Rihanna (5 page)

Rihanna admits that she is grateful to have had the opportunity to record ‘Umbrella’ because of the boost it
gave her both musically and commercially; the track also allowed her to secure a particularly lucrative endorsement deal. She told
Q Magazine
: ‘I did have a deal with an umbrella company and they had a range of very good umbrellas. This is kind of weird because I grew up in Barbados and there’s not a great culture of umbrellas, like there is in the UK and Europe. I guess we have the occasional storm or maybe the Caribbean is more known for its hurricanes, and an umbrella isn’t going to get you very far in a situation like that. But yes, I have a few umbrellas. Maybe ten? I dunno, but I am very grateful to the umbrella for what it has done for my career.’

The video for ‘Umbrella’ was directed by Chris Applebaum, who had previously directed Rihanna in one of the ‘S.O.S.’ videos. He came up with the idea of having the singer completely covered in silver body paint after she asked him to dream up a treatment that took risks. She wanted to do something different in the ‘Umbrella’ video and loved the idea. A make-up artist called Pamela Neal was given the job of mixing the paint, and during the shoot it had to be be reapplied every minute. Only Rihanna, Chris and his assistant were on set during those scenes to allow her some privacy – after all, it took a lot of guts to strip naked for the cameras. After they had finished shooting it, the assistant started to cry. Chris told MTV what she said when he asked her if she was okay: ‘She looked at me and said, “Chris, this is just so beautiful! I just can’t believe I’m actually watching this. This is the most incredible thing
I’ve ever seen.” And it really felt to me like we were shooting something unique at that moment.’

In the video Rihanna stands ‘en pointe’, which is a classical ballet technique that involves moving on the tips of the toes. This was her idea and she trained really hard so that she’d be able to do it. It’s a very uncomfortable technique but Rihanna hid her pain, so you won’t be able to spot it in the video.

Rihanna might have taken a risk with the ‘Umbrella’ video but it certainly paid off. She won Video of the Year and Monster Single of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards in September 2007, which was a great feeling, although she did miss out on the other two awards for which she had been nominated: she was beaten by Fergie in the Female Artist of the Year category, while Justin Timberlake won the Best Direction category.

She also won the Hot Dance Airplay: Song of the Year and European Hot 100: Song of the Year awards at the Billboard Music Awards, and Most Watched Video on MuchMusic.com at the MuchMusic Video Awards in June 2008.

At the Grammy Awards in February 2008, Rihanna got the opportunity to perform ‘Umbrella’ and ‘Don’t Stop the Music’ in front of some of the best performers in the world. She was thrilled to win her first Grammy for ‘Umbrella’ as it was named Best Rap/Sung Collaboration – she was very grateful that Jay-Z decided to collaborate with her, because otherwise she wouldn’t have even been nominated. They had been up against Akon and Snoop
Dogg for ‘I Wanna Love You’; Chris Brown and T-Pain for ‘Kiss, Kiss’; Keyshia Cole, Missy Elliott and Lil’ Kim for ‘Let It Go’; and Kanye West and T-Pain for ‘Good Life’. Rihanna dragged Jay-Z onstage and gave him a big hug. In her speech she said: ‘Dad, I know I promised you I’d give you my first Grammy, but we’re going to have to fight for this one!’

Shortly after her success with ‘Umbrella’, Gillette Venus Breeze named Rihanna ‘Celebrity Legs of a Goddess’ and they insured her legs for $1 million. She became one of their judges for a competition in the US, and she said at the time: ‘I’m thrilled that Venus Breeze thinks my legs are award-worthy and I’m excited to kick off the search for the woman with the best legs in America. This contest is a fun way for women to showcase confidence, charisma and gorgeous legs on the runway.’

Nowadays she shrugs off the award Gillette gave her, because she had a deal with them and admits that they didn’t pick her randomly; she was being paid to promote their brand of razor and the award ceremony was just a PR stunt. Rihanna went on to secure more endorsement deals after ‘Umbrella’ proved to be such a smash hit around the world.

She became the face of CoverGirl cosmetics too, and appeared in their TV advertisements. In her first one she appeared with an umbrella, asking the viewers at home, ‘Wanna know what I’ve got on under my umbrella? It’s new CoverGirl Wetslicks Fruit Spritzers with twelve delicious flavours – you get a refreshing burst of shine
without all that sticky feeling. Even if it’s raining, your lips will have lasting fruity shine!’ At the end of the ad, she would encourage viewers to buy her album.

