Well! If you're a UK ATRL-er, ya'll will remember the summer of 2007. As with every summer ever in the UK, it rained and rained and poured and flooded and rained. But 2007? Worse than usual. This song became pretty synonymous with our horrid weather, and radio went bonkers- giving us an absolute bona-fide smash hit. The type of smash that comes around every, well....since Can't Get You Out Of My Head, really?
Yep. You might have thought the US gave this a lot of success- but as we always do with Rihanna here in the UK- we took it to the next level. It spent 10 consecutive weeks at #1. Consider how hard that is to do in the US. Only the greats can achieve it. Only a select few can do it every decade. In the UK? It's basically impossible. The way our charts work, a song will slide straight to the top at Week 1, and enter irreversible downfall. To do 3/4 weeks is excellent, 6/7 weeks is beyond exceptional, and Rihanna's 10 weeks? That's basically unheard of. This is the rate's most successful single, and that is bar none. Except for Swagger Jagger.
The song itself was first offered to Britney for Blackout. Rejected. Then to Taio Cruz (?!?). Rejected. Then to Mary J Blige. What's in the new chicken wrap? Rejected. So, like an unwanted baby, it arrived on the Barbadian's doorstep. And we haven't looked back since.
The song got her a Grammy- Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. It also got her a sh*tloads of plaudits and critical acclaim. But perhaps most importantly, it propelled her straight into the pop stratosphere. Rather than having to muck it out with the Ameries and Ciaras and Michelle McManuses of the world, she was now scalping Beyoncé's wig and kicking Britney's ankles into the ground. No longer in the dark mixtape days, the girl with the fierce bob and can-do attitude has been right in our faces ever since. And we've taken her with open arms.
.....Heck, she might even be #1 again this time tomorrow.
Jinzo's verdict: 10 Timeless. Effortless. Brilliant. Just a 10/10 pop song in every way. I cannot fault it. Gets the job done, and does it well. Congrats!