[Comedor]

No? And it was written, produced or whatever by Neyo, I think, he and Rihanna had a great on going success at that time, so it was safe for them to keep releasing collabs.

Run The World was more risky.

[YouBetterPopBitch]

Originally posted by Roar

I Kissed a Girl

Oh please...

Russian Roulette is definitely ONE OF the riskier lead singles of the last years, yes.
Can't really think of any.

Me Against The Music (as it was SO different that Britney had ever done at the time since she left definitely the cute and innocent pop sound behind her).
Slave 4 U was quite a risk at the time too, because Britney still had this bubble-gum image, so it was quite a shock at the time.
Hold It Against Me a little bit too, as it was very edgy with a chorus melancholyco-pop and that dubstep break.

But yeah, RR definitely was risky for a lead.

[pxxxtrick]

Yes, one of them. Born This Way was risky also imo.

Edit: I'm a Slave 4 U also

[lonnie]

Originally posted by Comedor

No? And it was written, produced or whatever by Neyo, I think, he and Rihanna had a great on going success at that time, so it was safe.

Run The World was more risky.

So what if it was written by Neyo, previous to that HTILY,Take a bow and unfaithful (very risky as well) were tracks penned by Neyo yet they are nothing alike.

[FatShady]

Originally posted by beyawnse

Single Ladies is waaaay riskier

why sis?
It continues her popular women empowerment theme, made by Umbrella hit producer and was released with another lead single just incase.

[beyawnse]

Originally posted by MadMagical

What defines risky? just some type of sound?
The lyrics, the meaning, the concept and the video all contribute to how "risky" something is, and Applause certainly was risky in all these ways.

Risky to me is not following the success formula. Russian Roulette didn't have any of that formula that guaranteed it to be successful.

[Thor]

RTW says hi.

[umich]

BTW, Raise Your Glass, and We R Who We R were the riskiest.

[Mr.Marvelous]

It's definitely one of the riskiest lead singles, if not the most.

[GaGaFan]

Btw is more risky, BUT RR was pretty good.

[Rihinvention]

There are so many pressedt people flocking into this thread to claim a song by their fave was riskier. No matter what the adjective is, people come running in shouting "NOPE. NO. NOT AT ALL. THIS ONE BY MY FAVOURITE WAS WAY MORE. WAY, WAY MORE."

I think when you compare where the industry was at that time and what the popular sound was then, with the direction Rihanna actually went, then yeah, it's definitely one of the riskiest options out there. Rude Boy would have been a huge lead. It was huge anyway. But it wouldn't have made for a sensible lead choice considering it was the first single since the Chris Brown incident.

I think West Coast is also really risky, but apparently Lana genuinely doesn't care about being a pop girl so I suppose her goals are different. She's pretty indie.

[FatShady]

Originally posted by swissman

If Rihanna had never went through "the incident" I think it would have been a lot riskier, but it seems to use that incident as almost a backstory to the video, I don't see it really as a risk, considering everyone wanted to know more about it at that point.

The song doesn't really tell much about the incident.

[lonnie]

I'm confused by how RTW is the riskiest, BTW and Slave 4 U maybe but rtw? It is bey's riskiest but not the riskiest by a pop girl.

[Chrome]

That and RTW.

If I remember correctly, there was a bunch or controversy surrounding the song's subject matter (which I think Ne-Yo also addressed).

[dirrtydiana]

Considering her situation, no.

It is one of my faves of her tho.

[lonnie]

Originally posted by umichgrad07

BTW, Raise Your Glass, and We R Who We R were the riskiest.

The videos, right?

[Rihinvention]

Originally posted by umichgrad07

BTW, Raise Your Glass, and We R Who We R were the riskiest.

This is sarcasm right? Empowerment anthems from female pop vocalists were HUGE in late 2010/early 2011. Raise Your Glass, We R Who We R, Born This Way and Firework all hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. How were they risky? If anything, they were the complete opposite of risky.

[FatShady]

Originally posted by Comedor

No? And it was written, produced or whatever by Neyo, I think, he and Rihanna had a great on going success at that time, so it was safe for them to keep releasing collabs.

Run The World was more risky.

RTW was an abomination and it flopped but it wasn't risky.
It was a continuation of Single Ladies, sampled an already smash and continued her ongoing women empowerment theme.

[MadMagical]

Originally posted by beyawnse

Risky to me is not following the success formula. Russian Roulette didn't have any of that formula that guaranteed it to be successful.

Applause didn't follow the success formula either, just because a song is up-tempo doesn't make it generic + made to be a hit. A valid example of music made for success is all of Katy Perry's singles; safe, relatable lyrics, catchy music, + appealing imagery = a hit.

[Comedor]

Originally posted by lonnie

So what if it was written by Neyo, previous to that HTILY,Take a bow and unfaithful (very risky as well) were tracks penned by Neyo yet they are nothing alike.

They had success together so it was safe for them to release another collab.

There's nothing risky about RR, it's a Neyo ballad.