Good Lady Gone Dangerous opens with Jay Z introducing Rihanna as a “good girl gone bad,” however at this stage in her profession, the rising pop star not wanted a co-sign. With two albums below her belt, she’d already confirmed her potential, however on Good Lady Gone Dangerous the Bajan songstress introduced her daring transformation from clean-cut pop starlet to “Bad Girl RiRi,” altering the course of her profession.
Purchase Rihanna’s music on vinyl now.
The Umbrella impact
Rihanna had already discovered chart success together with her No.1 hit “SOS,” alongside together with her three Prime 10 hits “Pon De Replay,” “Unfaithful” and “Break It Off.” Whereas these had been all industrial successes, critics had been nonetheless sceptical of her artistry, searching for one thing to tell apart her from the pack – apart from being marketed as “that girl from the islands.” Even Rihanna herself felt the necessity to make a stark and dramatic change, prompting the Could 31, 2007 launch of Good Lady Gone Dangerous.
The evening earlier than the album’s cowl shoot, the singer defiantly chopped off her hair, later debuted her new rebellious look within the music video for “Umbrella.” It matched the perspective of the track, which was dosed in arena-rock guitars and bass, in addition to the plain “ella, ella, ay, ay” hook. Seemingly in a single day, the track took over the airwaves, soundtracking the summer time and changing into the bestselling observe of the 12 months.
Because the opening observe on Good Lady Gone Dangerous, “Umbrella” grew to become Rihanna’s second No.1 on the Billboard Scorching 100 and earned her a Grammy for Finest Rap/Sung Collaboration, due to Jay Z’s contribution. “Umbrella” additionally served because the catalyst for turning the songstress right into a magnificence icon and a intercourse image, propelling her to plain “It Girl” standing and placing her on the identical path as fellow pop diva Madonna. The singer’s daring declare to grow to be “the black Madonna” turned out to be prophecy greater than wishful considering.
Whereas “Umbrella” was clearly the propulsive drive behind the industrial success of Good Lady Gone Dangerous, “Shut Up And Drive” cemented the defiant tone of the album and as soon as once more noticed the singer turning to New Wave anthems for inspiration. After sampling Smooth Cell on “SOS,” this time round she referenced New Order’s “Blue Monday” because the electro-backdrop to “Shut Up And Drive.”
Iconic inspirations
If there are two albums that knowledgeable the creation of Good Lady Gone Dangerous, they’d be Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Brandy’s Afrodisiac. In interviews from the period, Rihanna cited each as inspirations for her newly found path. Listening by Good Lady Gone Dangerous, you may hear their affect in each the aesthetic and perspective of the album.
Following “Umbrella” on the album is the dance-pop ditty “Push Up On Me”; in some ways, the haunting sound results and 80s vibes are paying homage to “Beat It.” There’s additionally an rising story arc that finds Rihanna inviting her accomplice from “Umbrella” to come back be a part of her on the membership.
Persevering with the narrative, Rihanna instructions “Don’t Stop The Music,” energetically sampling Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin’ Something.” The only shot to No.3 on the Billboard 100 chart, establishing her as the brand new queen of membership anthems.
One of the crucial influential R&B albums of the last decade
Whereas Good Lady Gone Dangerous had its rock and dance-pop influences, it’s additionally some of the influential R&B data of the last decade. Through the recording course of, Rihanna spoke in regards to the affect that listening to Afrodisiac had on her inventive path. Whereas that album documented a newfound maturity for Brandy in 2004, it additionally experimented with the style by its manufacturing: two issues that Rihanna consciously explored on Good Lady Gone Dangerous.
After a stretch of angsty, techno-pop-fuelled bops together with “Breakin’ Dishes” (through which the singer vows to “fight a man tonight”) and “Shut Up And Drive,” Rihanna delivers her purest R&B moments. Promoted because the album’s third single, “Hate That I Love You” featured Ne-Yo, who co-penned the track, in addition to the sluggish burner “Question Existing” and the closing title lower on the unique 12-track launch. “Hate That I Love You” reached No.7 on the Billboard Scorching 100, changing into considered one of 2007’s most memorable love duets.
Sonic evolution
The subsequent observe, “Say It,” samples the 90s dancehall cruiser “Flex,” by Mad Cobra, and finds Rihanna coyly requesting that her lover “tell me what it is you like.” It’s adopted by a sequence of Timbaland-produced tracks. Together with Difficult Stewart, Sean Garrett, and The-Dream, Timbaland performed an integral function in Rihanna’s sonic evolution from singles artist to fully-formed pop star.
“Sell Me Candy” discovered Rihanna refashioning herself as a majorette main the band for her personal pep rally. The hypnotic manufacturing brings in each Caribbean and Indian influences which may also be heard on “Lemme Get That,” a swaggering, rhythmic chant on which Rihanna additional slips into her man-eater persona.
Jay Z wasn’t the one A-list collaborator on Good Lady Gone Dangerous. Rihanna’s outsized charisma additionally impressed Justin Timberlake, one other frequent Timbaland accomplice, and the 2 teamed up on the ballad single “Rehab.” Couched in an album stuffed with membership bangers, “Rehab,” proved that Rihanna had moved past earnest love songs and into sensual R&B territory, one thing she’d later excellent on “Love The Way You Lie.”
Locked and re-loaded
Rihanna’s inventive risk-taking paid off, incomes her seven Grammy Award nominations, a No.2 album, and six-times-platinum certification. As a result of overwhelming crucial and industrial success of Good Lady Gone Dangerous, the album was reissued as Good Lady Gone Dangerous: Reloaded the next 12 months, with three new songs, together with the No.1 hits “Disturbia,” “Take A Bow” and the rock-fuelled “If I Never See Your Face Again,” her collaboration with Maroon 5.
Good Lady Gone Dangerous not solely laid the inspiration for Rihanna to grow to be one of many best-selling artists of the last decade, it proved that she was extra than simply one other pop star with singles success. The primary main step in establishing her as a singular artist and icon within the making, it set the scene for Rihanna’s additional evolution on 2009’s Rated R.
Purchase Rihanna’s music on vinyl now.
