Rihanna by Sarah Oliver Read Free Book Online Page A

got her head back and her right hand is running through her hair. She is standing next to a pool, with a huge water swirl behind her. Her name and the title are in the top left-hand corner.
    For the ‘Shut Up and Drive’ cover, Rihanna chose a more intimate photo of her on a purple couch, with her sweater pulled down to reveal a black bra. She’s got her back to the camera, but looks back over her shoulder, and her expression is seductive. Her name is written in green, as on the album cover, and the song title is once again in lower case.
    On the ‘Hate That I Love You’ cover, Rihanna is shown kneeling in a bedroom, looking straight at the camera. Her hair is covering her left eye and she wears a black dress that shows off her curves. Her left hand touches her right shoulder, and she’s wearing black gloves. This image shows her sexy but vulnerable side. The bedcovers are yellow and the walls of the room are purple: the contrast with Rihanna’s black dress makes her stand out more. Her name runs across the bottom half of the image andis in purple this time. The song title is still white, though it is now in capitals.
    The cover art for ‘Don’t Stop the Music’ was very similar to the album cover. Rihanna wears a white dress, and the background is black with a white spotlight on the singer, who is facing the camera and looking straight ahead. Her left eye is covered by her hair and she is leaning slightly on her left leg (which accentuates her curves), with her right forearm just touching her hip. Rihanna’s name is in green in the top left-hand corner, with the single name in white text underneath.
    For ‘Take A Bow’, Rihanna chose a simple image of herself with her head bowed. She isn’t wearing a lot of make-up and the only jewellery she wears is a simple gold necklace and studs in her left ear (the star tattoo in her ear is also visible). Below her face is her name written in black and the song title in pink.
    The ‘Disturbia’ cover art was also subtle, as it was just a head-on close-up of Rihanna’s face. Her make-up is minimal, with nude coloured lips, and the only background that is visible is black. This is one of the least memorable of Rihanna’s covers.
    For ‘Rehab’, a more colourful cover art was chosen to reflect the desert setting of the video. Rihanna’s head and shoulders are shown at an angle, with the singer looking to the right of the image. Had it been shot in black and white the image might have appeared harsh, but the colourful green shoulder straps, her sparkling, dangly earring and the green tinge as the light hits her forehead make the imagefeel warm and inviting. The sun is shining and the blurred backdrop adds even more colour to the image. Her name and the song’s title are written in white in the bottom right-hand side of the cover.
    When ‘Umbrella’ was released on 29 March 2007, people went crazy for the song and it soon topped the US Billboard Hot 100 charts. Altogether, it stayed at the top for seven weeks and even caused iTunes to crash at one point because so many people wanted to download it. The track was No. 1 in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Sweden and Switzerland. It actually stayed at the top of the UK charts for 10 consecutive weeks.
    ‘Umbrella’ might be seen as Rihanna’s signature track, but it wasn’t originally meant to be sung by her. The song was written and composed by producer Christopher ‘Tricky’ Stewart and songwriter The-Dream, who originally wanted Britney Spears to record it. When Britney’s people declined on her behalf because they already had tracks for her album, they decided they wanted Mary J. Blige to record the song instead. They sent her people a copy and at the same time sent L.A. Reid a copy, then quickly found themselves part of a bidding war, because both sides wanted it. Luckily for Rihanna, Mary was too busy with her Grammy commitments to listen to the track, as she had been nominated for eight