When Ne-Yo first wrote ‘Take A Bow’, Rihanna was overwhelmed, and she knew she had to be the one to record it. She wanted to create an anthem for women, and liked the idea of having a song which had the man as the cheater and the woman staying strong. Rihanna was able to draw on her own experiences, too: when she was a teenager, a boyfriend did the same to her.
‘Take A Bow’ was the first single to be released from Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded (it was also the fifth single overall from Good Girl Gone Bad). Released on 15 April 2008 in the US (and 12 May in the UK), it went straight to the top of the charts in many countries. It was No. 1 in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Denmark and Slovakia, No. 3 in Australia and reached No. 6 in Austria and Germany.
The video was filmed in Venice, Italy, and was again directed by Anthony Mandler. It shows Rihanna’s former boyfriend trying to apologise for cheating on her in the hope that she’ll take him back. She won’t accept his apology because she doesn’t think he’s sorry about cheating on her, just sorry she caught him. After staying in her house for a while (with him outside), she decides to drive off in her car but later returns and tells him to meet her there. When he arrives, she sets fire to some of his clothes (which are on the table) and leaves, not looking back.
Critics loved the track, and Chuck Taylor from Billboard magazine wrote in his review: ‘With superstars Stargate and Ne-Yo at the helm, the velvety ballad ticks along with well-applied piano and strings, as the instantly recognizable singer delivers a convincingly bemused vocal, complete with haughty laugh.’
It was nominated for two awards at the MTV Video Music Awards 2008, Best Female Video and Best Direction. Sadly, it lost out both times, as the award for Best Female Video went to Britney Spears for ‘Piece Of Me’, and Best Direction was given to Erykah Badu for ‘Honey’.
Rihanna collaborated with Maroon 5 on the track ‘If I Never See Your Face Again’, and this appeared on Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded. Maroon 5 had already recorded their own version of the song, which was included on their 2007 album, It Won’t Be Soon Before Long, but they wanted to try something different with Rihanna. In fact, they liked her version so much that they released it as a single, rather than releasing their original version, and added it to the re-release version of their album, too.
The song was released on 26 May 2008 in the US and then a month later in the UK. It charted at No. 57 in the US charts and No. 28 in the UK. Worldwide, it did best in Australia and Holland, where it charted at No. 11.
The Rihanna version of ‘If I Never See Your Face Again’ is sung as a duel between a man and a woman. She was eager to be on the record because the band were friends of hers, she rated their music and liked the song. She told IGN: ‘I’ve always been a fan of Maroon 5. I love the energy of the song and the lyrics are badass, so I was psyched to do it.
‘[Filming the video] was fun, but it was difficult to get serious for the seductive scenes because Adam and I are friends. We would burst out laughing on every other shot – that was the best part.’
The video was directed by Anthony Mandler and they shot it in Castaic, Los Angeles. It was set completely indoors and the team wanted it to have an 80s glam feel. Throughout, Rihanna and Adam Levine flirt on a couch, bed and at a table but at the end of the video, Adam grabs her by the hair.
Fans of both Rihanna and Maroon 5 loved the video, and it was nominated for the Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals Grammy, but eventually lost out to Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’s ‘Rich Woman’.
‘Disturbia’ was the third single Rihanna released from Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded, and it came out in July 2008. It was written by Chris Brown, Andre Merritt, Brian Kennedy and Robert Allen, and was originally penned for a male voice. Rihanna was in the studio opposite when the guys were writing the song, and when she first heard it, she told them she wanted it. They never expected her to want to record a synthpop song: if she hadn’t been there at that precise time, she might never have had the opportunity. Brown and Merritt recorded backing vocals for the track.
It topped the charts in the US, Belgium and New Zealand, reached No. 2 in Canada and Finland, and was No. 3 in the UK, Norway and France. Many critics felt that it was one of Rihanna’s best songs ever, and it became the first of her tracks to go triple-platinum.
The song is about being frightened, and for the video, Rihanna and Anthony Mandler decided to set it in a torture chamber. They directed it together, and Rihanna wore white contact lenses to cover her irises and pupils in some scenes. She caresses a mannequin, she has tarantulas placed all over her body, and she gets tied up and chained up, too!
Yet again Rihanna was nominated for a Grammy but this time lost out to Daft Punk for their track ‘Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger’, which was named Best Dance Recording. She did win the award for Best International Song at the NRJ Music Awards in France, but when the Pussycat Dolls announced the winner, they said it was Katy Perry for ‘I Kissed A Girl’ instead. With ‘Disturbia’ playing in the background, poor Katy came on stage and gave a speech… only to find out later in the night that Rihanna was the real winner!