Our friends over at Just Jared attended the New York listening session for Rihanna’s new LP ‘Loud’ last night. Check out what they say Babados’ Next Top Model will be serving up this go round (plus my Two Pence) after the jump…

Rihanna’s LOUD Album — Exclusive JustJared.com Preview

“S&M” - It’s definitely a club banger and the naughtiest song of all! Here are some of the sample lyrics as best I heard them: “I may be bad but I’m perfectly good… There’s sex in the air. I don’t care, I love the smell of it… Sticks and stones may break my bones but chains and whips excite me. I like it, come on, come on.”

“Only Girl (In The World)”: The whole room was dancing along! During the lyrics “hold me like a pillow,” L.A. hugged himself like a pillow, too. Funny moment!

“What’s My Name?” – It’s the second single off of Loud – listen to a bit of the track here! “Oh nah nah, what’s my name? …Hey boy, I really wanna see if you can go downtown with a girl like me. Oh boy, I wanna really be with you, you’re just my type… You’re so amazing, you took the time to figure me out..”

“Cheers” – The song samples Avril Lavigne’s “I’m With You” and is so unbelievably catchy! Avril’s “yeahh, yeahh, yeahhh, yeahhh” are prevalent throughout. This song will be so huge in clubs, bars, and everywhere that serves alcohol. Everybody will be raising a glass! Sample lyrics: “Turn it around with a dollar round, there’s a party at the bar everybody put your glasses up… Cheers to the freakin weekend, I drink to that. Everybody put your glasses up. Don’t let the bastards get you down… Drinks on my mind and my mind on my money.”

“California King (Bed)” – A beautiful ballad! Lyrics include: “nose to nose, palm to palm, wrist to wrist, toe to toe…Feels like more than distance between us. In this California king bed, we’re 10,000 miles apart. I’ll be California wishing on the stars, my California king.” It’s L.A.’s favorite song off the album!

“Raining Men” - The fast and uptempo song features Nicki Minaj! There isn’t much of a chorus, but the song features a variation of the popular children’s phrase “eenie meenie miney mo”.

“Who’s That Chick” - Used for a Doritos ad – read more about the song here. There are two videos for this track!

“Fading Away” - A beautiful ballad that likely references her relationship with Chris Brown. The song includes the lines, “Ready for change, baby, Open up my eyes and finally realize you’re fading away. Too late… Running your mouth. So fed up, don’t press your luck today. What’s a girl to do when she’s crying inside?”

“Man Down” - The song starts off with sirens and sounds like a metaphor for deadening a relationship. Lyrics include: “I pulled out my gun… Ra pum pum pum pum. Oh mama, mama, mama, I just shot a man down in central station. Never thought I’d do it. Whatever ever happened to me. Why did I pull the trigger. What am I gonna do?”

More fast-food music, I see. No surprises there. Whether Ms. Fenty and this this latest collection of farmyard hits are enough to push her to the stratosphere (where Beyonce and Lady GaGa sit quite comfortably) will be interesting to see. One thing is for sure; her label are certainly hoping it will.

For, the current business model for Runway RiRi appears to still have her pegged as a “singles act” – something this preview seems to reinforce too. Now to educate those who don’t know; the only reason her label are pumping so much into her is because she’s signed to a 360 deal. Therefore, her usually forgettable singles – while not making the label much money back - serve as an advertisement to brands such as the Covergirl’s and Dorito’s, who pay Ms. Fenty megabucks to endorse their products – megabucks the label will take a cut from. Same with touring. Many scratched their heads when the relative failure that was ‘Rated R’ spawned the ‘Last Girl On Earth Tour’ (which saw many a date cancelled due to low ticket sales). Another case, point, example of the label recouping costs.

Yet with Rihanna catering once again to the fickle Pop audience (‘Rated R’ was a poorly executed step in the right direction), she re-joins the batch of Pop-pretenders whose expiry date is fast approaching. Five albums down and still unable to shift albums (to the level of her peers), and above all, still churning out generic cookie-cutter nonsense (see: ‘Only Girl’). If she doesn’t up her game qualitatively (slim chance, with that voice), it’s only a matter of time before the label find another cash-cow to milk – who, if they have any sense, will actually have a shred of talent too.

i like Rihanna and i hope this album does well. "Rated R" was an overlooked album that was one of the best releases last year. if anything, probably the best pop album of last year. i don't know why a lot of people expect a lot out of her or something groundbreaking. she's got some great pop tunes under her belt, and that's just what i look forward to from her.

