The slinky R&B singer Rihanna's third album boasts production assistance from hip-hop talents including Cee-Lo Green and Timbaland, as well as a guest appearance by Justin Timberlake.
Reviews:
Updating "Tainted Love" for a new generation was clever (last year's "S.O.S."), but ultimately just a gimmick. Rihanna had to do her own thing to break out of the very, very crowded R&B fox box. It's safe to say she succeeded. "Umbrella" began with a lazy introduction from Jay-Z (which most radio stations smartly excised) then took off to undisputed single-of-the-year heights'"deservedly so since, unlike, say, "You're Beautiful," it has yet to coerce our brains to exit our bodies through our ears. The fallout has been epic. We've gotten indie rock covers from the likes of Tegan & Sara, Dresden Dolls and Biffy Clyro, we've gotten Chris Brown's "response" song, "Cinderella Under the Umbrella"' all that's left is Weird Al's inevitable "Citronella." There's no real loser in this phenomenon, except perhaps Orgy. Has anyone noticed that "Shut Up and Drive"'s chorus has the exact same chord progression of their "Blue Monday" cover? Karma' it is a bee-yotch.
The slinky R&B singer Rihanna's third album boasts production assistance from hip-hop talents including Cee-Lo Green and Timbaland, as well as a guest appearance by Justin Timberlake.