Over 30 top singers and bands have covered ‘Umbrella’ since it first came out, which is a huge compliment to Rihanna and the writing team behind the track. Chris Brown was the artist chosen to do the official remix: he altered the chorus and added some new verses. His version was called ‘Cinderella Under The Umbrella’. Back then, he was attracted to Rihanna and did flirt, although things didn’t go further at the time.

The media tried to suggest they were dating, and fans of both singers wanted them to hook up, but in the beginning they were just friends. Their friendship eventually developed into a romance, but first, Chris became Rihanna’s best friend. She found being around him helped her forget about all her stresses and worries. He knew what it was like to be famous, and how it felt to be constantly on the move recording and promoting singles and albums. Since the time she signed her first record deal she had had to behave as an adult, looking after herself. Joking around with Chris made her remember what it was like to be a teenager, without a care in the world.

After she won her Grammy, she took Chris with her when she went back to Barbados to catch up with friends and family. At her 20th birthday party, he sang ‘Happy Birthday’ a capella and helped her cut the cake. They then headed to Jamaica for a well-deserved break. Rihanna was to perform at the ‘Smile Jamaica Africa Unite’ concert on
the Saturday, but they still had loads of fun hanging out in the swimming pool of the luxurious Hilton Kingston hotel.

Being with Chris, and having the ability to express herself in her music, transformed Rihanna from the shy girl she used to be. When she first started being interviewed by journalists, she was very nervous and wouldn’t know what to say. She was a shadow of herself, but as she did more and more interviews she learned how to relax and enjoy herself. Soon she didn’t mind being silly and messing around – and started having a lot more fun.

The two kept on insisting in interviews that they were just the best of friends, but when Jordin Sparks gave an interview to
Young Voices
in April 2008, she revealed they were dating. She had collaborated with Chris on her track ‘No Air’ and Rihanna came along while they were filming the video. When Jordin was asked, ‘Are Chris Brown and Rihanna dating?’, she replied: ‘Yeah, they are. It was really cool because I walked on the set and she was sitting there with Chris Brown and I was like, I can’t believe she’s here. She came and she told me that she loved “No Air” and that it was one of her favourite songs. It was really cool hearing that from one of my peers. She just wanted to support him.’

Jordin was also asked: ‘Did it feel weird doing intimate scenes with Chris Brown, with his girlfriend watching you?’ She laughed and admitted: ‘It was hard at first, but then I said, “You know what? I have to work!” It had to look like I was in love with him, so I had to do it. Hopefully she won’t kill me!’

‘Shut Up and Drive’ was the second single to be released
from the
Good Girl Gone Bad
album and it came out in June 2007 in the US, although European Rihanna fans had to wait until August 2007. But it wasn’t as well received as ‘Umbrella’ had been, and only reached No. 15 in the US charts. Elsewhere it did better – it made it to No. 4 in Australia and Hungary, No. 5 in the UK and Ireland, and No. 6 in Canada, Germany and Finland.

The video was directed by Anthony Mandler (who also directed ‘Unfaithful’ and ‘We Ride’), but this time filming took place in a junkyard in Prague in the Czech Republic. In the video, Rihanna is shown in the driving seat of a Ferrari F430, although she doesn’t actually have a driving licence. The concept was that she and her friends are car mechanics and they watch two men race before Rihanna performs with her rock band.

‘Shut Up and Drive’ was used in the TV ad for the ninth series of
America’s Next Top Model.

When it was first released on July 4 2007, some bloggers tried to suggest that Rihanna had stolen the ‘beat’ of the New Order track ‘Blue Monday’ for ‘Shut Up and Ride’ without acknowledging it – in fact, the track had been lawfully sampled and credited.

The third track that Rihanna released from the album was ‘Hate That I Love You’ featuring Ne-Yo. It came out on 21 August 2007 and reached No. 7 in the US charts. In the UK, it only made it to No. 15, but it did better in New Zealand, where it charted at No. 6, and Sweden, where it reached No. 10; it also made No. 11 in Germany.

In Spain, Rihanna released a special version with David
Bisbal singing in Spanish; David is a Spanish pop singer. Rihanna still sings in English but her Spanish fans loved it. For three weeks, it was No. 3 in the Spanish charts. ‘Odio Que Te Amo’ was released in April 2008. To date, almost four million copies of this version alone have sold worldwide.

Rihanna appreciates how deep the lyrics are, and when reading them for the first time, she kept asking Ne-Yo what he was thinking while writing the song. She believes he’s a very talented songwriter, and is always surprised by some of the ideas he has when writing.

