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Posted by: Mikal 11th August 2012, 09:51 PM

So, work on her next album has officially started.

Confirmed producers and songwritters this far:

Chase & Status
The Runners
Kevin Cossom
Calvin Harris
Nicky Romero
B U R N S (Marina's boyfriend)
Bonnie McKee
David Guetta
Kelly Sheehan
Sia
Swedish House Mafia
RedOne
DJ Nasty
Sean Garret

http://thatgrapejuice.net/2012/06/exclusive-rihanna-begins-recording-7th-studio-album/

Posted by: Silver Rocket 11th August 2012, 10:22 PM

I do hope it's better as an album than that last one... but at least we're sure to get some cracking singles.

Posted by: Medicated Soap 22nd August 2012, 02:30 AM

I think I judged Talk That Talk too harshly originally. It's a pretty great pop album despite a few flaws. I like most of the songs, and We Found Love + Where Have You Been + Watch N Learn are incredible. Excited for more ~*

Posted by: Slick 22nd August 2012, 06:53 AM

I think Talk That Talk suffered from being released so quickly after Loud, which was a very strong album. It showed it up for all of it's flaws in comparison, but from what I've heard of it it has some very good stuff on there!

I'm sure this will be good too. Looking forward to it.

Posted by: dannjohn3 23rd August 2012, 09:21 AM

No. The problem with "Talk That Talk" is that it was too filler R&B/urban Rihanna tracks, and Rihanna's a pop machine, no-one's interested in R&B Rihanna, they want her to churn out "We Found Love"s, "Only Girl (In The World)".

Posted by: 152chris 11th September 2012, 08:27 PM

Amazing.

Posted by: ✖ leww ✖ 11th September 2012, 08:39 PM

RIHSUS <3

Posted by: Ryan741 12th September 2012, 03:29 PM

Digital Spy are reporting that Rihanna may be premiering a new single on Monday at 3pm (French time) ahead of a November release for her 7th album!

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a405525/rihanna-to-release-new-single-album-this-year.html

Posted by: pippa 13th September 2012, 09:21 AM

Its just too soon, i think a rest is needed but it wont happen.

Posted by: Mart!n 13th September 2012, 03:41 PM

New Rihanna album, single revealed in leaked tweet
Source: MW
Tina Hart

Rihanna is reportedly set to release her seventh studio album in as many years, if a tweet by the French arm of her record label is to be believed.

The offending micro-blog revealed that Rihanna’s follow up to Talk That Talk will be released in November, preceded by a single on September 17.

That tweet was soon deleted and another posted saying that a new announcement would be made ‘on Thursday’ which is today (September 13).

Rihanna performed at, and picked up MTV VMA awards, last week and followed with the announcement of her Diamonds World tour.

Source: Idolator

Posted by: AdamAloud 23rd September 2012, 04:03 PM

New logo:

Posted by: Ryan741 23rd September 2012, 04:31 PM

Yep, I love it! She's created a new website for it too:

rihanna7.com

I love these build-ups Rihanna does, just like Unlocked last year!

Posted by: Marina Hurts 23rd September 2012, 11:25 PM

Hope that doesn't mean the title is 7.

Posted by: Slowpoke 4th October 2012, 02:18 PM

Are the names of the album's tracks within that logo?

Posted by: Jáhq 4th October 2012, 03:31 PM

It is. Well, written as 'Seven', not as a number.

Released 19th November.

Posted by: Slowpoke 4th October 2012, 03:42 PM

BY THE WAY, under the banner of the RiRi forum it talks about how we're set for album 4, can we get an upd8?

Posted by: Jack 4th October 2012, 11:36 PM

Eugh. She's usually quite good for album titles but 'Seven' is just so LAZY.

Posted by: Silver Rocket 5th October 2012, 09:47 AM

I don't think it's confirmed though is it?

Maybe it'll be called Sweet Seven...

Posted by: Jáhq 5th October 2012, 05:26 PM

It had been listed on http://www.hitsdailydouble.com/sales/sales_ur.cgi along with the release date but seems to have gone now.

Posted by: Tyler 5th October 2012, 11:14 PM

How BEYONCE of her.

Posted by: Chris_2k12 6th October 2012, 02:05 PM

Rubbish album title and not the best lead single. Back to the drawing board Ri!

Posted by: Slowpoke 7th October 2012, 05:40 PM

'Diamonds' is crap.

Posted by: Chris_2k12 7th October 2012, 07:12 PM

It's OK just very underwhelming, i'm sure there'll be better stuff on the album (I HOPE)

This album needs to be better than Talk That Talk, 3 or 4 good songs is just not good enough at all.

Posted by: Mikal 11th October 2012, 12:59 PM

The album isn't called 'Seven' she's revealing the album title and cover in the next hour or so.

Posted by: Mikal 11th October 2012, 02:22 PM

Album cover.

Amazing

Posted by: Doug 11th October 2012, 02:26 PM

I agree, really hope it doesn't set the tone for the album.

Posted by: Jonjo 11th October 2012, 02:49 PM

THAT ALBUM COVER. *.* x1000

BLOODY LOVE IT! And I LOVE the title too.

Posted by: Umi 11th October 2012, 02:55 PM

She has 'fart' written across her face?

Posted by: JosephRaeJepsen 11th October 2012, 02:57 PM

Oh dear god at that cover...

Posted by: Jonjo 11th October 2012, 03:00 PM

LOVE

Posted by: Umi 11th October 2012, 03:04 PM

Oh, I can see that now Well in that case it's a lovely cover. Not sure how I feel about the words but I like that picture quite a lot. Are we sure about the title now?

Posted by: Ryan741 11th October 2012, 03:07 PM

Yeah she's confirmed 'Unapologetic' will be released on 19th November worldwide!!

Love the cover too!

Posted by: Cremey 11th October 2012, 03:10 PM

Loving the cover. Seriously good. I don't understand why 'side effects' is the only black text though?
As for the title, far far better than the rumoured 'Seven'! So excited for this album.

