team incessantly called them in the entire Grammy weekend to the extent they finally gave them the record.
When she recorded the 'ellas' you knew it was about to be the jump-off and your life was about to change if you had anything to do with that record.
- Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Billboard
Stewart confessed he was still reluctant as to whether Rihanna was the right artist to record the song, but following the addition of the "ella, ella" refrain into the track, he felt they were onto "something".
Following Rihanna's recording, Def Jam CEO-rapper Jay-Z added his rap, and then a different verse.
Before Stewart and Nash settled on the original rap composed by Jay-Z, he changed it without informing the songwriters. Stewart, however, noted that "from a songwriter's standpoint, he just really made it more about the song, with the metaphors about umbrellas and about the weather versus what he had before."
Single release and promotion
In many parts of the United States, the single was released on March 28, 2007, although its official release date was the following day. The song premiered on the New York radio station Hot 97 and on Rihanna's official website on March 29 at 5:00pm EST.
"Umbrella" premiered on UK radio station BBC Radio 1 on the Scott Mills show and was released digitally in Britain on May 14, 2007, its physical release following two weeks later by which point the song was already #1. It is claimed though that the song was released first on Radio Kado FM on May 11, 2007 although this is still disputed whether it was legal to do so.
Rihanna made formal appearances all over the United Kingdom prior and following the release of the single. She also debuted three new tracks in Preston at the BBC Radio One One Big Weekend event. At another promotional concert, she performed "Umbrella", "Shut Up and Drive" and "Breakin' Dishes". Rihanna performed "Umbrella" at the MTV Movie Awards 2007. In Germany, she performed the song exclusively at Viva Live, and at the 42nd edition of the chart show The Dome. "Umbrella" was also performed on Live Earth, GMTV, Loose Women, Blue Peter, Kiss Concert 2007, Sprint Concert, Zootopia Show, Stripped Show, Canadian Idol, 106 & Park and The View.
Reception
Andy Kellman of All Music Guide commented: "'Umbrella' is her best to date, delivering mammoth if spacious drums, a towering backdrop during the chorus, and vocals that are somehow totally convincing without sounding all that impassioned - an ideal spot between trying too hard and boredom, like she might've been on her 20th take, which only adds to the song's charm."
Chart performance
The popularity and positive critical reception to "Umbrella" ensured the song was a commercial success. Coupled with relentlessly strong airplay of both the promotional video and indeed the song itself for the time surrounding its impressive chart run around the world, "Umbrella" was to become Rihanna's biggest hit.
Prior to its physical release, "Umbrella" achieved the biggest debut in the six-year history of the iTunes Music Store, breaking a previous record held by Shakira and Wyclef Jean’s "Hips Don't Lie". As a digital single, "Umbrella" topped the iTunes Store singles chart in more than 16 different countries around the world.
On the issue dated June 9, 2007, "Umbrella" topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart after a rising from the #41 position to the top, a jump of forty places, going on to spend a total of seven consecutive weeks at the top of the chart. The track was downloaded a total of 277,000 times in the United States alone, the highest debut-week sum since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking downloads in 2003. On the Billboard year end chart, "Umbrella" was ranked at #2, only behind Beyonce's "Irreplaceable". Furthermore, total digital sales of the song stand at a reputable 2.46 million. "Umbrella" was Rihanna’s second number-one single (after "SOS"), and both songs have records for two of the biggest jumps to number one on the Hot 100 chart. In correspondence with this, the song spent a total of four weeks at #1 in Canada, where it became the first song to top the recently debuted Canadian Hot 100 chart.
