"SOS" is a song by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna from her second studio album, A Girl like Me (2006). It was written by J. R. Rotem, Evan "Kidd" Bogart and Ed Cobb, with production helmed by Rotem. It was released on February 14, 2006 , as the lead single from the album. "SOS" is a dance-pop and R&B song with elements of dance music, and contains a compositional sample of "Tainted Love", a song written by Ed Cobb in 1965 and popularised by Soft Cell. Critical reception of "SOS" was positive, with the majority of music critics praising the inclusion of the "Tainted Love" sample. Some critics compared "SOS" to Rihanna's debut single, "Pon de Replay" (Music of the Sun, 2005).
"SOS" became a commercial success. In the United States, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for three consecutive weeks, becoming Rihanna's first number one single on the chart. "SOS" peaked at number one on the US Hot Dance Club Play songs chart and Pop Songs chart. "SOS" was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of over 1,000,000 copies. In Europe, on many charts across the continent, peaking at number two in Belgium (Flanders), Finland and the United Kingdom. Three music videos were shot for "SOS"; aside from the official music video, directed by Chris Applebaum, promotional campaign videos were shot for lingerie brand Agent Provocateur and Nike. "SOS" was performed live at the 2006 MTV EMA awards in Copenhagen, Denmark. "SOS" was included on the set list of the Last Girl on Earth Tour (2010–11), which saw Rihanna perform a rock-inspired version of the song. The Chipettes covered the song for the 2011 film Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked and its soundtrack.
Background and conception[]
"SOS" was written by J. R. Rotem, Evan "Kidd" Bogart and Ed Cobb, with production helmed by Rotem. The song was recorded at Bartmitzvah Hall Studios, Century City, California, and Loft Recording Studios, Bronxville, New York. "SOS" contains a sample of "Tainted Love", written by Ed Cobb in 1965, and popularized by English synthpop duo Soft Cell in 1981. In an interview with HitQuarters, Rotem explained the song's conception, saying "I heard 'Tainted Love' and wanted to take the bass line and update it with a new swing. When I gave the track to Evan [Bogart], the 80s feeling was already in the track." Rotem was asked how he felt about working with singers who became successful international recording artists after he had worked with them in an interview with William E. Ketchum for HipHopDX in May 2011, and referred to Rihanna and writing "SOS" in his response, saying:
| “ | I did Rihanna's song "SOS," and it wasn't her first song, but it was her first number one. Since then, she's obviously one of the biggest stars in the world. But I never look at it like that's because of me or something like that. I just look at it like it was amazing to have worked with her at that time, and I would like to work with her again
-William E. Ketchum |
” |
Originally, "SOS" was intended to be given to and recorded by former Def Jam Recordings label mate Christina Milian, for her third studio album, So Amazin' (2006), but Milian turned down the song and former Def Jam CEO and chairman LA Reid offered the song to Rihanna instead. After the release of So Amazin', Milian was dropped from Def Jam due to poor album sales.
Production and mixing[]
The background vocals in the song were compressed using a compressor program called Waves Renaissance Compressor, which was used in order to create an enhanced polished effect. In an interview with Sound on Sound, mixing engineer Phil Tan, who carried out the audio mixing on "SOS", explained that he compressed the background vocals because "SOS" is a "high energy track", and he wanted the vocals to compliment it. Tan also noted that the background vocals were pitch shifted to increase tonal quality and create an enhanced effect during the chorus. The pitch shifting consisted of making the left vocals flat and the right vocals sharp, with varying degrees of delay, and later mixing them together. When asked about the production of the lead vocals, Tan explained that "'SOS' Is a pounding type of song, and the lyrics are a cry for help, so the vocals need to be 'in your face', almost aggressive," and said that he wanted the vocals to remain constant. As with the background vocals, the lead vocals were compressed using the Waves Renaissance Compressor. Tan continued to note that the lack of reverb included on "SOS" was largely due to the fact that being an uptempo song, there was not a lot of room left to add anything else. Tan explained the production process of sampling "Tainted Love", as well as the changes which were made:
This song uses a stereo two-bar loop from Soft Cell's song 'Tainted Love' as its basis. JR played the additional parts with a combination of soft and hardware synths. There were probably 30 to 40 tracks in total. JR tends to give you [Pro Tools] Sessions that have a clear direction: there's not much guesswork. I didn't change or add much, just a bass drum and taking out the loop a couple of times for additional breaks. There was never any doubt that it was going to be a clubby song, so it had to be very immediate and hard-hitting
Composition[]
"SOS" is a up-tempo dance-pop and contemporary R&B song, that draws influence from dance music. The song includes synth riffs and machine beats as part of its instrumental. The lyrical content of the song is based around the theme of a "boy meets girl" scenario; Quentin B. Huff of Popmatters provided a synopsis of the lyrical content, writing that "SOS" is a "classic tale of girl-sees-boy, girl-falls-head-over-heels, girl-dreams-of-boy-so-much-she-loses-herself, girl-sings-catchy-pop-song-about-boy, girl-sells-lots-of-records." "SOS" contains a sped up sample of "Tainted Love", which was originally written by Ed Cobb in 1965 and popularised by English synthpop duo Soft Cell, when they released their cover version in 1981.
