Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded

Background and release

Rihanna began working on her third studio album Good Girl Gone Bad (2007) in late 2006 and by late February 2007, the album was almost complete. Most of its songs were recorded in Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California, parallel to the recording sessions for her second studio album, A Girl like Me (2006). For the album's production, she worked with some of the producers who were involved on her previous albums, including Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken, Ne-Yo, J.R. Rotem, Sean Garrett, and Norwegian duo StarGate. Rihanna also collaborated with Timbaland and will.i.am for the first time. Following its release, Good Girl Gone Bad became a worldwide commercial success and reached number one on the UK Albums Chart and number two on the US Billboard 200. It also received generally positive reviews from critics. The album's lead single "Umbrella" became a commercial success and reached number one on over fifteen national singles charts, including the Billboard Hot 100, which it topped for seven consecutive weeks, and the UK Singles Chart, which it topped for ten consecutive weeks.

In early 2008, Rihanna unveiled a new song titled "Take a Bow", which premiered on February 14, 2008 on the KIIS-FM radio show On Air with Ryan Seacrest. MTV News reported that the track would serve as the lead single from Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded, a reissue of the original album to mark its first anniversary. Rihanna further announced that apart from "Take a Bow", the expanded album would contain two more songs, one of which was a duet with American pop rock band Maroon 5, to supplement the original track listing. Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded was first released digitally on June 2, 2008 in certain countries, including Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The album was released physically on June 13 in Germany. On June 17, it was released in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. A DVD containing behind-the-scenes footage of Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad Tour (2007–09) was included in a special version launched in the US for a limited time. Rihanna subsequently hosted a promotion party for Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded in New York City, which featured several celebrity guests, including LeToya Luckett, Teyana Taylor, and Wynter Gordon.

New material

Four new songs were recorded for Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded: "Disturbia", "Hatin' on the Club", "If I Never See Your Face Again" (with Maroon 5) and "Take a Bow". All were initially confirmed for inclusion on the album, though "Hatin' on the Club" was removed for unspecified reasons. The song was leaked online in January 2009 on Big Mike & DJ Neptune's R&B Kings Part Two mixtape.

"Disturbia" is an uptempo electropop song. According to BBC Music's Fraser McAlpine, it is reminiscent of Rihanna's 2007 single "Don't Stop the Music". McAlpine also noted that the song has a "frosty-rave" chorus accompanied with Rihanna's "icy" vocals. It was written by Brian Kennedy Seals, Chris Brown, Robert Allen and Andre Merritt for the re-release of Brown's second studio album, Exclusive (2007). However, after finishing the song, Brown took preference to another track, "Forever", which would later be released as the first single from the re-release. He felt that "Disturbia" would be better suited for a female singer and gave it to Rihanna. Kennedy produced "Disturbia", while Makeba Riddick produced Rihanna's vocals. The song was recorded by Andrew Vastola at Rocky Mountain Recorders in Denver, Colorado. It was mixed by Phil Tan at Soapbox Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. Additional engineering was provided by Josh Houghkirk, with assistance from Carlos Oyanedel. Speaking to USA Today, Brown described his feelings about giving "Disturbia" to Rihanna: "It's fun being creative and even if you have a concept in your head to write about, you can write it and give it and give it to someone else because it might not personally fit you, but it might be an idea you have".

"If I Never See Your Face Again" is an R&B song that incorporates a "jagged" use of synthesizers and "buzzing" guitars in its production. It was written by Adam Levine and James Valentine, two of the five band members from Maroon 5. It was produced by Mark Endert, Mike Elizondo, Mark "Spike" Stent, C. "Tricky" Stewart and Maroon 5. "If I Never See Your Face Again" was recorded by Stent at Conway Studios in Hollywood, Glenwood Place Studios in Burbank and Phantom Studios in Westlake Village. The song was mixed by Endert at Scream Studios in Miami, with assistance from Doug Johnson. "If I Never See Your Face Again" was originally included on the standard version of It Won't Be Soon Before Long without the inclusion of Rihanna, however, Levine stated in an interview with James Montgomery for MTV News while on set of the music video that he wanted to try something different for the album's re-release. He also said that he asked Rihanna to do some "bits and pieces" in the recording studio and that it came together very quickly. Levine stated that if there is "magic" between two artists, then "you don't even have to think about it." In an interview with MTV's Total Request Live, Rihanna said that she was very excited about the collaboration with the band because she always "loved them" and their work.