Posted by: Jáhq 11th October 2012, 03:22 PM

Love the cover, miles better than 'Talk That Talk'! Much better than recent titles too.

Posted by: THEO. 11th October 2012, 03:48 PM

Such good artist! Possibly my favourite from her (it's not that difficult though, except for the standard of Talk That Talk)... Can't wait for this - hopefully the album's better than the last.

Posted by: Acoustic 11th October 2012, 04:17 PM

Love the cover so much, so different from her other artwork.

Posted by: _Chris 11th October 2012, 05:31 PM

So I'm the only one who thinks the cover is horrendous?
Quite excited to hear it though, Diamonds has grown massively.

Posted by: -Jay- 11th October 2012, 05:45 PM

I think it's great! Minus points for not being able to un-see 'fart' on her face now. UMI!

Posted by: JosephRaeJepsen 11th October 2012, 06:13 PM

No, you're not, I think it's awful.

Posted by: Lukuzz 11th October 2012, 06:16 PM

I'm in two minds about it, not amazing but not horrendous. I like the title though.

Posted by: -Jay- 11th October 2012, 06:39 PM

When people say it's awful/horrendous... what did you want? I've had my fill of Rihanna head shots for album covers, so this makes a nice change.

Originally Rihanna's tweet said "look out for the black text". I wonder if they'll re-do the album cover now that 'Unapologetic' is actually the title, rather than 'Side Effects'?

Posted by: Liаm 3rd November 2012, 05:00 PM

Tracklist, not including features:

Standard edition:

1. Fresh Off The Runway
2. Diamonds
3. Numb
4. Pour It Up
5. Loveeeeeee Song
6. Jump
7. Right Now
8. What Now
9. Stay
10. Nobodys Business
11. Love Without Tragedy / Mother Mary
12. Get It Over With
13. No Love Allowed
14. Lost In Paradise

Deluxe Edition:

15. Half Of Me
16. Diamonds (Dave Aude 100 Extended)
17. Diamonds (Gregor Salto Downtempo Remix)
Bonus DVD, never-before-released footage and Rihanna’s Loud Tour recorded live at London’s O2 Arena (20 mins)

Posted by: Jáhq 3rd November 2012, 05:17 PM

'Loveeeeeee Song'? Cringe.

'Right Now' followed by 'What Now' is also a bit eh but I don't think I ever see a tracklist these days with titles that I consider to be really good.

Posted by: Marina Hurts 4th November 2012, 02:41 AM

Rihanna should definitely release a 'Love' compilation on Valentine's Day.

01. We Found Love
02. Hate That I Love You
03. Cockiness (Love It)
04. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
05. Stupid in Love
06. We All Want Love
07. Fool in Love
08. Drunk on Love
09. Cold Case Love
10. You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)
11. Loveeeeeee Song
12. Love Without Tragedy
13. No Love Allowed
14. Love the Way You Lie (Part II)

Posted by: AdamAloud 6th November 2012, 08:50 AM

'Numb' features Eminem and 'Nobody's Business' features Chris Brown.

Posted by: Jonjo 6th November 2012, 04:47 PM

'Stay' apparently features someone who's been tipped for big things in 2013, Mikky Ekko.

Posted by: Jáhq 6th November 2012, 04:58 PM

Ooh. I did hear the latter rumoured when the titles were announced, that should be..interesting..

Another Eminem collab, can't wait for that one. Hopefully it's as good as LTWYL.

Posted by: Mikal 6th November 2012, 08:42 PM

Clips!

http://soundcloud.com/sebastiaomota/sets

Posted by: Liаm 6th November 2012, 08:52 PM

Getting Beyonce - Diva vibes from Phreah Out The Runway!

Anyway, the second half sounds MUCH stronger - a lot the first half sounds like Rated R/Talk That Talk filler... Hopefully the full songs are better.

Posted by: Jáhq 6th November 2012, 08:56 PM

'Numb' sounds far too repetitive. 'Right Now' and the Chris Brown track sounded like they have potential but the clips aren't getting me that excited.

Posted by: Eric_Blob 6th November 2012, 08:59 PM

I'm going to listen to the clips in a bit! I'm quite excited, some of the producers she's been working with are very promising.

I've only listened to the David Guetta and Chris Brown songs so far. I think the latter should be the 2nd single. I feel like those sorts of songs are making a bit more of a comeback. It's a dance tune with that bright, mellow, minimal-ish sound leaning towards songs like Latch, Benediction, Au Seve, etc.

The Eminem song sounds amazing! I'm so excited to hear his verse on it. I'm so pleased with how it sounds, I was worried it'd be another ballad.

Lost in Paradise sounds good. It sounds like a grower to me.

Fresh Out the Runway. AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! Soooooo catchy. It's bad to use as the first track on the album though, since people will just get stuck on repeating it for ages.

Love Without Tragedy sounds brilliant aswell. Another song that sounds like a grower.

Loveeeeeeeeeeeeee Song sounds fantastic aswell. I was expecting it to be a gimmicky song with that title, but it's proper good!!

Half of Me sounds very beautiful. You can tell it's Naughty Boy/Emeli Sande.

Pour It Up is BRILLIANT. But it has pretty much the same instrumental as No Lie by 2 Chainz/Drake. Jump sounds amazing too!!! Definitely one of the best of the snippets.

What Now is also very, very good. The verses sound like a Ne-Yo song from the mid-00's, but the chorus obviously, um, doesn't.

Stay is like Love the Way You Lie, Part II with the guitar and drums taken out.

Get It Over With is really good, although the less likely on the album to be a single. No Love Allowed is very catchy and sounds quite cute.

Posted by: connor111 6th November 2012, 09:54 PM

The snippets have been removed but you can listen to them by doing this.