Can't wait, especially for S&M, Raining Men and What's My Name

CHIC0 said:

i like Rihanna and i hope this album does well. "Rated R" was an overlooked album that was one of the best releases last year. if anything, probably the best pop album of last year. i don't know why a lot of people expect a lot out of her or something groundbreaking. she's got some great pop tunes under her belt, and that's just what i look forward to from her.

I don't think it was overlooked. All the singles besides Rockstar and Te Amo went top 10 and Rude Boy was a worldwide #1. I think she got bored of it after Rude Boy, though.

purplesweat said:

Can't wait, especially for S&M, Raining Men and What's My Name

CHIC0 said:

i like Rihanna and i hope this album does well. "Rated R" was an overlooked album that was one of the best releases last year. if anything, probably the best pop album of last year. i don't know why a lot of people expect a lot out of her or something groundbreaking. she's got some great pop tunes under her belt, and that's just what i look forward to from her.

I don't think it was overlooked. All the singles besides Rockstar and Te Amo went top 10 and Rude Boy was a worldwide #1. I think she got bored of it after Rude Boy, though.

ok. maybe under rated? no pun intended. lol. i just thought it would've been a bit bigger than it actually was. "Rude Boy" was definitely the sure fire hit from the get go. love "Te Amo"; but yeah, after "Rude Boy" there was no need for another promotional push and i'm glad she decided moved on. bring on "Loud"

Quoted from grapejuice huh?

CHIC0 said:

i like Rihanna and i hope this album does well. "Rated R" was an overlooked album that was one of the best releases last year. if anything, probably the best pop album of last year. i don't know why a lot of people expect a lot out of her or something groundbreaking. she's got some great pop tunes under her belt, and that's just what i look forward to from her.

yo...PASS THAT SH*T!!!! You gotta be higher than a mug.

paisleypark4 said:

CHIC0 said:

i like Rihanna and i hope this album does well. "Rated R" was an overlooked album that was one of the best releases last year. if anything, probably the best pop album of last year. i don't know why a lot of people expect a lot out of her or something groundbreaking. she's got some great pop tunes under her belt, and that's just what i look forward to from her.

yo...PASS THAT SH*T!!!! You gotta be higher than a mug.

you didn't like it? or which album, pop or not did you like better?

and i don't partake. natural highs only.

CHIC0 said:

paisleypark4 said:

yo...PASS THAT SH*T!!!! You gotta be higher than a mug.

you didn't like it? or which album, pop or not did you like better?

and i don't partake. natural highs only.

my review on Straight Jacket Funk Affair blog I started on November 2009
Rihanna's new album Rated R shows her in a dark progression from her third most successful album to date "Good Girl Gone Bad". The album begins like a horror movie about to happen, like a "Thriller" prologue with Mad House, a track that could have been streched longer as unfortunatley is one of the more intresting experimental tracks.
Rihanna tires to come off "Hard" with Jeezy and comes up a bit short on unpredictability, same goes with a track like G4L which sound as if it could have been better suited for soemone like Ciara. However some tracks sound better when she is vulnerable..."Stupid In Love "Te Amo" "Cold Case Love" recalls emotion.
Not to say her upbeat songs are not good, they just don't suit her like they did on pervious said album. Photographs is simmered down only by Will.i.am's weak vocal and should have stayed behind the scene. Rockstar seems contrived to come off with some guitar flair but it feels forced. However Rude Boy works as a bad girl-hit-me tune with some nice drum programming. The album as a whole though is a bit schizo and comes off undirected. *** of 5.

I STILL can't believe "Fire Bomb" wasn't released after "Rude Boy".

It would have made complete sense to wrap up the project with that single.

Dumb move on their part to go with "Rock Star" (a nonstarter single from the get go.)

paisleypark4 said:

The album as a whole though is a bit schizo and comes off undirected.

really? i thought the them was pretty consistant through out.

not a fan of Ciara, so i can't imagine any song that would suit her. lol. i still stand by my opinion though. is it the best pop album in the last few years? absolutely not. but i think considering her year, and the direction that followed with the album, it was pretty damn good.

