When people talk about Rihanna's "Umbrella" in 20 years, its story will probably have been embellished in all sorts of ways.

"Everybody has their side of it, because everybody was under a different amount of pressure to deliver that song to Rihanna," producer Tricky Stewart told MTV News of the song up for Record of the Year at this year's Grammy Awards. "So all the stories are gonna be different, because everybody has their own perspective."

How could they not?

Released in late March 2007, "Umbrella" topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart by May, rocketing 40 spots in one week to land at #1 and staying there for seven straight weeks.

The song broke the iTunes music store's record for biggest debut, besting the previous mark set by Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie."

The accompanying Chris Applebaum-directed video — complete with a sexy, slithery, silver-painted Rihanna — launched the singer into cover-girl status, as she graced the pages of Seventeen, Complex and Giant magazines, among others. Not to mention that it landed her two VMA Moonmen.

So when the track's trio of participants look back on the record that turned Rih Rih from star to superstar, revitalized Stewart's career and introduced the world to the talents of songwriter The-Dream, they'll swear it leaped 60 spots to #1. That it made iTunes crash because it was so popular. (Insert optional number of exclamation points for dramatic effect.)

But the song almost didn't even make it to Rihanna.

According to Stewart, "Umbrella" was composed a year ago with Britney Spears in mind. He had worked with the troubled pop star on her 2003 album, In The Zone. But her camp told Stewart that they already had several tracks lined up for the new album, which they were already struggling to get Spears to record.

"Her current state was a little bizarre, you know?" Stewart said. "It wasn't meant to be."

Since it was Grammy season, Stewart said he and Dream set their sights on getting the record to Mary J. Blige, who was nominated for eight awards. Problem was, the same day they also sent the track to L.A. Reid, CEO of Island Def Jam, Rihanna's label.

"In a two-day period, we were in the bidding war of our lives," Stewart explained, laughing. "Between Mary J. Blige's camp, and Karen Kwak [Island Def Jam's executive VP of A&R] and L.A. Reid's camp."

Blige, however, didn't get the chance to hear the song right away, because she was tied up with Grammy obligations. And as an established star, she had to sign off on the record before her reps could accept it. Rihanna's label execs, on the other hand, were relentless in their pursuit of the record for the burgeoning star.

"At the time, if you heard Mary's name and you heard Rihanna's name, you'd want to hold out," Stewart said. "Mary's coming off 'Be Without You'; she's nominated for all these Grammys, the whole thing. So the plan with us, really, was to hold the record to get a response from Mary. By the time L.A. Reid and his team got done beating us up, we just couldn't say no. They're calling every 20 minutes for the entire Grammy weekend. Every time we see him, everywhere we see him, they were just applying all kinds of pressure."

Two days after "Umbrella" was created, Rihanna was in a Los Angeles studio laying down her vocals. Stewart said he was still unsure whether Rihanna was the right choice for the song, but when the singer nailed the now famous "ella" refrain, he knew they were all onto something.

"When she recorded the 'ellas,' you knew it was about to be the jump-off," he said, "and your life was about to change if you had anything to do with that record."

That was before Jay-Z added his guest verse, then added a different verse, according to Stewart.

"There was actually another version before that one that he did," Stewart said. "And the first one was perfect. And right before they were about to press it up, he went and changed his verse. And nobody even knew he changed his verse. ... At the time when he did, I didn't really understand. But now, when I go back every once in a while and listen to the old rap, what he wrote [instead] makes so much better sense. And from a songwriter's standpoint, he jut really made it more about the song, with the metaphors about umbrellas and about the weather versus what he had before."

Since the record broke, Rihanna's gone on to a greater level of fame, Dream has debuted on his own with hits "Shawty Is a 10" and "Falsetto," and Stewart has been in the studio with Celine Dion, Janet Jackson and Usher.

"It's crazy, just being a part of that," Stewart said. "I've seen a lot of things in my time in the music business, but to see a record take off like that, it's just amazing."

"It was the perfect storm," he added. "I think the video was amazing. We won Monster Single of the Year for the video [at the VMAs]. It won all the awards it was supposed to win, from that standpoint. But at the same time, now the Grammys are coming up, and now the songwriters and the producers and the engineers are gonna get acknowledged. It was the perfect situation, you know? Everybody has their one record and their one situation. There are a lot of people that are talented, but when you get that one it's different, it sets you up."

lol.....in 20 weeks NO ONE will remember this song.

Graycap23 said:

Wrong. This is a great song, but many people can't get past Rihanna's voice.

midnightmover said:

I actually like her and the song. But it's not a great song imho.

Graycap23 said:

I certainly will. It's a great song.

AlexdeParis said:

Catchy song? Yes....
Great? I guess it's a matter of taste.

Catchy song....Yes. Standing the test of time.....No Way. Basically because you know that someone will create something just like it next year and people will forget it.

Don't stop the music will be better remembered because of the MJ sample!

Graycap23 said:

Um, of course it is.

lastdecember said:

Exactly.

Graycap23 said:

I guarantee you that ain't gonna happen. It didn't happen with Gnarles Barkley's "Crazy", or Outkast's "Hey Ya", and it won't happen with this one either.

midnightmover said:

That still does not make it a great song. Neither of those songs are great either. But of course that's just my opinion.