Go to iTunes US Store
On top of menu Go to View
Go to Column Browser
Click on Music
Then Pop
Then All
Then Rihanna
Then Unapologetic (Deluxe)

Posted by: ✖ leww ✖ 7th November 2012, 12:26 AM

http://rihanna.fanfire.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Store.woa/wa/artist?sourceCode=RIHWEBWWGBP&categoryName=Diamonds+Deluxe+Edition+Box&artistName=Rihanna

my xmas present sorted HAY

Posted by: Cremey 7th November 2012, 12:35 AM

It sounds genuinely horrific
And this is coming from someone who actually liked 'Talk That Talk'!

Loving the sound of 'No Love Allowed' and 'Half of It' and 'Love Without Tragedy' sounds ok but that's about it really. The new David Guetta collab sounds horrendous.

Posted by: Jonjo 7th November 2012, 12:49 AM

'Stay' sounds lovely! It's very 'Beautiful People' by Cher Lloyd. (Don't knock it until you've heard it guys )

The rest though, nothing is really appealing to me... I dunno. It's just not feeling like a proper Rihanna album, more a collection of B-Sides/rejects & demos...

Posted by: ✖ leww ✖ 7th November 2012, 01:24 AM

eeeek not sure whether to listen to the snippets... i've not heard great things bout the album (a bit too mixed for my liking!) but if i'm gonna go stanblind for anyone, it'll be riri! (unless she is genuinely awful)

Posted by: Jonjo 7th November 2012, 02:21 AM

It's not "awful", it's just not good by her (usually high) standards. But they're only clips and we should all know by now that we shouldn't judge an album on clips (even if they are a minute and a half).

Posted by: Eric_Blob 7th November 2012, 04:12 PM

Most of the clips sound really good to me. To be honest, it's just the same formula as Good Girl Gone Bad, Loud and Talk That Talk again, two dance-pop songs, and most of the rest urban-pop songs. But there's no reason to change that formula, as long as it keeps being so successful.

I think I preferred Talk That Talk though. I was hoping for at least a couple of songs like Roc Me Out, etc. (like the typical Stargate sound), but there haven't really been any on there.

Posted by: Davidson 7th November 2012, 04:20 PM

Why couldn't she have just released an EP of 5 songs with Diamonds, Stay, Love Without Tragedy, No Love Allowed and Half Of It? They sound like the only decent ones in this whole album, and everything else seems to range from bad to utterly horrific. I am really thinking this bitch needs to take a good 2 or 3 years out and remember how to make a reasonable album again.

Posted by: Conderella 7th November 2012, 09:05 PM

Apparently the Guetta collab and Lost in Paradise seem to have leaked already!

Both not that special

Posted by: Eric_Blob 7th November 2012, 11:27 PM

I agree about the Guetta song. I think probably my least favourite on the album. It's just "meh", it's not ridiculously catchy like Who's That Chick? was.

I hope it's not a single, but I think it will be, because everybody will hype it up like with Where Have You Been (laugh at me all you want, but I guarantee this'll happen), and then it won't do as well as they expect it to.

Posted by: Silver Rocket 8th November 2012, 05:48 PM

Funnily enough that's exactly what her last album sounded like.

Posted by: slowdown73 9th November 2012, 10:32 PM

Just heard clips on itunes of the new album. Not impressed at all. Where are all the club hits she was on about including? Instead, we have an album filled with RnB and average ballads. Only a few tracks stand out. I won't be buying this one. Think I'll just buy the singles instead.

Posted by: Medicated Soap 12th November 2012, 04:14 AM

omg her performance on snl!!! someone discovered tumblr

Posted by: Medicated Soap 12th November 2012, 09:25 PM

http://www.buzzfeed.com/perpetua/web-artists-are-furious-at-rihanna-and-azealia-ban

LOL

Posted by: Lukuzz 15th November 2012, 10:50 AM

Surprised this hasn't leaked yet, will be out tomorrow either way though as its out in Ireland.

Posted by: Eric_Blob 15th November 2012, 07:18 PM

There's loads of club hits on this album. Pour It Up, Right Now, Nobodies Business, Numb, Jump will all be for certain.

Her albums are always mainly hip hop/pop anyway, even Loud was. I don't understand how this is any different. This is the entire reason she's the only big female pop star that it's socially acceptable for us straight males to like, so she's not going to stop doing this.

Btw, I just heard Nobodies Business in full, and WOW!!! I only listened to it once, but I might even go as far as saying it tops SOS, Only Girl and Who's That Chick? as the best Rihanna dance-pop song. It's a shame that Chris Brown's on it though, since I think it'll put some of the public off the song.

Posted by: ▲▲▲ 15th November 2012, 09:18 PM

Leaky leak.

Posted by: dannjohn3 15th November 2012, 09:51 PM

Ooooh....

Posted by: THEO. 15th November 2012, 10:05 PM

I've got it on preorder, so I'll wait until I get it (it was dispatched today), I like the sounds of the four leaked songs that I've heard thus far though!

Posted by: ▲▲▲ 15th November 2012, 10:06 PM

STAY.

Perform that at the Brits/Grammy and it'll be Someone Like You big.

Posted by: ▲▲▲ 15th November 2012, 10:07 PM

Lost in Paradise.

(Kanye just APPEARS on Jump out of nowhere)

Posted by: Acoustic 15th November 2012, 10:16 PM

Waiting till I get the CD. From the previews Jump is song I'm most excited to hear.

Posted by: Klumzee 15th November 2012, 10:22 PM

Linky link please?

Posted by: Mikal 15th November 2012, 11:17 PM

Incredible album . Seriously superb production. It seems really well thought-out and time-taken... which is ironic. Amazing.

Posted by: dannjohn3 15th November 2012, 11:33 PM

"Love Without Tragedy/Mother Mary" is a good one. Everything's pretty good, until we get to the final 3 tracks, well "Lost In Paradise" is alright.

Posted by: JakeWild 15th November 2012, 11:55 PM

her performance on SNL was on POINT, she gotta

here for Jump, Lost In Paradise & Nobody's Business

Posted by: Medicated Soap 16th November 2012, 12:01 AM

Very good!