"Photographs" and "Last Song" aren't that great though. i think it was a well produced album and she delivered on it.

G4L for CIARA??!!

Rihanna has the grit in her voice needed to pull that song off. Ciara only has one high pitched note she can reach, otherwise she just speak sings.

CHIC0 said:

paisleypark4 said:

really? i thought the them was pretty consistant through out.

not a fan of Ciara, so i can't imagine any song that would suit her. lol. i still stand by my opinion though. is it the best pop album in the last few years? absolutely not. but i think considering her year, and the direction that followed with the album, it was pretty damn good.

"Photographs" and "Last Song" aren't that great though. i think it was a well produced album and she delivered on it.

purplesweat said:

G4L for CIARA??!!

Rihanna has the grit in her voice needed to pull that song off. Ciara only has one high pitched note she can reach, otherwise she just speak sings.

Oh and G4L? Yeah...it just reminded me of "G is for Girl (a-z)". it sounds forced..like she actually would be saying this shit in real life but she did it to sound like she's 'down'. It was one of those "maybe this will fit me but I'm just gonna sing it anyway.." types of tunes. I didnt feel any realness on this one. She know damn well she don't be saying no "i will ride or die with you girl"...girl stop.

paisleypark4 said:

I just cant agree with you guys. Maybe it is just hard for me to listen to the girl 'sing' through a whole album, however looking over sounding like a llama; the girl in my opinion just was being directed in what they wanted her to sound like...the different producers trying to all come up with a dark sounding song, but none of them really achieving the album's theme successfully. It sounds like she is THERE on the album but having no direction on what it was supposed to sound like. The imagry was on the cover and on the booklet..but the songs themselves...just did not reflect that. Songs like Rockstar....very contrived and underproduced....that song should have had a live band..ther was no reason that failed tune should have sounded that way.

I just don't feel any type of personality on these songs..they just sound like she was there singing it with something else actually on her mind. Unconcentrated and packaged together rather quickly. I was hyped for the album however it left me...still wanting to know who said that this was ok.

oh. i don't think she's creating much of anything herself. she's definitely just a piece of the puzzle if you will. i don't necessarily give her that much credit. i doubt i'd go see her live or anything. but i enjoy her music...on cd. as for her personaity, well, i think she was coming into her own on GGGB . most of the time she seemed like she was smiling and fairly happy. her songs were automatic dancefloor hits. however, after going through what she went through with "that guy" she was dating and having her picture plastered all over; i can't hold a lack of personality against her. she still going through it. i think a situation like that would reflect in any performers personality. on or off record. and the songs on Rated R and it's cover, were a direct result of that. it seems with this album, and her best friendship with Katy Perry is allowing her to come out of her shell little by little.

but i can see in part where you're coming from.

paisleypark4 said:

purplesweat said:

G4L for CIARA??!!

Rihanna has the grit in her voice needed to pull that song off. Ciara only has one high pitched note she can reach, otherwise she just speak sings.

Oh and G4L? Yeah...it just reminded me of "G is for Girl (a-z)". it sounds forced..like she actually would be saying this shit in real life but she did it to sound like she's 'down'. It was one of those "maybe this will fit me but I'm just gonna sing it anyway.." types of tunes. I didnt feel any realness on this one. She know damn well she don't be saying no "i will ride or die with you girl"...girl stop.

I think it was just simply supposed to fit in with all the other girl power anthems. She had only just begun working on the album when Chris beat her up, obviously her work after that was going to become more an examination of how she's feeling after that. She said the songs came about from talking about her relationship with Chris to her producers. She said some days she was mad, others sad, others OK. I think it was a pretty accurate sum up of how somebody would be feeling recovering from abuse - ranging from the towering confidence of surviving to the tougher moments of realising someone you loved strangled you til you couldn't breathe.

amit1234 said:

I STILL can't believe "Fire Bomb" wasn't released after "Rude Boy".

It would have made complete sense to wrap up the project with that single.

Dumb move on their part to go with "Rock Star" (a nonstarter single from the get go.)

Right! It should have been like this...

Wait Your Turn (buzz single/video)

Russian Roulette

Hard

Rude Boy

Cold Case Love

Firebomb

During the making of the album, the singer had a particular agenda in mind: “I wanted songs that were all Rihanna songs, that nobody else could do. I didn’t want the generic pop record that Ke$ha or Lady Gaga or Katy Perry could just do and it’ll work. I wanted a song, or songs, that were Rihanna songs, that only I could do, had that little West Indian vibe to it, had that certain tone, a certain sass and a certain energy.”