This success was exceeded abroad when "Umbrella" topped the UK Singles Chart in May 2007, remaing at #1 for a total of ten consecutive weeks. Such achievement makes it the longest chart topper of the 21st century and since "Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet topped the charts in 1994. Following its successful run at #1, the song dropped to #2, replaced in July 2007 by Timbaland's "The Way I Are". "Umbrella" has been announced the second biggest selling single of 2007 in the UK behind Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love". It has since re-entered the UK Top 40 at #38, before climbing to #18 the week of December 30, 2007 and maintains its steady run in the chart. "Umbrella" became the first song by a female artist to debut at #1 on the official UK Singles Chart based solely upon digital sales. Rihanna also became the seventh artist in UK history to score a tenth week at the top of the chart. Overall sales of "Umbrella" (as of November 2007), stand at just over 473,000, being certified Gold by the BPI.
As well as topping the charts in the UK, "Umbrella" was a similar success throughout Europe, also reaching #1 in Irelan,d, Spain, Poland, Sweden, Belgium, Austria, Norway, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Germany and Spain.
In Australia "Umbrella" entered the Australian ARIA singles chart at #1, spent six consecutive weeks at the top, and was certified Platinum by ARIA. It re-entered the top 50 in its 26th week at the position of #46, ending the year as 2007's 3rd biggest seller. In New Zealand, "Umbrella" reached #1 on the New Zealand RIANZ singles chart and remained there for six consecutive weeks, ending 2007 as the years biggest seller.
"Umbrella" is considered Rihanna's breakthrough single in many worldwide markets due to the fact it achieved considerable success in countries where her previous singles had not even charted. It did, for example, become a #1 hit in most of the Hispanic American countries, and in some Eastern European territories.
Due to its success in worldwide markets, "Umbrella" reached #1 on the United World Chart, remaining for for 10 consecutive weeks and gaining 8.3 million points thus far. It ended the year as the most successful song of 2007, beating close competition from similar success story "Say It Right" by Nelly Furtado.
Music video
While working on the album, ideas had already began to circulate concerning Rihanna's image, extending into her music videos. She asked American music video director Chris Applebaum, who had previously worked with artists such as Kid Rock and Madonna, to send her "something" to work with. Def Jam representatives were expecting Applebaum to the treatment.
In response, Applebaum hurriedly conceptualized the video, one of his first ideas being the silver body paint that Rihanna is seen in. Applebaum was doubtful whether Rihanna would embrace the idea, but her positive response following a letter the director sent to the artist ensured its approval. Makeup artist Pamela Neal mixed a paint that would give Rihanna such a look. During the session, the paint was re-applied between takes to ensure she was completely covered. The set was closed to Rihanna, Applebaum and a camera assistant. Rihanna also contributed her own ideas towards the video shoot, suggesting to Applebaum that she dance en-pointe, an idea which he accepted.
The final cut of the video premiered at on April 26, 2007 at Thisisrihanna.com. Downloads were made available for those in the U.S. only from the website for a limited time. Rihanna and her dancers were choreographed by Tina Landon and the video was officially released on the iTunes Store on May 11, 2007, peaking at #1 for a period 8 weeks. On May 14, 2007, the "Umbrella" video debuted on BET’s 106 & Park at #9 before achieving its peak of #4. It was Rihanna’s first video to chart on the countdown since her debut single "Pon de Replay" in 2005. On May 1, 2007, "Umbrella" debuted on MTV’s Total Request Live at #10, before reaching #1 on May 9 where it remained for fifteen days, making it the longest running #1 of 2007. "Umbrella" has been announced as being the most played video ever on Polish music channel MTV Poland, beating previous record holder Madonna’s "Hung Up". Such was the success of the promotional video that it was also nominated for five awards at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, including "Female Artist of the Year", "Video of the Year" and "Monster Single of the Year", going on to win the latter two. As of March 16, 2008, the music video for "Umbrella" has been viewed over 32,000,000 times on popular video-sharing website YouTube.
Good Girl Gone Bad is the third studio album by singer Rihanna, which was released on June 4, 2007 in most European countries and on June 5, 2007 in the United States. The album achieved considerable success worldwide following the release of its smash-hit lead single "Umbrella" and maintains its successful chart run. The album has spawned 3 top 10 hits (for a total of 4 top 20 hits) in the United States.
