"Umbrella" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna, featuring a rap verse by Jay-Z. The song was written by The-Dream, Christopher Stewart, Kuk Harrell and Jay-Z, and was produced by Stewart for Rihanna's third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007). The song was originally written for recording artist Britney Spears, whose label rejected it. "Umbrella" is a pop and R&B song and lyrically it refers to a romantic and platonic relationship and the strength of that relationship. It is generally considered Rihanna's signature song.
"Umbrella" was well received by music critics, many of whom appreciated the "ella, ella" hook as well as the covincing vocals with which she deilvered the chorus. Entertainment Weekly ranked the song number one on the 10 Best Singles of 2007, while Rolling Stone and Time listed the song at number three on the 100 Best Songs of 2007. The song has earned Rihanna several awards and nominations. In 2007, the song won two awards at the MTV Video Music Awards, when it was nominated for four. At the 50th Grammy Awards, "Umbrella" also earned Rihanna and Jay-Z a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration in addition to receiving nominations for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
The song serves as the lead single to the album, and was released worldwide on March 8, 2007 through Def Jam Recordings. "Umbrella" was a commercial success, topping the charts in Australia, Canada, Germany, France, the Republic of Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In the United Kingdom, where the song's chart performance generated controversy when the country was experiencing excessive flooding and large amounts of rain at the time, it is deemed an iconic song and was one of the most played songs on radio in the 2000s (decade). It managed to stay at number one on the UK Singles Chart for ten consecutive weeks, the longest run at number one for any single of that decade. The single was one of the highest digital debuts in the United States and remained at the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 for seven consecutive weeks.
The single's accompanying [music video was directed by Chris Applebaum and features Rihanna's nude body covered in silver paint. The video earned Rihanna a Video of the Year at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards and Most Watched Video on MuchMusic.com at MuchMusic Video Awards. Along with countless amateurs, "Umbrella" has been covered by several notable performers from a variety of musical genres, including Taylor Swift, OneRepublic, Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park, Vanilla Sky and The Baseballs. Rihanna performed the song at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards, 2008 BRIT Awards and was the closing song of the Good Girl Gone Bad, Last Girl on Earth, and Loud Tours.
Background and development[]
American songwriter and producer Christopher "Tricky" Stewart convened with Terius "The-Dream" Nash and Kuk Harrell in 2006 at the Atlanta-based Triangle Studios to create new material. In the studio, Stewart was "messing around with a walloping hi-hat sound", which he found in the free music software GarageBand, which is included in all Mac computers. With his attention caught by the sound, Nash asked Stewart what he was doing: "Oh, my Gosh, what is that beat?". When Stewart incorporated chords onto the hi-hat, "immediately the word popped into [Nash's] head"; he went to the vocal booth and started singing. Nash wrote the first two verses and the chorus over Stewart's skeleton track. They quickly wrote the lyrics, completing the first verse in 60 seconds. They continued into writing, adding the hook while "[Stewart] would put the next chord". In a matter of hours, they had recorded a demo of the track. The song was written with American pop singer Britney Spears in mind, whom Stewart had previously worked with on her 2003 single "Me Against the Music". Stewart and Nash thought that Spears, who had "her personal life ... a little out of control" at the time, needed a hit as a musical comeback. Spears was working on her fifth album, Blackout, so they sent a copy of the demo to Spears' management. However, Spears did not hear of the song because her label rejected it, claiming they had enough songs for her to record.
Following the management's rejection of the track, Stewart and Nash dealt it out to other record labels. It was also given to British singer-songwriter Taio Cruz, who failed to convince his record company to release it. It was then opted by Island Def Jam chairman Antonio "L.A." Reid, a friend of Stewart who established his first studio. By early February 2007, the demo was sent to Reid's right-hand woman, A&R executive Karen Kwak, who passed it along to Reid with a message confirming that they had found a song suited for Rihanna, who was working on her third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad, at the time. Reid immediately sent the demo to Rihanna, who was also positive towards it: "When the demo first started playing, I was like, This is interesting, this is weird. ... But the song kept getting better. I listened to it over and over. I said, 'I need this record. I want to record it tomorrow."