"Take a Bow" is an R&B song that tells of how the female protagonist expresses disinterest in rekindling her relationship with a dishonorable and unfaithful ex-boyfriend. The song was written by Ne-Yo, Mikkel S. Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen. Hermansen and Eriksen produced and provided instruments for "Take a Bow" under their production name, StarGate, while Smith co-produced the song. Rihanna's vocals were recorded by Eriksen at Roc the Mic Studios in New York City, Westlake Studios in Los Angeles and Parr Street Studios in Liverpool. The song was mixed by Tan at Soapbox Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, with assistance from Houghkirk.

Singles

"Take a Bow" was released as the lead single from Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded and fifth single overall from the two releases. The song was made available to purchase in media outlets, via Def Jam Recordings' website since March 14, 2008, and was later made available to download via iTunes Store on May 6, 2008. It peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and became Rihanna's third song to reach the plateau. It has been certified four-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and sold over three million digital copies. The single also reached number one in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Slovakia and the United Kingdom. The accompanying music video was directed by Anthony Mandler.

The Spanglish version of "Hate That I Love You" featuring David Bisbal, was released as the second single from the album on April 28, 2008, in certain countries such as Argentina, Brazil and Spain. The song peaked at number 37 on the Spanish Singles Chart and stayed on the chart for a total of two weeks. "If I Never See Your Face Again", the collaboration with Maroon 5, was released as the second single from Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded. It was sent to contemporary hit radio in the US on May 15, 2008. It reached the top twenty on over five national charts worldwide. The music video for the song was directed by Anthony Mandler and shot on an indoor soundstage in Castaic, California. According to Dorian Lynskey of The Guardian, the concept for the video was "high-end erotica".

When the album was reissued, Rihanna approached L.A. Reid, the head of Def Jam Recordings and suggested that she wanted to release "Disturbia" as the next single. Speaking to MTV News, Reid said, "It was the first time Rihanna actually came to me and said, 'Here's the song I want to put out.' She played me the song. That was her taking control [...] She understands what hits are, and she knows what she wants to say. She's at that place where she can do that." It was solicited to US contemporary hit radio on June 17, 2008, and was released as a CD single in the United Kingdom on July 22, 2008. "Disturbia" earned Rihanna an award for Best International Song at the 2009 NRJ Music Awards. It peaked at number one in Belgium (Flanders) and New Zealand and became a top-ten hit in over twenty countries worldwide. The single topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for two consecutive weeks, and became Rihanna's third number one single from Good Girl Gone Bad and fourth overall on the Hot 100 chart. The music video for "Disturbia" was directed by Anthony Mandler and portrays Rihanna in various locations such as in a prison cell and gas chamber.

Promotion

To further promote Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded, Rihanna performed on several television programs and award ceremonies. She performed "Take a Bow" for the first time at the 2008 MuchMusic Video Awards held in Toronto, Canada in the MuchMusic's headquarters on June 15, 2008. On June 20, Rihanna appeared on Today's Concert Series held at the Rockefeller Plaza, New York City. She performed "Take a Bow" together with her 2007 singles "Umbrella" and "Don't Stop the Music". On June 27, she appeared on FNMTV together with Maroon 5. She sang "Take a Bow" before performing together on their collaboration "If I Never See Your Face Again". In July 2008, Rihanna performed the Spanglish version of "Hate That I Love You" with David Bisbal, at the sixth series of the Spanish talent show, Operación Triunfo.

Rihanna performed "Disturbia" for the first time at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards. She performed it while revealing a leather "goth inspired" outfit. Together with the dance troops, she performed a Thriller-inspired dance in which glow sticks and leather props were used. On September 19, 2008, Rihanna visited France and performed "Disturbia" at Star Academy France. Rihanna sang "Disturbia" at the 2009 Super Bowl which was held at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. The performance of the song featured a sample from the White Stripes song "Seven Nation Army" (2003) and was accompanied by flames that shot up across the front of the stage.