Posted by: Jonjo 16th November 2012, 03:26 AM

'Numb' is strangely hypnotic and addictive, despite there being literally nothing to it...

Nothing too special at the moment for me though. Only 4 tracks in though so still plenty of tracks to change my mind.

EDIT: Kanye has more in 'Jump', than Eminem does in 'Numb'... so why is he not credited? 'Jump' is great! I'm assuming this is a Skrillex (or at least influenced by him) track?

EDIT2: So it seems it's not a Skrillex track and is a Chase and Status track! Explains the dubsteppy bit more! (Still sounds very Skrillexy though - despite Skrillex being shit - but this is tolerable and very good. Strange!)

'Stay' is as amazing as I expected it to be! Beautiful song. I hope this is huge if/when it gets released! So far everything from 'Jump' to 'Stay' have been brilliant! Hope it continues. 'Diamonds' is the only song in the first five tracks that I really like.

Posted by: billy. 16th November 2012, 01:16 PM

Love Without Tragedy is incredible.

Posted by: Jack 16th November 2012, 02:08 PM

'Jump' is amazing. That's how far I've got so far ... but I'm much more impressed by it than I was with 'Talk That Talk' so far.

Posted by: Lukuzz 16th November 2012, 02:49 PM

Stay MUST be released, also loving Jump, Right Now, What Now, Pour It Up and Love Without Tragedy / Mother Mary.

A rather good album, mixed bag of different sounds, think most are growers!

Posted by: ✖ leww ✖ 16th November 2012, 03:12 PM

NUMB / JUMP are incredible! i really really love this album, which totally surprised me... i thought it was just gonna be another decrease in quality but thankfully not!

Posted by: Eyes 16th November 2012, 03:20 PM

Well this is encouraging so far. I'll be listening to the album on Monday hopefully (don't do leaks most of the time and not with RiRi) but it sounds like there's a lot of excellent stuff to look forward to.

Posted by: Conderella 16th November 2012, 06:26 PM

I DUNNO. Not feeling any tracks (other than Diamonds) yet. But then again I'm only halfway through the album.

Posted by: Conderella 16th November 2012, 06:36 PM

SO hate the way they pronounce 'business' in 'Nobodys Business'. Such a bad track too. DELETEEEE

Posted by: Jonjo 16th November 2012, 11:04 PM

'Diamonds' has been remixed with a verse from Kanye!

http://soundcloud.com/rihanna/diamonds-remix-f-kanye-west

Posted by: Jonjo 17th November 2012, 04:14 AM

'Half Of Me' (the Emeli Sande penned track) has now leaked. It's nice!

Posted by: BuzzLightyear 17th November 2012, 06:28 AM

Stay is a great song, the rest of the album is as crap as the last one though. Really enjoyed her SNL performance, was intimate and exposed like Adele at the Brits.

Posted by: Jáhq 17th November 2012, 12:57 PM

A better effort than Talk That Talk for sure. Don't quite get the love for 'Stay'. 'What Now' is my favourite but I also love 'Jump', 'Nobodys Business' & 'Love Without Tragedy/Mother Mary'.

Posted by: Liаm 17th November 2012, 04:43 PM

First listen rate...

07.5 Phresh Out The Runaway (getting Diva by Beyonce teas but this is so much better)
10 Diamonds
06 Numb (not awful but it's quite nothingy)
08 Pour It Up
04 Loveeeeee Song
09 Jump
08.5 Right Now
09 What Now
11 Stay (WOAH. Bloody amazing, absolutely beautiful! It really needs to be released with a big performance and it will honestly be huge)
08.5 Nobody's Business (quite weird, different to what I expected but it's quite disco funky and I really like it!)
09.5 Love Without Tragedy/Mother Mary
03 Get It Over With
08 No Love Allowed
08 Lost In Paradise


Very strong, I think it's probably stronger than TTT for me right now.

Posted by: Davidson 17th November 2012, 05:49 PM

My album review:

2.0 Fresh Off The Runaway - Absolutely diabolical. I get the 'Diva' comparisons but this is MUCH worse than even that. One the worst songs she has ever done.
9.0 Diamonds - A great lead single again from her, but it does seem slightly out of place sat between 'Fresh Off The Runaway' and 'Numb' in the context of the album.
6.5 Numb - Nice backing track to this but it just seems as if she just couldn't be bothered writing any lyrics and the bits when she actually does sing are very repetitive. Eminem's verse is good though.
5.0 Pour It Up - Hard to say anything about this one. It's not bad but not very memorable at all, the melody a little bland but it might grow on me.
4.0 Loveeeeeee Song - Firstly, the title is horrific. The song isn't quite as bad as the title, but still poor. Future doesn't need to be on there and it is even duller than PIU.
3.0 Jump - I am so disappointed with this, it has so much potential, especially in the build up section but is completely ruined by THAT breakdown. I am surprised Kanye ever agreed to be a part of this. Horrible.
4.5 Right Now - This is exactly like 'Jump' for me. The melody has potential to be decent but the breakdown instrumental section ruins it yet again. This isn't quite as bad as Jump but that isn't saying much.
5.0 What Now - This is alright, her vocals in the build up to the chorus are nice but the chorus seems very messy and a bit nothingy - just her holding out notes to try and pass it off as a melody.
8.5 Stay - Thank god for this coming along mid album. This is actually rather lovely, both of their vocals are wonderful, especially RiRi's and the melody is nice too. WOO.
5.0 Nobody's Business - Nice to hear something more funky but the lyrics between the two of them and the pronunciation of the title are both uncomfortable and irritating. Nothing special anyway.
9.0 Love Without Tragedy / Mother Mary - Love this. Both sides of it are very catchy and the production is much better than most of the other tracks. So glad this is on here.
4.0 Get It Over With - Bland bland bland. I mean, it is nice to down the tempo slightly and all, but there is just nothing to it at all. Can't see me ever choosing to re-listen to it.
7.5 No Love Allowed - Love her accent here and I like the production too. It does appear to be trying to be 'Man Down' part 2 though and it's nowhere as good as that but is still one of the strongest.
8.0 Lost In Paradise - This has grown on me a lot already. I think the chorus is great, but I find the production change between the chorus and the verses slightly jarring. One of my favourites though.
8.0 Half Of Me - Rihanna needs her ears tested if this is not deemed good enough to take a place on the main album, especially with some of the garbage on there. This is really nice and I can see it growing on me even more.