However, since it was the Grammy season of 2007, Stewart and Nash eyed American R&B singer Mary J. Blige for the demo. Upon calling them to set the record aside for Rihanna, Stewart had played it to an associate of Blige, subsequently promising the song to her. Having heard the move of the writers, Kwak and A&R Angel Maldonado began calling Stewart and his manager, Mark Stewart, incessantly. Meanwhile, considering Blige's nominations at the Grammys, Stewart and Nash agreed to wait for her response. However, Blige failed to hear the song in full due to her obligations to the Grammys at the time and "had to sign off on the record before her reps could accept it". Finally, Reid "stepped in, trading on his power-broker status and longstanding relationship with Stewart", and admits, "I made the producers an offer they couldn't refuse." By the time Reid had successfully persuaded Stewart's camp, they "just couldn't say no". On giving up the record to Reid's camp, Mark Stewart comments, "We knew Rihanna's album would be out in a few months. Mary wasn't even in an album cycle yet. We made the sensible business decision."
Recording and composition[]
Rihanna recorded "Umbrella", with vocal production by Thaddis "Kuk" Harrell, at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles. Initially, Stewart admitted he was still reluctant as to whether Rihanna was the right artist to record the song, but following the recording of the "ella, ella" catch phrase, he felt they were onto "something". Following Rihanna's recording, Def Jam CEO-rapper Jay-Z added his rap. However, Jay-Z rewrote his verse without the awareness of Stewart and Nash. Stewart could not understand it, but later realized it made "sense" instead of the first version. Stewart noted that "from a songwriter's standpoint, he just really made it more about the song, with the metaphors about umbrellas and about the weather versus what he had before".
"Umbrella" is a pop, hip hop and R&B song with rock influences. The song's musicscape is based on the hi-hat, synthesizers, and a distorted bassline. According to Entertainment Weekly magazine, the song's beat can be recreated through a drum loop from the Apple music-software program GarageBand (Vintage Funk Kit 03). The sheet music for "Umbrella" shows the key of B♭ minor (F♯ major for the bridge). The song's lyrics are written in the traditional verse-chorus form. They open with a rap verse, and the hook "ella, ella" follows every chorus. A bridge follows the second hook, and the song ends in a fadeout.
Release and reception[]
"Umbrella" was released worldwide on March 8, 2007, debuting on Rihanna's Def Jam website. It received airplay across mainstream, rhythmic and urban radios in the US the same day. The song was released digitally in the United Kingdom on May 14, 2007, along with its physical release following two weeks later.
"Umbrella" received universal critical acclaim. Andy Kellman of AllMusic commented: "'Umbrella' is [Rihanna's best song] to date, delivering mammoth if spacious drums, a towering backdrop during the chorus, and vocals that are somehow totally convincing without sounding all that impassioned – an ideal spot between trying too hard and boredom, like she might've been on her 20th take." Alex Macpherson of British newspaper The Guardian, "Umbrella" is "evidence" that Rihanna's "strict work ethic is paying off", adding that she "delivers [in the song] an impassioned declaration of us-against-the-world devotion". Tom Breihan of Pitchfork, though he complimented the production, dismissed Rihanna's voice which "takes on an unpleasant icepick edge when she tries to fill the space between the slow-tempo beats", adding that the song is "uncompelling as event-pop, particularly because of the disconnect between Rihanna's cold, clinical delivery and the comforting warmth of the lyrics". In comparison, Breihan's retrospective review on Stereogum acclaimed "Umbrella". Especially reflecting on his contemporary, more critical Pitchfork review, he admitted that her vocal performance was moreso that of "self-assured power" than "[disconnection] from a song that’s all about visceral connection"; however, he expressed criticism towards Jay-Z's guest verse for sounding uncommitted and adding "nothing" to the song besides "branding".
Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine wrote "That the song is just plain good, regardless of genre, proves that Jay and Rihanna, who's already scored hits across several formats with a string of singles that couldn't be more different from each other, are dedicated to producing quality hits—however frivolous they may be." Quentin B. Huff of PopMatters.com said that ""Umbrella" is a monster, so much so that I'll even confess to spending a portion of a rainy afternoon practicing the hook." Jonah Weiner of Blender magazine called the song the album's highlight and stated that it "would be far less engrossing if it wasn't for the way Rihanna disassembles its ungainly title into 11 hypnotic, tongue-flicking syllables". The New York Times' Kelefa Sanneh described the song as "a space-age hip-pop song". Gabe Saporta of Cobra Starship noted in an interview on MTV's Total Request Live that the song's hook can be misheard as a reference to girl power: "I love that song but when I first heard it I thought she was saying 'My Beretta,' you know, like a gun? And I'm like whoa, that's a little edgy."
Entertainment Weekly ranked the song number one on the 10 Best Singles of 2007, while Rolling Stone and Time listed the song at number three on the 100 Best Songs of 2007.
Music video[]
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The video opens with a shot of Rihanna, partially covered by a hat, sitting with one leg extended, the other bent. Then comes the performance of Jay-Z who sings his part while behind him there are six dancers dressed in the same way who dance while sparks rain from the sky (in reference to the lyrics of the song). Subsequently, once Jay-Z's part is finished, the latter invokes Rihanna who begins to sing while he touches himself in an erotic and alluring way in a black dress that leaves the back and sternum exposed. Then Rihanna, after saying the word Because, makes an explosion happen behind her and we see a close-up of her singing, this scene will then be alternated with others in which Rihanna dances while hitting, getting hit and avoiding water who comes from the sides of the screen in a skimpy white dress. Then in the chorus you will see Rihanna dancing ballet with an umbrella and a black tutu under a shower of glitter; these scenes are alternated with those in which the singer's close-up is seen.
In the second part of the song Rihanna, dressed in a little black dress and fishnet stockings, will perform a sexy choreography with a black umbrella over a half horizontally orange, half horizontally white background. In this scene Rihanna dances in her underwear while moving her thighs. The umbrella will remain closed for the entire performance, only at the end will it be opened first partially, then completely. After the choreography we see Rihanna in what is considered the symbolic scene of the video: she is completely naked, but she will be covered in silver paint and she will practice alluring and erotic poses on a black background, inside a triangle. Subsequently Rihanna will sing a part of the song in close-up, without the alternation or interference of other scenes; after the end of this part you will see the singer with the black umbrella open while she awaits the arrival of her dancers behind her; once the latter have reached it they will all dance with umbrellas while at their feet there is a puddle of water and the sparks that appeared at the beginning of the video will rain down from the sky again. The video ends with the end of the choreography performance as Rihanna turns her arms and umbrella towards the sky, while the image of her dissolves.
Background and concept[]
While working on the album, ideas began to circulate concerning Rihanna's image, extending into her music videos. She asked American music video director Chris Applebaum to send her "something" to work on. Def Jam representatives were expecting Applebaum of the treatment. In response, Applebaum hurriedly made a treatment for the video, one of his first ideas being the silver body paint that Rihanna is seen in. Applebaum was doubtful whether Rihanna would embrace the idea, but her "positive response" following a letter the director sent to the artist ensured its approval. Makeup artist Pamela Neal mixed a silver paint that would give Rihanna such a look. During the session, the paint was re-applied between takes to ensure she was completely covered. The set was closed to Rihanna, Applebaum and a camera assistant. Rihanna also contributed her own ideas towards the video shoot, suggesting to Applebaum that she dance en pointe, an idea which he accepted.