The video was shot in Los Angeles by Anthony Mandler, and he cleverly had Rihanna and Ne-Yo sing in different places, as if they were lovers singing about how much they miss each other. Rihanna is in a hotel room and Ne-Yo is making his way there. As Ne-Yo is about to step out of the elevator, Rihanna steps into it; for a second they smile at one another. He then goes out and she continues down to the lobby. The twist is that they are each singing about different people. At the end of the video, Rihanna gets into her lover’s car and Ne-Yo kisses his girlfriend in her hotel room.

‘Don’t Stop The Music’ was the fourth single Rihanna released from her latest album, and it came out in September 2007. It was another of Rihanna’s tracks that sampled a different artist’s work, and this time it was Michael Jackson’s ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’’. It’s not a profound song, though, it’s just about having fun dancing at a club.

Both critics and fans loved how Rihanna introduced
house and techno to the track and it charted at No. 1 in Australia, Belgium, Austria, Hungary, Spain, Switzerland, Holland, Germany and France. It peaked at No. 3 in the US and No. 4 in the UK, and also performed well in other countries around the world.

Indeed, Rihanna’s ‘Don’t Stop the Music’ received many good reviews, with Tom Breihan from Pitchfork Media labelling it the best track in his view: ‘…an amazing bit of synth-bass Euroclub insanity; halfway through, sampled
mamasay-mamasas
from Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” come in and seamlessly blur into the track’s overpowering beat.’

Nick Levine from Digital Spy agreed, telling his readers: ‘“Don’t Stop The Music”, the album’s fourth single, finds Rihanna reaping the benefits of this beat-happy approach. A big, chunky floor-filler built around a looped sample of the “mama-se, mama-sa, mama-ku-sa’s” from Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’”, it hands her an unmissable opportunity to sound sexy while wiggling her hips seductively. The whole thing works so brilliantly that, almost unwittingly, it’s the best single to bear a “Jackson, M.” writing credit since “Blood On The Dancefloor.”’

The video was directed by Rihanna and TAJ Stansberry, and was the first video Rihanna had ever directed. They set it in an underground club that you can only access by walking through a sweet shop, and the majority of the video sees Rihanna and the other clubbers dancing. They filmed the day after the ‘Shut Up and Drive’ video shoot, in a club in Prague.

It was nominated for the ‘Best Dancing Recording’ Grammy in February 2008 but Justin Timberlake walked away with the prize for his video for ‘Love Stoned’.

If Rihanna wasn’t already busy enough promoting and recording her music, she also decided to do another tour, and this time it was on a much bigger scale than her ‘Rihanna: Live in Concert Tour’: she performed 80 dates in 30 different countries across the globe. It started in Vancouver, Canada on 15 September 2007 and ended in Mexico on 24 January 2009.

Her set list was mainly songs from her
Good Girl Gone Bad
album, although it also contained her favourite tracks from her first two albums. For the majority of her dates the set list was:

1. ‘Pon de Replay’
   
2. ‘Break It Off ’ (solo)
   
3. ‘Let Me’
   
4. ‘Rehab’
   
5. ‘Breakin’ Dishes’
   
6. ‘Is This Love’ (cover of Bob Marley’s track)
   
7. ‘Kisses Don’t Lie’
   
8. ‘Scratch’
   
9. ‘S.O.S.’
   
10. ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’
    
11. ‘Hate That I Love You’ (solo)
    
12. ‘Unfaithful’
    
13. ‘Sell Me Candy’
    
14. ‘Don’t Stop The Music’
    
15. ‘Shut Up and Drive’
    
16. ‘Umbrella’
    

For her European dates she added ‘Push Up on Me’ and ‘Question Existing’ and sometimes missed off ‘Is This Love’, ‘Kisses Don’t Lie’ and ‘Sell Me Candy’. Her set lists in Mexico, Asia and Oceania were different, because Chris Brown or Maria Jose would perform their own tracks first, and then Rihanna might perform the ‘Cinderella’ remix of ‘Umbrella’ with Chris during the show. She also introduced a medley containing ‘Pon de Replay’, ‘Paper Planes’ by M.I.A., ‘Doo Wop (That Thing)’ by Lauryn Hill and ‘Live Your Life’ (sung as a solo).

As well as Chris and Maria supporting her for some of her concerts, Rihanna had Akon or Kardinal Offishall with her for the Canadian dates. For some of the European dates she had Adam Tensta, and for the UK dates, she had David Jordan and Ciara. Kat DeLuna, DanceX and Ray Lavender also did some concerts.