A decade ago, a red-headed Rihanna released her fifth studio album – the hit-filled ‘Loud.’
Its fiery first single ‘Only Girl (In The World)’ is today’s From The Vault pick.
Helmed by Norwegian production team Stargate and songwriter Cri$tyle, the song was a return to Dance-Pop for RiRi, after the darker and grittier sounds found on her previous album ‘Rated R.’
Lyrically, the song unpacks the desire to occupy every single thought of a love interest.
On the chart front, ‘Girl’ was a monumental global hit, reaching the top spot in many countries like the US, the UK, Canada and Australia to name a few.
Uniquely, the song topped the Hot 100 two weeks after follow-up single ‘What’s My Name?’ hit #1. This served as the first time in Billboard history that an album’s first single reached pole position after the second.
Rih’s then-frequent collaborator Anthony Mandler directed the track’s colorful visual. Throughout, the star is seen singing alone in vast unoccupied landscapes, surrounded by large balloons, laying on a bed of flowers, or on a swing descending from the skies.
Like the style of the song, the video served as a reset thematically after the moody visual identity of the diva’s previous project – which came on the heels of dark headlines (see: “the” assault).
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As Rihanna continues to be in her bag in earnest with her endeavours outside of music, we’d be lying if we said we weren’t excited to see where she goes next as a Pop star.
With music (both sonics and industry) being quite different than when she last ruled the charts, it will be interesting to observe the sound and strategy she and her team will unleash.
And while answers to those questions are pending, it still looks like that Rihanna reign won’t be letting up any time soon.