Thank god for the songs towards the end of the album, that's all I can say really. The first half, apart from 'Diamonds' (and possibly 'Numb') is utterly atrocious and even in the latter half there are some poor songs too. I stand by what I said a few weeks ago, she really does need to take a break now and come up with something much better than this, because each year her efforts are getting worse, and if she continues like this, I am not sure I can even bear to hear what she comes up with next November.

Posted by: Jack 18th November 2012, 12:40 AM

'Love Without Tragedy / Mother Mary' is incredible. Seriously good.

Posted by: Conderella 19th November 2012, 07:14 AM

OKAY 'Numb' and 'Loveeeee song' are incredible.

Posted by: ✖ leww ✖ 19th November 2012, 09:12 AM

I KNOW RITE!!

someone said numb is getting a sh!!!tload of hate. WHY

Posted by: Jonjo 19th November 2012, 03:20 PM

because there isn't anything to it! Well that's why I hate it. Eminem's verse isn't even good.

Posted by: LeeWallaceee 19th November 2012, 04:29 PM

01.0 Fresh Off The Runaway (What an AWFUL way to start of the album)
11.0 Diamonds
04.0 Numb (Incredibly disappointed, I expected a massive pop song again)
03.0 Pour It Up (Not really impressed with the album at the moment)
05.0 Loveeeeee Song (It's okay but the autotune really grates at me)
08.0 Jump (Can see this being an ultimate grower)
10.0 Right Now (Has this been confirmed as single 2? It's FANTASTIC)
07.5 What Now (Decent ballad, NOTHING will ever be as good as Unfaithful though. The chorus is a bit messy but the verses are really good)
09.5 Stay (Ohhh, this is FANTASTIC)
07.0 Nobody's Business (Oh God, I agree with Pavel. It's annoying the way they say Business. I expected this track to be much, much better.
08.0 Love Without Tragedy Mother
07.0 Get Over It
06.5 No Love Allowed
07.5 Love In Paradise
10.0 Half Of Me (THIS IS AMAZING)

Posted by: THEO. 19th November 2012, 06:45 PM

The first five tracks (minus "Diamonds") are awful. I was getting worried, then it picked up with "Jump", peaked with "Stay" until "Love Without Tragedy / Mother Mary", and remained good until the end. Overall it's much better than Talk That Talk, and it has potential to be her best album to-date with time

Posted by: AV102 19th November 2012, 10:40 PM

can someone please pm me a link to the album download please

Posted by: cookie_monster 20th November 2012, 01:32 AM

I haven't listened to it all yet but I like what I've heard so far. I really love 'Love Without Tragedy / Mother Mary' so much though. Will have to go away and listen and then do a RATE.

Posted by: randomfurlong 20th November 2012, 01:53 AM

'Numb' is amaaaaaaaaaaaaazing, a little bit grungy and swirly and the layering of the production is just so heavy and thumping. Love whatever weird snake charmer flute that is.

Heard 'Phresh Out The Runway' in G-A-Y on Saturday night and twerked it accordingly, so it's grown on me out of all proportion.

Posted by: Cremey 20th November 2012, 11:07 AM

I love it when the final thing is so much better than the clips suggested!
Far far stronger than 'Talk That Talk', I was expecting to be really disappointed but it's quite the opposite, haha.

'Pour It Up' and 'No Love Allowed' especially.

Posted by: Cremey 20th November 2012, 12:40 PM

Has 'Right Now' been confirmed as the second single? I really hope not, it's horrendous! Probably my least favourite on the album

Posted by: Jack 20th November 2012, 04:30 PM

I love 'Right Now'! It's generic as hell but it's SO addictive and a sensible choice for next single I think - it'll be huge!

Posted by: Ryan741 20th November 2012, 05:06 PM

Finally listened to this all of the way through!! It's fantastic, definitely one of her strongest albums! Even the urban tracks at the beginning are growing on me. My current favourites are Diamonds, Jump, Right Now, What Now, Stay and Half Of Me!

Posted by: Klumzee 21st November 2012, 08:37 PM

02 Phresh Out The Runaway (bleurgh. trying to be all cool and hip when it's just not and is a mess)
10 Diamonds (strongest song on the album by far!)
05 Numb
04 Pour It Up
03 Loveeeeee Song
08 Jump (didn't really get it at first but it's growing very quickly!)
08 Right Now (pretty good but doesn't compare to her other DG collabrations)
06 What Now
08 Stay (really good but not as amazing as some people are describing it! probably seems so good because it's surrounded by a lot of shit!)
05 Nobody's Business (like the funky feel but the way they pronounce 'business' is disgusting! bineh?!)
09 Love Without Tragedy/Mother Mary (loving this! both parts deserve to be full length songs on the album though)
04 Get It Over With (BEIGE)
07 No Love Allowed (really love the little riff playing throughout this! probably a grower too)
06 Lost In Paradise

This album really makes me appreciate 'Talk That Talk' as an album! I'm sure this will be a grower on the whole but it's disappointing as the 'big' songs are the worst, but the best is mainly comprising of album filler.

Posted by: Lukuzz 21st November 2012, 08:58 PM

I really need Stay to be released.

Posted by: Conderella 21st November 2012, 09:15 PM

GET

OUT

Posted by: Neil 21st November 2012, 09:49 PM

On track to go #1 in US. Crazy to think it'll be her first to do so.