To date, the album has sold more than 4 million albums worldwide, and has earned a platinum certification in the United States.
Production and theme
Following her second studio album, A Girl like Me (2006), Rihanna started working with writers and producers for recording of her new effort early in 2007. Rihanna spent the week of Grammys with songwriter and Def Jam labelmate, singer-songwriter Ne-Yo, for the follow-up. He had co-written her ballad-driven "Unfaithful", and she had vocal lessons with him for the new album. In addition to him, she collaborated with Evan and Carl, record producer Sean Garrett and again with Norwegian production team Stargate who had previous work with Rihanna and who co-wrote Beyoncé Knowles’ number one single "Irreplaceable". Rihanna also booked Timbaland and will.i.am in the studio to work with her. Most of the album's track were recorded in Los Angeles, California, and, parallel to the recording sessions of her second studio album, A Girl Like Me, Rihanna was almost done recording late in February 2007.
Rihanna herself stated that the album is greatly inspired by Brandy's 2004 album Afrodisiac. According to the interview "it really helped (her) to inspire that as well, because that album I listen to all day, all night. When I was in the studio that was the album that I listened to all the time and I really admired that every song was a great song. You could listen to the entire album. And I was like, "You know what? I have to make an album like this"."
The genre of the new album is a slightly new direction for the singer, favouring uptempo dance numbers. It followed her club-natured melodies and, like its predecessor, includes soul and ballads. In an interview surrounding the album's theme, Rihanna claimed, "You feel different every album, and (at) this stage I feel like I want to do a lot of uptempo (songs). I want to keep people dancing but still be soulful at the same time." Interestingly enough, Rihanna was not involved in writing any of the songs on the album.
In interviews, many have questioned the meaning and reasoning behind the album title. During an interview on UK radio station Capital FM, Rihanna explains:
"Bad is not sleazy. Bad has its own term to every individual and in my case it just means I've gotten a little rebellious on the album, broken out of my shell and I'm taking risks... Michael Jackson "bad" kind of way."
Ne-Yo, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake and Timbaland are all collaborators on the album, contributing both lyrics and a more edgy production for Rihanna. The singer also worked with producer, Producing Prodigy, who is a protégé of producer Kon Artis on Sell Me Candy.
It has also been revealed that many of the songs on the album were once offered to other artists before Rihanna, most notably "Umbrella" and "Question Existing." The latter was offered to R&B group Danity Kane for their second album. This was shown on a episode of Making The Band. The members felt the song was too slow and not their style. Mary J. Blige was also offered "Umbrella" but decided not to record it due to her hectic schedule but has stated that she loves the song and is happy that it went to Rihanna.
The United Kingdom edition of the album was released with a slipcase and a bonus CD of remixes, which is also being sold in Australia and Spain.
Rihanna (born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer. She is the first female and the second known person from Barbados to have received a Grammy Award. (The first being Jimmy Senya Haynes). Rihanna is signed to the Def Jam Records label.
Early life
Rihanna was born in Saint Michael, Barbados, to Ronald Fenty of Barbados (of African and Irish ancestry) and Monica Fenty, who is of Guyanese descent. She has two younger brothers, Rorrey and Rajad. Rihanna went to Charles F. Broome Memorial School, a primary school in Barbados, and then on to the Combermere School, where she formed a musical trio with two of her classmates. In 2004, she won the Miss Combermere Beauty Pageant and performed in the Colours of Combermere School Show. At the age of 15, Rihanna received her big break when one of her friends introduced her to music producer Evan Rogers, who was vacationing in Barbados with his wife. Rogers, along with his partner, Carl Sturken, helped Rihanna record material in the U.S. which was sent to various recording companies. One copy of Rihanna's work was sent to Jay-Z, who eventually signed her to Def Jam Records. Rihanna cites Brandy Norwood, Beyoncé Knowles and her Caribbean background as major musical influences. Rihanna also stated in an interview that her friend and former Island Def Jam record label artist Fefe Dobson was someone that she admired and looked up to, having a fellow artist writing, singing, and performing the music she truly loves.
