| "Rude Boy" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Rihanna | ||||
| from the album Rated R | ||||
| Released | February 9, 2010 (see release history) |
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| Format | Digital download | |||
| Recorded | 2009 | |||
| Genre | Pop,[1] ragga[2] | |||
| Length | 3:43 | |||
| Label | Def Jam | |||
| Writer(s) | Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Ester Dean, Makeba Riddick, Rob Swire, Robyn Fenty | |||
| Producer | Stargate, Rob Swire | |||
| Rihanna singles chronology | ||||
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"Rude Boy" is a song performed by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It is written by Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Ester Dean, Makeba Riddick, Rob Swire and Rihanna and produced by Stargate and co-produced by Swire. It serves as the second international single, and the third US single from her fourth album Rated R.[3]
"Rude Boy" has been well-received by the critics and achieved commercial success by topping charts in the United States and Australia, as well as reaching the top ten in United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand and Switzerland. In the United States, "Rude Boy" is Rihanna's best-selling and highest-charting single from Rated R to date.[4] The music video of the song is based around Jamaican dancehall theme.
Contents |
Rihanna told Q magazine the song is "about the kind of street, bad boy that girls sometimes like". "Rude Boy" was released on US radio on February 9, 2010.[5] In the United Kingdom, "Rude Boy" began to play on the radio stations in January 2010.[6] A remix version was released to Amazon.co.uk and Orange Music entitled "Rude Boy (TC Remix)" on March 8, 2010. On March 15, 2010, the song was released to UK iTunes.[7]
The song has been reviewed positively by music critics. Andy Kellman of Allmusic stated that the song is the "closest the set gets to upbeat pop".[1] The Guardian called it a highlight of the album and said that "Rude Boy" "exploit[s] Rihanna's most appealing vocal style, a sulky, icy, monotone – uniquely among the pantheon of showboating R&B divas, Rihanna often sounds as if she's about to roll her eyes and tut. It ... turns Rude Boy's pillow talk on its head: "Come on rude boy, can you get it up?" seems less like a come-on than the impatience of a woman who – tsk! – is going to miss America's Next Top Model if rude boy doesn't hurry up."[8] Los Angeles Times' Ann Powers described the song as a "ragamuffin-style" while stating that it "takes on one such character in a come-on that's really a devastating taunt".[2] Powers added that even when she offers herself in no uncertain terms, she still questions his prowess and that "she repeats in the singsong chorus, making it tough to imagine that any suitor could rise to this occasion".[2] Bill Lamb from About.com praised the song calling it "the best of Rihanna's work thus far".[9] Lamb added that the song "is an icy, distant groove that you can sing along to, but it's unlikely to make you smile".[9] Eric Henderson from Slant Magazine described the song as an "ill-advised rough-sex jam".[10]
The reviewer for Billboard wrote, "with 'Rude Boy', Rihanna delivers her most provocative lyrics and perhaps most authentic-sounding single to date. The singer makes good use of the song's title - an old Jamaican slang term for lawless males - and relishes her role as antagonist. Steel drums are a welcome presence on the production, which gives a nod to ska and dancehall. Rihanna's swagger has never been as convincing as on this song, and thanks to an accompanying video that pays tribute to M.I.A.'s global pop culture references, 'Rude Boy' is poised for success."[11] Digital Spy also reviewed the song positively, writing, "On the one hand, 'Rude Boy' can be construed as a winning synthesis of her Island-pop beginnings, the effortless hitmaking of the Good Girl Gone Bad era and the more menacing persona she's unveiled post-Grammygate. On the other, it's just a damn good tune ... it's the most instantly catchy moment from her Rated R album, a dancehall-inflected delight that takes all of ten seconds to get to the hook."[12]
On February 17, 2010, "Rude Boy" made its debut on the Billboard Hot 100 at number sixty-four and on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at number sixty-two. The following week, it rose forty-one positions to number twenty-three on the Hot 100, earning both Airplay Gainer and Greatest Gainer tags, becoming Rihanna's 19th top forty hit.[13] The following week the song jumped into the top ten, reaching a peak of number eight, with both the Airplay and Greatest Gainer titles for the second week in a row, becoming Rihanna's fourteenth top ten and making her the female artist with the most top-ten hits since 2000. This also gave Rihanna her third consecutive top-ten hit on the chart from Rated R.[14] The song reached number-one on March 18, 2010, becoming the highest-charting single from Rated R, and giving the singer her sixth number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100.[15][16] It also gained the 'Airplay' award for its third consecutive week.