Noticeably aware of the trends in today’s pop scene, Rihanna explained it’s easy to croon to a tune that just about anyone else could sing.

“It’s really easy to do that because of the whole dance-music movement happening right now,” she said. “It’s easy to get a dance beat and just throw a song on top of it and call it a hit.”

HAPPYPERSON said:

Our friends over at Just Jared attended the New York listening session for Rihanna’s new LP ‘Loud’ last night. Check out what they say Babados’ Next Top Model will be serving up this go round (plus my Two Pence) after the jump…

Rihanna’s LOUD Album — Exclusive JustJared.com Preview

“S&M” - It’s definitely a club banger and the naughtiest song of all! Here are some of the sample lyrics as best I heard them: “I may be bad but I’m perfectly good… There’s sex in the air. I don’t care, I love the smell of it… Sticks and stones may break my bones but chains and whips excite me. I like it, come on, come on.”

“Only Girl (In The World)”: The whole room was dancing along! During the lyrics “hold me like a pillow,” L.A. hugged himself like a pillow, too. Funny moment!

“What’s My Name?” – It’s the second single off of Loud – listen to a bit of the track here! “Oh nah nah, what’s my name? …Hey boy, I really wanna see if you can go downtown with a girl like me. Oh boy, I wanna really be with you, you’re just my type… You’re so amazing, you took the time to figure me out..”

“Cheers” – The song samples Avril Lavigne’s “I’m With You” and is so unbelievably catchy! Avril’s “yeahh, yeahh, yeahhh, yeahhh” are prevalent throughout. This song will be so huge in clubs, bars, and everywhere that serves alcohol. Everybody will be raising a glass! Sample lyrics: “Turn it around with a dollar round, there’s a party at the bar everybody put your glasses up… Cheers to the freakin weekend, I drink to that. Everybody put your glasses up. Don’t let the bastards get you down… Drinks on my mind and my mind on my money.”

“California King (Bed)” – A beautiful ballad! Lyrics include: “nose to nose, palm to palm, wrist to wrist, toe to toe…Feels like more than distance between us. In this California king bed, we’re 10,000 miles apart. I’ll be California wishing on the stars, my California king.” It’s L.A.’s favorite song off the album!

“Raining Men” - The fast and uptempo song features Nicki Minaj! There isn’t much of a chorus, but the song features a variation of the popular children’s phrase “eenie meenie miney mo”.

“Who’s That Chick” - Used for a Doritos ad – read more about the song here. There are two videos for this track!

“Fading Away” - A beautiful ballad that likely references her relationship with Chris Brown. The song includes the lines, “Ready for change, baby, Open up my eyes and finally realize you’re fading away. Too late… Running your mouth. So fed up, don’t press your luck today. What’s a girl to do when she’s crying inside?”

“Man Down” - The song starts off with sirens and sounds like a metaphor for deadening a relationship. Lyrics include: “I pulled out my gun… Ra pum pum pum pum. Oh mama, mama, mama, I just shot a man down in central station. Never thought I’d do it. Whatever ever happened to me. Why did I pull the trigger. What am I gonna do?”

More fast-food music, I see. No surprises there. Whether Ms. Fenty and this this latest collection of farmyard hits are enough to push her to the stratosphere (where Beyonce and Lady GaGa sit quite comfortably) will be interesting to see. One thing is for sure; her label are certainly hoping it will.

For, the current business model for Runway RiRi appears to still have her pegged as a “singles act” – something this preview seems to reinforce too. Now to educate those who don’t know; the only reason her label are pumping so much into her is because she’s signed to a 360 deal. Therefore, her usually forgettable singles – while not making the label much money back - serve as an advertisement to brands such as the Covergirl’s and Dorito’s, who pay Ms. Fenty megabucks to endorse their products – megabucks the label will take a cut from. Same with touring. Many scratched their heads when the relative failure that was ‘Rated R’ spawned the ‘Last Girl On Earth Tour’ (which saw many a date cancelled due to low ticket sales). Another case, point, example of the label recouping costs.