Career
Music of the Sun
Main article: Music of the Sun
Rihanna's debut album, Music of the Sun, was released August 30, 2005 from which, further singles were released, the first being "Pon de Replay" which was released on October 11, 2005 and reached position #2 in both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart and gained several #1 positions in various niche charts. The single itself was written by Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers alongside Rihanna herself and described by Rolling Stone magazine as a "poppy piece of dancehall reggae with slapping, syncopated beats recalling big-band jazz." However, despite Pon de Replay's commercial chart success, the album itself was rated 2˝ out of 5 stars by Rolling Stone magazine and described as lacking the replay value, ingenuity and rhythm of the single with "generic vocal hiccups and frills" of US R&B inflecting upon her "caribbean charm". Since its release, the album reached the top 10 in both US and Canadian charts, gaining gold certification from the RIAA from selling 500,000 units and subsequent platinum certifications for selling 2 million units in various other countries. To further promote the album, Rihanna toured as an opening act for American pop singer Gwen Stefani.
The second single, "If It's Lovin' That You Want", was considerably less successful than its predecessor, peaking at position #36 on the U.S Billboard Hot 100 and position #11 in the UK. A third single, "Let Me", was released only in Japan, where it was a big hit, reaching #8 on the charts.
A Girl like Me
Main article: A Girl like Me (Rihanna album)
Rihanna released her second album, A Girl like Me, in April 2006; less than eight months after the release of her first album. The album debuted at number five in the U.S. and number four in the UK. The lead single, "SOS", was used in an endorsement deal with Nike. The song became Rihanna's first number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it also debuted at number one on the Hot Digital Songs chart. "SOS" peaked at number one in Australia and number two in the UK. The second single, entitled "Unfaithful", was written by R&B singer Ne-Yo. The song became her third top ten hit in the U.S. and in the UK. The third single, "We Ride", wasn't as successful as her previous releases, failing to chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, however, it became her fifth UK top 20 single, where it peaked at number 17 on that chart and peaked number one on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart. Rihanna's fourth single from the album, "Break It Off" featuring Sean Paul, had already climbed to number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 based solely on airplay. It was released as a digital download on February 19, 2007, which made the song jump from number fifty-two to number ten and then eventually peak at number nine.
In total, Rihanna has had 11 #1's on the Billboard charts and has had major success on the Hot Dance Club Play chart with four number-ones ("Pon De Replay", "SOS", "Unfaithful", and "We Ride"). When Rihanna received an endorsement deal from Clinique, she recorded a song written by Ne-Yo entitled "Just Be Happy" as part of the deal to promote their Happy fragrance. Rihanna also recently recorded a song called "Winning Women" with Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger for P&G’s female deodorant Secret.
Rihanna made her acting debut in a cameo role in Bring It On: All or Nothing, which was released on August 8, 2006; she also appeared on an episode of American soap opera All My Children and drama Las Vegas.
Good Girl Gone Bad
Main article: Good Girl Gone Bad
Rihanna went into the studio in early 2007 with Ne-Yo, Stargate, and Timbaland among others to record her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad. The album was released on June 5, 2007. It features Jay-Z and Ne-Yo as featured artists. Rihanna worked with Timbaland on three songs in the album. Justin Timberlake co-wrote and provides background vocals on "Rehab". Seven weeks after the album was released, it had gone platinum in the United States and 3x Platinum on the United World Albums Chart.
