Isn't "Hard" the next UK single anymore? It's being rotated on UK Music Channels and MTV have added it to their "Future Hits".

http://www.fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=16691
Rude Boy goes for pop and rhythmic adds on February 8th Awesome choice!
I think that's good timing too because Hard should be going top 10 on the Hot 100 soon and releasing this will keep the momentum going. It should also help to keep the album in the top 20 of the Billboard 200

Hard is now the next UK single anyways.
But Rude Boy is being played in Canada now as the next single.
So confusing
And now it's the next US single?

"Hard" is only the US single I believe, to make up for "Russian Roulette"'s lackluster performance on the Hot 100. In the UK, "Roulette" was a hit so there wasnt a need to rush a single over there.

"Rude Boy" will be the 2nd single in the UK, and 3rd in the US.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's been changed. That's why all the music channels are playing Hard now. Also, Hard is in the top 200 on iTunes UK while Rude Boy is in the depths of the top 1000.
If Rude Boy is the single she's in a sh*t load of trouble. It'll flop harder than Earthquake did, since it's still nowhere to be seen - and there's no music video premiere announced yet.

I agree, Rude Boy is a good song, but Rockstar 101 or Fire Bomb would've been a better choice for 3rd US single; preferrably Fire Bomb, since uptempo tracks are better for her in the summer; she could hold out on Rude Boy or Rockstar until then. But by the looks of things, Rude Boy as 3rd is set in stone.