Getting Loud for Rihanna

WORDS // LOUISE DAWSON

Rihanna recently finally released her fifth studio album called ‘Loud’- and boy were we ready!

With a fresh and altered sound to go with her new look, the tracks on the album portray a contrast of a more mellowed, sensual yet quirky and exciting side to the artist. Catering for her fans, Rihanna’s album consists of 11 tracks that are:

Emily Mackay of the U.K.'s New Musical Express stated "If Rated R seemed disparate sometimes, Loud's experiments feel more organic, its tone better paced, from the Caribbean-tinged anthem for doomed youth of 'Man Down' via the glossy, dark tectonic beats of 'What’s My Name?' (featuring Drake) to the ludicrously banging trance pop of 'Only Girl (In The World.,’ 

True to that the fresh new vibe from Rihanna’s latest sound is definitely one for ladies across the country to be singing out loud.

The first single to hit the charts from the newly released album was Only Girl (In the world) that although described by some as a song with no serious depth, still instantly stormed the charts with its towering chorus and a beat worthy of a nightclub dance floor. In the United Kingdom the song debuted at number two on the chart selling over 126,000 copies.

 The second single from the album What’s my name features award winning rapper Drake. Certainly an addictive track the catching lyrics oh na na… what’s my name set in instantaneously.The lack of complexity in the lyrics is definitely replaced with an uplifting tune that not only makes you want to get up and dance but also undoubtedly helped bring this single to number one in early January.

The latest single from Loud, S&M is a blatant contrast to the other tracks on the new album. Newly released from the album on January 21^st 2011, the video to the song has already been immensely condemned by the press with the BBC refusing to show the video before 7pm and MTV demanding a re-edit. Controversially however, the track showed great success in the charts and already reached number one during its fourth week in its chart release.  

Having worked with performers such as Nicki Minaj, Shontelle, Ester Dean and Drake on her new number one album,  Rihanna has definitely given her fans a new sound to listen to incorporating various music tastes into her own style setting a fresh tone for her album Loud with tunes most definitely worth buying and blasting out on your MP3 player!