Posted by: gooddelta 23rd November 2012, 12:03 AM

The album has grown on me a hell of a lot since the first listen, from Right Now onwards it's pretty much all solid gold with the exception of one or two tracks, which are still very good. Diamonds isn't my favourite single of hers and the four tracks surrounding it lie somewhere between alright and woeful. I really feel like had she waited another few months to release it and got hold of four more KILLER songs it could have been an absolutely stunning album, but as it is it's probably on par or slightly better than Talk That Talk for me (albeit without any single monster anthem a la We Found Love/Where Have You Been) but not as good as Loud.

Posted by: Jack 23rd November 2012, 01:11 AM

'Love Without Tragedy / Mother Mary' is such a standout I adore it.

Posted by: Cremey 23rd November 2012, 01:32 AM

Couldn't agree more! It's perfect

Posted by: Conderella 23rd November 2012, 10:42 AM

GUUURRRL WE KNO


The opposite for me Like the first half way more than the second one.

Posted by: 152chris 23rd November 2012, 12:46 PM

Yeah pretty sure this is all awful

Posted by: Joao. 24th November 2012, 12:08 PM

This is beyond awful. By far her worst. The 'urban' tracks are so incredibly try hard. Jump is probably the best track on there and Right Now is somewhat of a delight but christ, you can tell they rushed this one out. Nobody's Business is a good track, I just find the whole thing a bit ironic.

Posted by: burning up! 24th November 2012, 09:49 PM

I´m really enjoying Jump and Right now

Posted by: Jack 25th November 2012, 07:29 PM

Another #01 for her!

Posted by: dannjohn3 25th November 2012, 07:44 PM

I'm really surprised she hasn't had a US #1 yet.

Posted by: Lukuzz 25th November 2012, 10:58 PM

Maybe I'm reading too much into this tweet = @SoumsluvRiri: You decided what your next single should be already?? @Rihanna *wishes for Stay*” who knows?!

But could it be Stay as 2nd single?! PLEASE

Posted by: ✖ leww ✖ 26th November 2012, 09:10 AM

only 4.5 from pitchfork compared to constant 6.0+ she usually gets ): shame

Posted by: Slowpoke 26th November 2012, 07:46 PM

What a disappointment. As much as I love Rihanna, I think she should take a year long break (at least) after her Diamonds tour is over and let her writers/producers recharge their batteries (teehee). I sort of feel as though her music is being shoved down our throats recently, 'Unapologetic' is a poor effort. I find it rather irritating that she is already sharing information on a potential re-release for 2013, give it a rest love!

Posted by: burning up! 26th November 2012, 07:56 PM

this album has at least six very good songs: Diamonds, Jump, Half of me, Lost in Paradise, No love allowed, and Stay.Then some good songs (Right now...) and, the usual shit

Posted by: Slowpoke 26th November 2012, 08:04 PM

I don't get the love for 'Right Now'...

EDIT: I thought Rihanna naming her album 'Unapologetic' was a witty dig at her women beating ex-boyfriend... but I hear they're back together?!

Posted by: dannjohn3 26th November 2012, 08:53 PM

LOL at her planning a re-release.

Posted by: burning up! 26th November 2012, 08:55 PM

is this really true? well, maybe next time she will put the name of the songs in the back of the cd

Posted by: Slowpoke 26th November 2012, 08:56 PM

Yeah! She said in an interview that she had loads of material for this album but couldn't fit it all on one disc *headspin*

Posted by: burning up! 26th November 2012, 10:35 PM

so next november, new album!

Posted by: Big Mistake 28th November 2012, 06:28 PM

Nobody's Business is now confimed to be second single.... good track in my opinion... but bad collaboration. reminds me of Whitney and Bobby 'Something in common'....

Posted by: Liаm 28th November 2012, 06:31 PM

Really? Quite disappointed, it's good but Stay is the obvious choice. Then again, she wasn't going to release a ballad after a dark-ish midtempo lead single so an uptempo was probably always going to happen, I'd have prefered Jump and probably Right Now, not that Nobody's Business is bad (it's a great, catchy song), I just think she could go better than releasing a Chris Brown collab.

Posted by: Conderella 28th November 2012, 06:48 PM

Ugh. I don't know what I hate more. How they pronounce 'business' in that song, the song itself or the fact it's the new single. :/

Posted by: THEO. 28th November 2012, 06:49 PM

I like the song, but it definitely shouldn't be a single. Also, am I the only person that it feels incomplete (like the original "Birthday Cake") with the faded-out ending?

Posted by: burning up! 28th November 2012, 07:25 PM

me problem is with the "Business" part of the song.It´s a good song, but I don´t know if Chris is popular enough to avoid alineating her fanbase.I still think Jump or right now are better single material

Posted by: Lukuzz 28th November 2012, 09:18 PM

Nooo! I like the song but its not worthy of 2nd single imo, Stay better be released 3rd!

Posted by: Jonjo 28th November 2012, 10:48 PM

LMAO. I love the cover that's used in that video still (Well I don't "love" it obviously, but I like irony of it's use!

*vomit* What an awful song! I really don't like it and I really despise the whole "business" pronunciation thing. Awful single choice imo. Really should have been something else like 'Right Now' (it'd be a hit!), 'What Now' or 'Lost In Paradise' ( ). 'Stay' can be kept for the Feb/March award ceremonies..

Posted by: dannjohn3 29th November 2012, 01:07 PM

I heard "Power It Up" was?

Posted by: troylovesmusic 29th November 2012, 05:31 PM

I keep hearing different things are the next first Right Now then Nobody Buisness now Pour it up nothings been confirmed though by Rihanna though

Posted by: burning up! 29th November 2012, 09:40 PM

I´ve read that Pour it up is the next single...of all the songs that have been said to be the next single, it´s clearly the worst!!!!

Posted by: burning up! 29th November 2012, 09:41 PM

maybe they will release different songs to the different radios? pour it up to the black radios, Right now in europe, Bean-ness in the US

Posted by: Jáhq 30th November 2012, 05:13 PM

Yesterday Digitalspy were reporting that 'Pour It Up' was the next single but today they're saying it's 'Stay' and that's what Capital FM are saying too so probably right.