Visual effects at Kroma were supervised by Bert Yukich and produced by Amy Yukich. A key part of the video is a 24-second visual effects sequence in which Rihanna is surrounded by silvery strands of liquid that crisscross the frame in graceful arcs in response to her movements. Water elements were recorded on a special effects stage using a high-speed 35mm camera. Bert Yukich then composited them into the scene with the singer. He then added lighting effects to the practical water elements to give them the mirror-like texture of mercury.
Synopsis[]
The video's opening scene shows Rihanna with a hat posing, and then rapper Jay-Z appears singing in the rain along with several dancers. Soon after, she starts dancing and singing. In the chorus, two huge water tanks explode and Rihanna appears dodging the water while singing and dancing. In the second part of the music video, she dances a kind of ballet with an umbrella, in a candlelit hall until the end of the chorus. painted silver within a triangle also silver. At the end, she appears dancing in the rain with several dancers with umbrellas in hand. The Director of the music video is Chris Applebaum.
Live performances[]
Rihanna has performed the song on four of her tours. The song was used to close the Good Girl Gone Bad Tour, the Last Girl on Earth Tour, and the Loud Tour, while a minimal version was used in the third section of the Diamonds World Tour.
Lyrics[]
[Jay-Z]
Uh huh, uh huh (Yea Rihanna)
Uh huh, uh huh (Good girl gone bad)
Uh huh, uh huh (Take three... Action)
Uh huh, uh huh
No clouds in my stones
Let it rain, I hydroplane in the bank
Coming down with the Dow Jones
When the clouds come we gone, we Rocafella
We fly higher than weather
In G5's are better, You know me,
In anticipation, for precipitation. Stack chips for the rainy day
Jay, Rain Man is back with little Ms. Sunshine
Rihanna where you at?
[Rihanna]
You have my heart
And we'll never be worlds apart
Maybe in magazines
But you'll still be my star
Baby 'cause in the dark
You can't see shiny cars
And that's when you need me there
With you I'll always share
Because
[Chorus]
When the sun shines, we'll shine together
Told you I'd be here forever
Said I'll always be a friend
Took an oath I'ma stick it out 'til the end
Now that it's raining more than ever
Know that we'll still have each other
You can stand under my umbrella
You can stand under my umbrella
(Ella ella eh eh eh)
Under my umbrella
(Ella ella eh eh eh)
Under my umbrella
(Ella ella eh eh eh)
Under my umbrella
(Ella ella eh eh eh eh eh eh)
These fancy things, will never come in between
You're part of my entity, here for infinity
When the war has took its part
When the world has dealt its cards
If the hand is hard, together we'll mend your heart
Because
[Chorus]
When the sun shines, we'll shine together
Told you I'd be here forever
Said I'll always be a friend
Took an oath I'ma stick it out 'til the end
Now that it's raining more than ever
Know that we'll still have each other
You can stand under my umbrella
You can stand under my umbrella
(Ella ella eh eh eh)
Under my umbrella
(Ella ella eh eh eh)
Under my umbrella
(Ella ella eh eh eh)
Under my umbrella
(Ella ella eh eh eh eh eh eh)
You can run into my arms
It's OK, don't be alarmed
Come here to me
There's no distance in between our love
So go on and let the rain pour
I'll be all you need and more
Because
[Chorus]
When the sun shines, we'll shine together
Told you I'll be here forever
Said I'll always be a friend
Took an oath I'ma stick it out 'til the end
Now that it's raining more than ever
Know that we'll still have each other
You can stand under my umbrella
You can stand under my umbrella
(Ella ella eh eh eh)
Under my umbrella
(Ella ella eh eh eh)
Under my umbrella
(Ella ella eh eh eh)
Under my umbrella
(Ella ella eh eh eh eh eh eh)
It's raining, raining
Oh, baby it's raining, raining
Baby come here to me
Come here to me
It's raining, raining
Oh baby it's raining, raining
You can always come here to me
Come here to me