Critical reception

A reviewer from The National praised the material on the original album, particularly the "ubiquity" of "Umbrella", and also complimented "Don't Stop the Music", "Hate That I Love You", and "Shut Up and Drive". He further stated that the release of Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded was made to mark the first year anniversary of the album and that "the new tracks are everything you want pop to be, and are a testament to the power of the original record and to the new Rihanna." Spence D. of IGN reviewed the new material and wrote that "Disturbia" is built on an infective "bum-bum-be-dum-bum-bum..." hook "that sucks you into the detached electronic bounce of the track". He said that "Take a Bow" is perfectly fitted for a "post-break-up days of gloom" and further praised Rihanna's vocals on the song. According to D., "If I Never See Your Face Again" is inspired by the works of American musician Prince and wrote that the "Rihanna's presence [on the song] definitely gives it a nice boost".

J. Edward Keyes of eMusic gave the album four out of five stars and wrote that the "uber-futurist" production of the release accompanied with Rihanna's "Robo Dominatrix vocal approach—is a big reason the record works so well. Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded is all blue-light electronics and primal throb, 25th-century pop music in the here and now." Digital Spy's Nick Levine also gave Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded four out of five stars, but was skeptical about the choice to re-release the album, writing that "it isn't worth forking out for Good Girl Gone Bad twice just to hear the new songs". Despite that, he praised the newly added songs especially "If I Never See Your Face Again"; he called the song "superior". Levine further wrote, "if Reloaded encourages a few hesitant pop fans to invest in this album, the closest thing to a Thriller that 2007/8 is likely to produce, this rather cynical reissue should be let off the hook... just." Among other achieved awards and nominations, "Disturbia" and "If I Never See Your Face Again" received nominations for Best Dance Recording and Pop Collaboration with Vocals respectively at the 2009 Grammy Awards.

Commercial performance

After the release of Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded, it was predicted that the reissue would sell between 45,000 and 50,000 copies in its first week in the US. For the week ending June 22, 2008, it sold 63,000 copies and helped the original version of the album to jump from number 124 to number seven on the US Billboard 200 in its 55th week. It also peaked at number five on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. With this, Good Girl Gone Bad got back in the top 10 for the first time since its debut in June 2007. Additionally, five songs from the reissue were listed on the Hot Digital Songs, topped by "Disturbia", which debuted at number six. The next week, Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded fell to number nine and sold 40,000 more copies. In its third week, it charted at number ten on sales of 41,000 copies. By November 2012, both Good Girl Gone Bad and the reissue had sold 2,800,000 copies in the US alone. Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded helped the original album re-enter and peak at number six on the Canadian Albums Chart.

Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded debuted at number seven on the New Zealand Albums Chart in the week of June 30, 2008. It reached its peak position on the chart at number four the following week. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) for shipping over 15,000 copies. Following the reissue, the original album re-entered the UK Singles Chart at number 12 in the week of June 16. The next week, the album fell to number 16. By June 2012, both the original album and its reissue had sold 1,850,000 combined copies in the UK. Following its release, the original album re-entered the Danish Albums Chart at number 15. In its second week, it reached number nine, and in its third week, the album reached a peak of number four. After the release of Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded, Good Girl Gone Bad re-entered the Swiss Albums Chart at number 32, and the Austrian Albums Chart at number 36.

Legacy

When Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded was released, the original album received a sales increase of 930%—more than any other non-debuting album in the history of the Billboard 200 chart. By July 2010, it had become the third album in the US whose songs have sold the most copies combined. Its songs have sold over 17,081,000 digital copies, only behind from The Fame Monster (2009) by Lady Gaga and The E.N.D (2009) by The Black Eyed Peas. "Disturbia" and "Take a Bow" were two of its most downloaded songs. Before reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100, "Take a Bow" jumped from number 53 to the top of the chart, following digital sales of 267,000 copies. At the time, it was the second highest leap to number one in the Hot 100's history, followed only by Maroon 5's "Makes Me Wonder" (2007). The song also helped Rihanna achieve two of the top-three digital sales opening weeks; the first one being Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body" (2008) which opened with 286,000 copies sold and the second the singer's own "Umbrella" which sold 277,000 copies for the week dated June 9, 2007. "Disturbia" became Rihanna's fourth number-one single on the Hot 100, which tied her at the time with Beyoncé Knowles and Mariah Carey for the most number-one hits in the decade of 2000–2010.

Track listings