Posted by: Eyes 30th November 2012, 09:12 PM

Right, after some long delays involving things getting sent to the wrong place - I've finally been able to listen to Unapologetic (I'm always late with Rihanna albums, this must be a tradition despite my loondom). It has some REALLY good tracks and a few average tracks, so probably on the same level as Talk That Talk in terms of overall quality...

So first listen ratings and thoughts because I want to:
9.0 Phresh Out The Runway - YES, love this track's attitude and it's exactly the sort of kooky intro I want.
11.0 Diamonds - Still excellent.
8.5 Numb - A promising collab with Eminem - in the better half of the album just about. The LTWYL reference made me smile.
7.0 Pour It Up - A little average, so I'm glad it's not the next single.
9.0 Loveeeeee Song - A general THEME for this album is that the uptempo tracks are far worse than the midtempos/ballads - which explains her singles choice to me at least. This track exemplifies that.
8.0 Jump - Nice track, nothing overly special.
7.5 Right Now - Rihanna/Guetta tracks are always less good than my expectations for them - so not TOO impressed with this. But a score lower than 7.5 wouldn't be right because a) I'm a loon and b) it is mildly enjoyable regardless. Could be a grower though.
8.5 What Now - Rather good, this album does leap between good and average-ish tracks a lot, really.
10.0 Stay - Beautiful, partly as expected, but pretty clear that it's a good choice for the second single. Will continue listening to this a LOT.
5.0 Nobody's Business - Awkward, sounds cheap but one redeeming factor is that Chris Brown is not as bad as he could have been and Rihanna still buoys it up. Still the weakest track on the album.
10.0 Love Without Tragedy/Mother Mary - I LOVE THIS. Probably going to become a Rihanna classic for moi - the Love Without Tragedy part is slightly stronger but both are really good.
7.5 Get It Over With - A little bit anonymous.
8.5 No Love Allowed - Enjoyable but not GREAT. Catchy and a little bit more 'Bajan' than the rest, always good.
9.5 Lost In Paradise - Excellent closer for the normal edition, really into these dancey midtempos from her.
9.0 Half Of Me - Good bonus track, should really be on the main album

So overall it's not solid gold all the way through and doesn't really have much cohesion.. but it's a Rihanna album so for me it has several excellent tracks that make it one of the better albums of the year. Unless she turns out 11 Nobody's Businesses I doubt I'll hate something she puts out. On a level with Talk That Talk atm.

[/latereview]

Posted by: Lukuzz 30th November 2012, 10:17 PM

I'd much rather Pour It Up than Nobody's Business, but Stay even more!

Posted by: 152chris 30th November 2012, 10:21 PM

Talk That Talk i've come to realise is actually seriously underrated, the first half at least is great. This however... no.

Posted by: Eyes 30th November 2012, 10:34 PM

Oh, I do agree. It gets far too much stick, pretty much all of the tracks on there are very enjoyable, I've gotten tired of Cockiness and Birthday Cake is awful but otherwise it feels a lot more cohesive and summery than this (particularly that trio of WHYB/WFL/TTT *.*) albeit less absolute standouts. Which is a good sign that the weaker tracks on here will grow for me at least.

Posted by: Liаm 1st December 2012, 09:27 AM

Talk That Talk really grew on me in the end, admittedly it's not Loud or Rated R but I think it's just because since GGGB she's been spot on every time albums wise that it's seen as not so good. We Found Love, Where Have You Been, Farewell and shamefully Birthday Cake are all fantastic, whereas Unapologetic only really has Diamonds, Stay and Love Without Tragedy of that level. I prefer TTT to Unapologetic definitely.

Loud >> Rated R >>> Good Girl Gone Bad >>>> Talk That Talk >>> Unapologetic >> A Girl Like Me >>>>>>> Music Of The Sun

She doesn't have a bad album to her name though.

Posted by: dannjohn3 1st December 2012, 09:50 AM

"Rated R" is completely overated by Rihanna fans. There are actually only 6 good tracks on it.

Posted by: biophiliac. 1st December 2012, 08:35 PM

It's just all about Love Without Tragedy atm. I hope she releases it and does a single version without Mother Mary on, I do like it but LWT is far superior and it seems completely pointless to put the two songs together as one.

Posted by: cookie_monster 7th December 2012, 03:22 AM

Discounting her first two albums because I haven't heard them properly, I'd say:

Rated R >> Loud >> Unapologetic > Good Girl Gone Bad >>>> Talk That Talk

I do like all of them though.

Posted by: Conderella 7th December 2012, 01:30 PM

I've come to realise that Rated R is RiRi's best album. Can't say it's an amazing album though - the bitch is clearly a 'single' artist. And Unapologetic is her weakest one yet (not counting the first two of course).

Posted by: biophiliac. 15th December 2012, 08:03 PM

Of the last 3, because they're the only 3 I've listened to properly:

Loud>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Unapologetic>Talk That Talk

- - -

ATM I'm really liking Phresh Out The Runway; it's my 'getting pumped' song.

Posted by: Slowpoke 26th December 2012, 01:01 PM

I've decided 'Love Without Tragedy' is one of the best things she has ever recorded, it's simply beautiful!

Posted by: shadow2009 26th December 2012, 02:33 PM

I got this yesterday as a gift even though i'm not a big Rihanna fan, is this album any good? Or is it just another Loud (obvious hits and complete filler tracks?)

Posted by: Sabrina. 28th December 2012, 11:48 AM

Finally got around to buying this..

My ranking:
05 Phresh Out the Runway
09 Diamonds
08 Numb feat. Eminem
08 Pour it Up
08 Loveeeeeee Song feat. Future
08 Jump
06 Right Now feat. David Guetta
07 What Now
10 Stay feat. Mikky Ekko
06 Nobody's Business feat. Chris Brown
09 Love Without Tragedy/Mother Mary
07 Get it Over With
07 No Love Allowed
08 Lost in Paradise

Some please teach her how to say "business"

Posted by: Acoustic 28th December 2012, 05:12 PM

Guess I'm the only one that actually likes how they say "Business"?