Graycap23 said:

Well, I prefer "Umbrella" to both of those songs anyway.

I didn't like the song when I first heard it, I don't like it now.

Graycap23 said:

Again, it's all opinion. To further the discussion, I'd be interested in hearing your opinion on a mainstream song of the last few years that is great and/or what it is you don't like about "Umbrella."

AlexdeParis said:

I do like the song....but's NOT great.

MikeMatronik said:

So true. So true.

That being said, "Umbrella" is a fantastic song. I hope it is remembered for longer than a year. It is one of the few singles that I hope ends up with some staying power. The lyrics are amazing. While Rihanna isn't a Whitney, or even a Mary, she delivered the song well. Props to her for that.

Graycap23 said:

But why not? I think part of it is that we have different definitions of what makes a song "great." Because different songs are meant for different things, I think there are varying degrees and circumstances of greatness. It's not great like "What's Going On," but it's great like "Promiscuous" (although I'd guess we don't agree on that last one either).

The only problem I had with "Umbrella" is the tacked-on, phoned-in rap by Jay-Z. I found the version without the rap and now it's perfect.

AlexdeParis said:

Great songs? Listen 2 Meshell's latest cd. "The World has Made me the Man of My Dreams".

AlexdeParis said:

AlexdeParis said:

I just feel the times are different and the way music is created is WAY different and that is why it wouldnt hold up 20 years from. Mainly because it has no definition, its a catchy song, but there are millions of catchy songs. They were talking this way about Britney's "Toxic" years ago when they said that it was the greatest pop song of its time. The thing is "time" is now defined as being a year or two if even that long. As far as "Great" there is alot of "greatness" out there that is un-heard mainly because the mainstream of today is not open the way it was 20 years ago. And that meaning everyone, for the most part is the same, same production, beats, videos, writers, etc.. To me a song like Umbrella and Promiscuous are good for their moment, which is right now, but holding up, i cant see it. I felt this way watching Beyonce's new tour DVD, and she is a great showwoman, talented, but the songs for the most part dont hold up through time, i mean she was rattling off hits and there just wasnt much to them, they were all in the same mold.

Now a song like "whats going on" well, it defined a time, and no one, has done anything close to its meaning, not saying there havent been better or greater songs, but its meaning cant be captured in others songs. But Umbrella's meaning or Promiscuos, or another pop hit of the day, will be captured again, very soon, and thats why it just doesnt last.

Umbrella is amazing.

Graycap23 said:

I have it and love it, but it certainly doesn't qualify as mainstream.

AlexdeParis said:

But thats because of the way "mainstream" is dictated. Prince,MJ,Madonna,Janet,Springsteen,Mellencamp etc were all mainstream because of the way things were dictated. Radio and Labels dictate what gets "mainstream" play and since they are all run now by big corporations that are more MEDIA firms than labels, and the people running them no nothing about music in general, you will never see a mainstream with those artists mentioned again, or at least an open field for them to have play

lastdecember said:

I don't disagree at all. Still, that's beside the point.

AlexdeParis said:

No actually its basically the same, because the standard for "great" has been lowered because of the "mainstream". There are going to be tons of Umbrella sound alikes, mainly because the way of creating is so simplistic now, for a generation that has ALL this technology capability, they dont crap with it, they stick with a mold, make it all the same than go on to the next, which is why "meaning" gets lost very quickly.

I rarely listen to the radio, these days. I'm more apt to spin Sly, Donny and Jimi than I am someone who released music recently.

That said, "Umbrella" is one of the best songs I've heard in the past couple of years. I tore through my cell provider's music banks, looking for it as a ringtone, and I'm floored by its touches and simplicity.

It has an amazing hook. Nice to hear the story behind it.

AlexdeParis said:

Shouldn't that tell u something about mainstream?

Graycap23 said:

Nope. There have always been "simple" mainstream songs that rise above the mediocrity and stand out in every era. Some examples off the top of my head:

My Girl
I Want to Hold Your Hand
Sugar, Sugar
You Are the Sunshine of My Life
How Deep Is Your Love
Rosanna
Girls on Film
Cool It Now
Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)
Be Without You

AlexdeParis said:

Actually for those they were for the most part different, but they were in a much stronger mainstream climate than today. Todays mainstream lacks a very big thing, diversity, without diversity there is really nothing. I mean i remember Prince saying this about "lets go crazy" he said that it was tough to get it played because of the strong mainstream climate, BUT, the only reason it did get played was that it sounded nothing like anything out there, and as he said that song had RB play and nothing since that, there hasnt been a faster song at RB radio. For a Nelly Furtado song or Rihanna track, catchy, yes, but far from diverse, the blue prints of the songs have been done already, and will be done again.

I think the bigger is that those "mainstreams" still had it within them to at least be open to "difference". I mean if Joe Jackson could have huge hits with "different" songs like "Stepping Out" and "You cant get what you want till you know what want" it clearly shows the difference in how open those mainstreams were and how they arent today. Artists then were challenged to outdo each other not sound like each other.
[Edited 2/10/08 15:58pm]