[jokermusic]

um I don't know what you guys are talking about ...Russian roulette was very risky, I remember when I saw the song title I expected it to sound like ring the alarm, diva , or something like hard but it was a fuucking ballad, it was very shocking and risky because Rihanna was a pop star that always had dance songs as the first single and Russian roulette was a ballad with electric guitar cords not just a soft simple beat like take a bow or halo....it was very risky, and def one of the riskiest first singles by a pop girl since like dirty by xtina.

and yea people are saying they expected her to do something like that cuz of her situation at the time but chris released a single that had nothing to do with that incident and a album that wasn't dark..rih could have done the same easily and said she was happy now and wanted her album to reflect that so please Russian roulette and rated r were very risky and the reason I stan.

[22 Two's]

yall forget no one used fanfares in pop music anymore when CRAZY IN LOVE came out

so I'd say CIL

[lonnie]

Originally posted by Comedor

And what is so unusual about RR lyrics? A person going through a hard time, there's nothing personal to it.

As I mentioned earlier, rated r transcends being just a break up or love song. It speaks of a complicated and in the words of swissman a toxic relationship where one individual, the narrator has the risk of suffering the most from it. The clear suicidal symbolism is something that wasn't done hitherto neither by Rihanna nor by any other pop star at the time or better yet in this century.

[jokermusic]

Originally posted by swissman

I kinda agree with this. We Can't Stop came out of left-field and surely was not the type of song anyone could have predicted her making.

I don't see what's risky about it....you can dance to it and its catchy, its urban pop, which is what all white pop artists kind of dabble in once they reach the age of 20...her image was risky ,not the song,

and its not like we cant stop cant be played at the grocery store, its was a pretty safe bet

[lilMonsterKayla]

Uhmm, no. She was coat tailing off her recent abuse scandal, so it was actually the perfect single to release. Sucks that nobody cared enough.

[MadMagical]

Originally posted by lonnie

As I mentioned earlier, rated r transcends being just a break up or love song. It speaks of a complicated and in the words of swissman a toxic relationship where one individual, the narrative has the risk of suffering the most from it. The clear suicidal symbolism is something that wasn't done hitherto neither by Rihanna nor by any other pop star at the time or better yet in this century.

No ordinary listener would delve that deep into it's meanings. It's an enjoyable but dramatic bop with simple lyrics, that's all.

[lonnie]

Originally posted by MadMagical

No ordinary listener would delve that deep into it's meanings. It's an enjoyable but dramatic bop with simple lyrics, that's all.

How can you miss it? The lyrics are as you've said simple so anyone can hear what she's singing about.

[jokermusic]

Originally posted by lilMonsterKayla

Uhmm, no. She was coat tailing off her recent abuse scandal, so it was actually the perfect single to release. Sucks that nobody cared enough.

Britney jumped over and crazy scandal dramas with womanizer and circus, which basically avoided her past two years ....and no one questioned it

katy jumped over her divorce drama with roar and prism, and no one questioned it



I feel like both the girls above could have had dark eras but they didn't, both eras were light and fluffy

Rihanna could have easily released something like loud instead of rated r and no one would have questioned it

[swissman]

Originally posted by jokermusic

and yea people are saying they expected her to do something like that cuz of her situation at the time but chris released a single that had nothing to do with that incident and a album that wasn't dark..rih could have done the same easily and said she was happy now and wanted her album to reflect that so please Russian roulette and rated r were very risky and the reason I stan.

But there is a huge difference between Chris Brown and Rihanna. Chris was the bad guy, the guy everyone was hating, the abuser. Rihanna was the victim with generally the sympathy and support from the public. It suited Chris well to make a song that distanced himself from the incident.

Rihanna could have done a happy song, yes. Happy songs are always seen as safe. But like I said earlier, if not for the incident, this song would be a lot riskier, but given everyone wanted to hear about what's in Rihanna's mind after the incident and this song sounds very brooding and personal, it wasn't a huge risk at that point. Whether this was on purpose or not, it capitalized on people's curiosity.

[jokermusic]

Originally posted by swissman

But there is a huge difference between Chris Brown and Rihanna. Chris was the bad guy, the guy everyone was hating, the abuser. Rihanna was the victim with generally the sympathy and support from the public. It suited Chris well to make a song that distanced himself from the incident.

maybe so but still

Britney jumped over and crazy scandal dramas with womanizer and circus, which basically avoided her past two years ....and no one questioned it

katy jumped over her divorce drama with roar and prism, and no one questioned it



I feel like both the girls above could have had dark eras but they didn't, both eras were light and fluffy

Rihanna could have easily released something like loud instead of rated r and no one would have questioned it

[LadyGagaFan]

No lol

[SaneBeyhannaStan]

One of but not the riskiest.

Dirtty
Déjà Vu
Slave 4 U
Erotica

Are three others that come to my mind.

[Black Umbrella]

Hello Kitty is more risky

[evyonce]

There were many risky lead singles but this one is def one of them.
Bad Romance and Single Ladies was risky.

[Lucyyyyyyyyy]

Not really

[SaneBeyhannaStan]

Originally posted by Jack. Bauer

Not even close.

Like a Prayer, American Life, Judas come to mind.

Judas isn't a lead dear

[swissman]

Originally posted by jokermusic

Britney jumped over and crazy scandal dramas with womanizer and circus, which basically avoided her past two years ....and no one questioned it

katy jumped over her divorce drama with roar and prism, and no one questioned it



I feel like both the girls above could have had dark eras but they didn't, both eras were light and fluffy

Rihanna could have easily released something like loud instead of rated r and no one would have questioned it

Are you forgetting Britney's Piece of Me which addressed the "media drama", the accusations of her as a bad mother, the paparazzi, the things people said about her? And then there is Part of Me for Katy which references her divorce as well as Part of Me 3D which talks about it as well.

[MadMagical]

Originally posted by lonnie

How can you miss it? The lyrics are as you've said simple so anyone can hear what she's singing about.

I've heard the song a couple of times and I've never realized until now that it's actually about suicide.

[Teezy]

Hell no

[Rihinvention]

Ugh you're all getting so pressedt and defensive about whose lead single is riskiest and risky isn't even necessarily a good thing.

So many people in this thread are saying songs where, even if they were risky, the risk didn't pay off. Like why are you bragging about that?