Yet with Rihanna catering once again to the fickle Pop audience (‘Rated R’ was a poorly executed step in the right direction), she re-joins the batch of Pop-pretenders whose expiry date is fast approaching. Five albums down and still unable to shift albums (to the level of her peers), and above all, still churning out generic cookie-cutter nonsense (see: ‘Only Girl’). If she doesn’t up her game qualitatively (slim chance, with that voice), it’s only a matter of time before the label find another cash-cow to milk – who, if they have any sense, will actually have a shred of talent too.

disposable music.

i know lots of blogs and people say rihanna doesn't generates much interest as beyonce and gaga but her album and singles sold just as much as these too, so she must be doing something right

Beyonce’s WORLD SALES ESTIMATIONS: (SOLO)

Albums
Dangerously In Love 11,500,000
B’day 6,500,000
I am…Sasha Fierce 7,000,000
= 25,000,000 albums + 53 Million Singles/Dvds/Etc

78,000,000(possible 80M Max) Records Sold Worldwide

Rihanna’s WORLD SALES ESTIMATIONS:

MOTS 2.8M
AGLM 3.5M
GGGB 8M (4M X 2)
Rated R (2.5M)
Loud N/A
Albums WW= 16M albums + 55M Singles =

71,000,000+ Records Worldwide.

Lady Gaga's World Sales Estimations

The Fame= 8 Million
Fame Monster= 5 Million
=13+ Million albums + 50M Singles=

63,000,000 Records worldwide

HAPPYPERSON said:

i know lots of blogs and people say rihanna doesn't generates much interest as beyonce and gaga but her album and singles sold just as much as these too, so she must be doing something right

Beyonce’s WORLD SALES ESTIMATIONS: (SOLO)

Albums
Dangerously In Love 11,500,000
B’day 6,500,000
I am…Sasha Fierce 7,000,000
= 25,000,000 albums + 53 Million Singles/Dvds/Etc

78,000,000(possible 80M Max) Records Sold Worldwide

Rihanna’s WORLD SALES ESTIMATIONS:

MOTS 2.8M
AGLM 3.5M
GGGB 8M (4M X 2)
Rated R (2.5M)
Loud N/A
Albums WW= 16M albums + 55M Singles =

71,000,000+ Records Worldwide.

Lady Gaga's World Sales Estimations

The Fame= 8 Million
Fame Monster= 5 Million
=13+ Million albums + 50M Singles=

63,000,000 Records worldwide

girl bye!

Haha. Where do those "Singles/Dvds/Etc" figures come from?

It would be indeed pretty convenient if 70-80% of your "record sales" would consist of "Singles/Dvds/Etc". Nobody buys that many singles or DVDs these days, unless we count individual downloads as "records" or something.

I wish Ri-Ri good luck though. She's given me hours worth of harmless entertainment.

Dreadful.

Cinnie said:

“Sticks and stones may break my bones but chains and whips excite me.”

Dreadful.

funny, she seemed upset about C. breezy hitting her...

TheBoyfromtheBand said:

Cinnie said:

Dreadful.

funny, she seemed upset about C. breezy hitting her...

I'm just tired of weird fetishes showing up in the mainstream. Countdown to Beyonce wearing a strap-on dildo in a music video.

Cinnie said:

TheBoyfromtheBand said:

funny, she seemed upset about C. breezy hitting her...

I'm just tired of weird fetishes showing up in the mainstream. Countdown to Beyonce wearing a strap-on dildo in a music video.

novabrkr said:

Haha. Where do those "Singles/Dvds/Etc" figures come from?

It would be indeed pretty convenient if 70-80% of your "record sales" would consist of "Singles/Dvds/Etc". Nobody buys that many singles or DVDs these days, unless we count individual downloads as "records" or something.

I wish Ri-Ri good luck though. She's given me hours worth of harmless entertainment.

yeah, downloads are counted as records nowadays

Cinnie said:

TheBoyfromtheBand said:

funny, she seemed upset about C. breezy hitting her...

I'm just tired of weird fetishes showing up in the mainstream. Countdown to Beyonce wearing a strap-on dildo in a music video.

I thought she was holding some kind of dildo gun when i first saw the video. still looks like it

Cinnie said:

People have a real taste for shit.

Wowugotit said:

People have a real taste for shit.

You haven't even heard the album yet.