"Rude Boy" first made an appearance in the United Kingdom at number fifty-two on the issue dated January 24, 2010. In the same week, it entered the UK R&B Chart at number nineteen. On March 7, 2010, it climbed to number two on the singles chart, marking her twelfth top-ten hit in the United Kingdom and then attained the number one spot on the UK R&B chart.[17] In Canada, he song debuted at number ninety-nine on January 27, 2010 and has climbed as high as number eighteen.[18] It also appeared at number thirty-two on the French Digital Singles Chart the following day. On February 18, 2010, the song debuted at number eleven on the Irish Singles Chart. The next week, it rose to number six, making it Rihanna's fifteenth top-ten single in Ireland, where it has since gone up to number three. On the Australian Singles Chart, "Rude Boy" became Rihanna's fourth number one on March 7, 2010,[19] and received a gold certification in the same month.
The video was directed by music video director Melina Matsoukas in January 2010 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and was shot in a greenscreen.[20][21] Matsoukas previously directed Rihanna's "Hard" music video. The video premiered on February 10, 2010 on VEVO.[22] Rihanna said that the video is completely different from any other video she's shot before, describing it as "pretty freakin' cool". She added: "A lot of my videos are really dark and edgy and tough. 'Rude Boy' is more playing along the lines from my roots. We used a lot of color, but also the costumes were very Jamaican dance-hall queen type".[20]
The video begins with Rihanna walking towards a drum set.[23] She starts playing the drum set and the song begins with different shots of Rihanna doing various 90's dancehall moves such as the bogle, the butterfly, the tatti among others. Shot of Rihanna are inter cut with scenes of a male dancers doing different types of dances. The video features Rihanna in over seven different outfits ranging from a zebra print bodysuit to a multi-colored miniskirt and black halterneck. Words such as "want, want, want", "boom boom boom" and "Rude Boy" are projected onto the screen. She dances throughout the whole video with some scenes shown of her seducing and flirting with a man. She is shown sitting in the back of a motorcycle with a guy and standing in between two other guys dancing. The video ends with Rihanna in a black and white scene dressed in a white suit with black stripes.[23] It has been viewed over 18 million times on YouTube.[23]
The music video has been compared to M.I.A.'s "Boyz".[24] Director Melina Matsoukas has officially responded to the criticism by saying she wasn't ripping anyone off, and that she thought both videos were great, as well as really we all inspire each other to the point of where something is always like something else. [25] Daniel Kreps from Rolling Stone felt that the video didn't "make much sense, but after a series of Rated R videos that were linked thematically by being confrontational and violent [...] it’s refreshing to see Rihanna willing to just strut around a soundstage in crazy wardrobes like it was “Umbrella” again".[26]
Rihanna first performed the song live on the Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam on VH1, however, the live taping did not allow the performance to be finished properly, as it was cut off on air due to time restrictions.[27][28] On February 2, 2010, Rihanna taped a number of songs for "AOL Music Sessions" including "Rude Boy" and these performances were on the AOL website on February 23, 2010.[29] She also performed the song on The Ellen DeGeneres Show which aired on February 15, 2010.[30] In the United Kingdom, Rihanna performed the song on Alan Carr: Chatty Man on February 25, 2010 and on GMTV the following day. On March 3, 2010 she performed the song with two robots at the ECHO Awards on March 3, 2010 in Berlin, Germany.[31]
Charts
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Certifications
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| Preceded by "Replay" by Iyaz |
UK R&B Chart number-one single February 21, 2010 - February 27, 2010 |
Succeeded by "In My Head" by Jason Derülo |
| Preceded by "In My Head" by Jason Derülo |
Australian Singles Chart number-one single March 7, 2010 - |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by "Break Your Heart" by Taio Cruz featuring Ludacris |
US Billboard Hot 100 number-one single March 18, 2010 |
| Country | Date (Future dates are subject to change) | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | February 9, 2010[49] | Airplay | Def Jam |
| Germany | March 5, 2010[50] | CD single | |
| United Kingdom | March 8, 2010[51][52] | Digital Download - Remix | |
| France | March 15, 2010[53] | CD Single |
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