The first single, "Umbrella", featuring Jay-Z, was released on March 29, 2007, reaching number one in various countries, including the U.S. "Umbrella" was the #1 single in the UK for 10 consecutive weeks. It was the longest running UK #1 single since "Wet Wet Wet'są" single "Love Is All Around", back in 1994, and the longest running #1 by a female artist since Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You", which also topped the chart for 10 weeks in 1992. It was produced by Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The-Dream" Nash. Umbrella was set at #2 at the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart, behind Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable". However, Umbrella is the most successful song of 2007, getting 8,160,000 points on the United World Chart. Time magazine named "Umbrella" one of The 10 Best Songs of 2007, ranking it at #3. Explains writer Josh Tyrangiel, "Rihanna has a special talent for vocal innuendo. She toys with the word umbrella - or, as Rihanna would put it, um-ba-rella, ella, ella - as if she's taking it for a ride on a water bed. The sexiest song of 2007."
The second single, "Shut Up and Drive", was sent to radio stations on June 5, and peaked at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Her club airplay third single, "Don't Stop The Music" was premiered on BET's 106 & Park on July 20, 2007 and was released only in Canada. The song was released in the UK on 4th February, it peaked at #4 from downloads alone and has climbed back to #4 upon physical release. However, the single was also released in parts of Europe, where it was a huge success. The song peaked at #1 in countries like Germany, France, The Netherlands and Austria. The song has so far reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 becoming her seventh top ten single and her fourth top five hit. It also reached #1 on the United World Chart. On February 17, 2008, Rihanna's single "Don't Stop The Music" became the first single in history to make it to number 1 on the Australian ARIA charts based solely on digital downloads. The single is yet to be released on CD and has already made it to the coveted number 1 position on the national singles charts.
The fourth single, "Hate That I Love You" featuring Ne-Yo, was released on August 21, and so far has peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Rihanna her sixth top ten hit.
The fifth single was to be "Breakin' Dishes" according to Billboard and has so far peaked on #4 on the Hot Dance Club Play. However due to the high surge in airplay and digital sales of "Don't Stop the Music", it has replaced Breakin' Dishes as the next single.
Also in 2007, Rihanna won World's Best-Selling Pop Female Artist & Entertainer of the Year at the 2007 World Music Awards. On November 18, 2007, she won Favorite Female Artist - Soul/R&B at the 2007 American Music Awards. "Shut Up and Drive" won best R&B song at the 2008 People's Choice Award. "Don't Stop the Music" won best international song at the 2008 NRJ Music Awards in France. she also won four awards at the 2008 BMAs Barbados Music Awards including Pop/R&B Artist of the Year, Best Pop/R&B Single - Don't Stop the Music, Best Female Music Video - "Shut Up and Drive", Song of the Year - "Umbrella", Album of the Year - Good Girl Gone Bad, Female Entertainer of the Year and People's Choice Entertainer of the year
Starting September 12, 2007, Rihanna toured Canada and the United States in support of the album with several shows and then crossed to Europe. It is called the Good Girl Gone Bad Tour, which will be released on DVD in early 2008 and feature the show performed at the Manchester Evening News Arena on December 6 2007.
Rihanna received four Grammy Awards nominations: Record of the Year, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (for "Umbrella"), Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals (for "Hate That I Love You") as well as Best Dance Recording (for "Don't Stop the Music"), while her album received an extra two Grammys: Song of the Year and Best R&B Song.
Rihanna premiered a new single, "Take A Bow", on KIIS-FM's On Air with Ryan Seacrest. The song will be backed by the re-issue of Good Girl Gone Bad, which will be released on May 27, 2008.
Fourth studio album
There are conflicting reports about her next album. MTV.com reported that Rihanna has now gone into the studio to start recording her fourth album, but on the Ryan Seacrest show Rihanna said "I am not in the studio yet, Not yet no, We're not gonna have an album out this year, probably the top of next year in 2009."
Future projects
Rihanna has teamed up with H&M and other celebrities like Timbaland and Good Charlotte for "Fashion against AIDS". The collection is designed to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS. It will be available at H&M in early February 2008. She will be going on the Glow In The Dark Tour with Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, and N.E.R.D... On June 20, 2008 she will be performing on Today Show in New York City.
Updated: Jun 8, 2014
Toronto