The use of the "Tainted Love" sample was well-received by critics. Ruth Jamieson of The Observer commented that the sample was an "outrageously hooky Soft Cell rhythm." Jazzily Bass of Contactmusic.com complimented the inclusion of the "Tainted Love" sample, describing "SOS" as "superbly infectious." Bass continued to praise the song for not making the sample too obvious, writing "I was accepting it to sound like every other song that has sampled the hook." Jake C. Taylor of Sputnikmusic noted that although "SOS" was "yet another exploitation of Soft Cell’s 1981 rendition of Ed Cobb's 'Tainted Love,'" he concluded that Rihanna's version was one of the better ones to be composed, writing, "Rihanna's is one of the better ones. Why? Because it’s not just a bastardised version trying to claim success of the exact same song structure."[18] Kelefah Sanneh of The New York Times described the inclusion the "Tainted Love" sample as being "brazen" and "astute."
Response[]
Critical reception[]
Upon the release of the album, "SOS" garnered positive reviews from music critics. Bill Lamb of About.com praised the sampling of Cobb's "Tainted Love" and Rihanna's vocal performance, with specific regard to her lower register. However, Lamb criticized Rihanna for not displaying any sense of originality. Additionally, Lamb compared Rihanna's vocal performance in the song to Beyoncé Knowles, writing "The echoes of Beyonce in the higher register are weaker." Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine praised the sample and noted that "SOS" rivals Rihanna's debut single "Pon de Replay" (Music of the Sun, 2005).25 Despite praising "SOS", Cinquemani continued to write that it was the only song on A Girl Like Me which displayed a high level of "audacity". David Jeffries of Allmusic described "SOS" as a "sexy club tune." Quentin B. Huff of Popmatters was complimentary of the song, writing, "all things considered, "SOS" is a decent song, brimming with energy and perfectly suited to Rihanna’s layered vocals."
Accolades[]
| MTV Video Music Awards | Best New Artist, Viewer's Choice | Nominated |
|---|---|---|
| MTV Europe Music Awards | Best Song | Nominated |
Chart performance[]
In the United States, "SOS" peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the chart issue dated May 13, 2006, leaping 33 positions from the previous week, and became the singer's first number one single on the Hot 100. "SOS" experienced a surge in sales the week prior to reaching the summit of the chart, due to Def Jam holding off of releasing the song to digital outlets before the release of A Girl like Me. The song displaced Daniel Powter"s "Bad Day" from number one, which had spent the previous five weeks atop the chart. "SOS" stayed atop the Hot 100 for a further two weeks, spending three consecutive weeks at number one. "SOS" peaked at number one on the US Hot Dance Club Songs and Pop Songs charts, respectively. The song also peaked at number seven on the Radio Songs chart and peaked at number 40 on the Adult Contemporary chart. On January 7, 2007, "SOS" was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of over 1,000,000 copies.
Music videos[]
"SOS" received three separate treatments for the music video, each serving a different purpose. In addition to the official music video, another version was shot as part of a promotional campaign for lingerie brand Agent Provocateur, whilst another was shot for a Nike campaign. The official music video and Nike versions were directed by Chris Applebaum, who later directed the music video for "Umbrella (song)" (Good Girl Gone Bad, 2007).
Official music video[]
The video begins with Rihanna singing the hook while wearing a low-cut green dress and dancing in front tropical trees on a island, whilst singing the hook. Key lighting is used to place emphasis on Rihanna, whilst the backdrop remains virtually dark and unseeable. For the first verse, Rihanna is featured dancing against a plain gray background, wearing a white top and silver sequin miniskirt, whilst flirtatiously dancing with the male dancer. Halfway through the verse, another scene is introduced, with Rihanna wearing a pink dress in a mirrored room, showing multiple reflections of the singer from different angles. For the first chorus, Rihanna is mainly featured wearing the green dress on the island, but a new scene of Rihanna wearing midriff-baring black lace is introduced toward the end of the chorus, where she, as well as four male dancers, perform a choreographed dance routine. Scenes of Rihanna in the mirrored room are intercut with the previous scene for the duration of the chorus. For the second verse, a further scene of Rihanna is depicted, this time featuring the scenes performing a dance routine with a group of female dancers, in the same setting as the one at the start of the video. For the second chorus, another scene of the singer sitting on a chair whilst listening to music is shown. For the remainder of the video, including the bridge and final chorus, all scenes featured in the video are intercut with one and other, displaying a total of five different scenes and settings.
Nike version[]
The video begins with a long shot of a group of dancers who have just finished rehearsing a dance routine. As the dancers walk out of view, Rihanna walks onto the middle of the floor, where the singer turns, and faces the camera, and closes her eyes. Standing still, Rihanna begins to snapher fingers, whereby the screen begins to cut between a scene of Rihanna, who is noticeably in a different setting, and black fades. As the song's audio begins to play, it becomes apparent that the setting has changed from a rehearsal studio into a nightclub, which Rihanna in the center. The scene is fairly dark with different color lights projected into different areas of the nightclub, as dancers infiltrate the dance floor surrounding Rihanna. This scene is used for the first verse-chorus-verse part of the song, but changes to a scene of Rihanna, accompanied by several dancers, situated in a gym locker room for the second chorus. For the bridge, the scene changes back to Rihanna in the nightclub, but this time in a different change of the outfit. This scene is used for the final chorus. The video ends with a close-up of Rihanna in the nightclub standing still as the audio finishes, where she closes her eyes, which prompts the scene to change back to Rihanna in the middle of the rehearsal studio from the beginning of the video, to which she walks out of view of the camera.
Formats and track listings[]
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