Posted by: Sabrina. 28th December 2012, 09:30 PM

Yes

Not a fan of the song in general though. I think that makes it worse for me

Posted by: Klumzee 28th December 2012, 09:36 PM

I thought she was trying to do it the same was as Michael Jackson does in 'The Way You Make Me Feel'?

Posted by: AnthonyT 2nd January 2013, 10:21 PM

I had to come in to say that I think her ballad singing has improved a lot. Stay is much more tolerable than I expected. I think it's the first ballad of hers that didn't irritate me because of the vocals.

Posted by: Marina Hurts 2nd January 2013, 11:48 PM

Posted by: ✖ leww ✖ 4th January 2013, 11:17 AM

mother mary >>>>>>>>> love without tragedy SO BAD

Posted by: Slowpoke 6th January 2013, 07:36 PM

uh naaaaa

but - to be perfectly honest - they're both in the albums top 5. it astounds me that they aren't separate tracks!!!

Posted by: Chris_2k13 10th January 2013, 05:30 AM

I still haven't listened to this album! I think i'm starting to lose interest in her tbh

Posted by: Casey__ 11th January 2013, 11:34 AM

I adore this album now. It's taken a while to grow, but it's rather amazing (bar a few duds, OHAI 'Get It Over With')

Posted by: AdamAloud 19th November 2015, 04:22 PM

Today marks 3 years since the release of Rihanna's last studio album, 'Unapologetic'.

Do you still listen to the album? Maybe you consider it to be Rih's best?

I had a listen earlier today and it's not my favourite album of hers, but it's a lot better than I originally thought when it was released. Still waiting for the full 'Love Without Tragedy'.

Posted by: Iz~ 19th November 2015, 08:04 PM

It has some great moments but it contains several of RiRi's worst too. Inconsistent for one of hers. What Now, Lost In Paradise and Love Without Tragedy are all very much worth it and I still listen to those along with the two big ones but it's slim pickings beyond that. Half Of Me and No Love Allowed if I'm being generous.

Though I've listened to her in general far less ever since it got released, I hardly realised it had been that long, god.

Posted by: mr_pmt 19th November 2015, 08:42 PM

It's bloody terrible, I don't feel truly enthusiastic about any song on this. This is the point where she really lost it for me, after a large chunk of Talk That Talk being awful. Of course she's gotten much worse since this.

The second worst album I ever heard behind Messy Little Raindrops.

Posted by: NellyEverySundae 3rd April 2016, 11:37 PM

I actually think 'Unapologetic' is her best effort! I found it far more consistent than both 'Loud' and 'Talk That Talk' and I thoroughly enjoyed the kind of sound she was trying to go for (the whole dance-r&b influences in the songs).

Posted by: Jonjo 25th September 2016, 05:12 PM

So I've been listening through her albums from start to finish. This album really is pants (away from the highs - they're amongst her absolute best for me!! But that's around half the album. Should've been an EP imo. I think I even prefer 'A Girl Like Me'! MOTS is still her worst though.

'Anti' is still SO good!

Posted by: Andr00w 25th September 2016, 05:18 PM

It's not THAT bad imo, although I'd only class about half the album as 'decent' which is way less than with her other albums. 'Diamonds' and 'Pour It Up' remain two of her best though.

Posted by: Jordan Lee 9th January 2019, 08:30 PM

New UK sales for Unapologetic according to a thread on here state it’s on 739,200
80th biggest selling album of the decade.


TTT, and Loud are still to appear as well.

Posted by: Tawdry Hepburn 29th July 2019, 10:03 AM

Horrible album, it sounds like it was hurriedly put together consisting of sub-par demos that were taken from the cutting room floor.

Posted by: Jordan Lee 29th July 2019, 10:31 AM

I think the issue the album has is the tracklisting doesn’t flow too well.

Having Diamonds between urban tracks was a bit silly.

I changed the tracklisting of it on my devices so it has a better flow for my ears.

Posted by: Andrew. 2nd August 2019, 06:48 AM

Honestly, her second/third best album (I flip between it and Rated R) with loads of hidden gems. ❤️ People say ANTI is when Rihanna became an ‘artist’ and not a pop star which is meaningless tut lmao but if we’re going with that then this album was the one that marked the change in Rihanna’s music for me. Apart from Diamonds (which was a risk as lead single following on from two bangers), Right Now, and maybe Jump it’s not exactly a big pop album. I’m not sure why it’s done dirty so much!

Posted by: Jordan Lee 29th January 2020, 07:23 PM

I think it’s a lot better as an album than Talk that Talk was tbh.

The last half of the album for me is super strong. Aside from Phresh Out The Runway and Numb there’s nothing on here what I’d skip either and the highs on this for me are much better than the highs on Talk that Talk so she definitely improved on Album 7 to what she did on Album 6. I’d probably put Rated R and Loud above this though if I were to rank all her albums by my preference.

I do think the tracklisting is way off (like Diamonds between Phresh and Numb really still confuses me to this day) but that’s not a major issue when you can change it for your listening devices.

I do agree that the album isn’t really typical Rihanna though. She was sort of changing her sound with the era tbh. Two big singles which were ballads / non pop bangers released in a row she really did that!

Of course she released this at a point Ariana is at now where she’d been everywhere always had some form of single, remix or feature out then she released another album so maybe people just weren’t that thirsty for new Rihanna music at the time. but it’s definitely a strong album.

Posted by: LMLou 29th January 2020, 08:26 PM

It's definitely her most underrated album, it's actually the one I go back to the most these days I'd say - very few skips

Posted by: jlj 19th November 2020, 10:57 AM

Another day another Rihanna related anniversary! Can tell we’re now in November!

Posted by: Jord 19th November 2023, 02:01 PM

It’s now 11 years since this dropped!