Woo is the sixth track from Rihanna's eighth studio album Anti (2016), released on January 28, 2016. The track features Travis Scott.
The Weeknd is credited as one of the song's composers/writers, and his demo of the song was leaked online on June 7, 2018.
Lyrical interpretation[]
Like other songs on Anti, "Woo" is a breakup track. In the first verse, Rihanna expresses contempt towards her ex and her new flame.
In this song, Rihanna highlights emotional (and sometimes negative) aspects of a past relationship to show her ex that what they had was meaningful. Loneliness, like other problems in their relationship, is what brings them together.
Rihanna's tone changes throughout the song: she initially shows her confidence with lines like "I bet she could never make you cry / 'Cause the scars on your heart are still mine," but as the song continues, Rihanna's vulnerability comes to the surface , until she admits "I don't even really love you / I don't even really care about you no more".
Rihanna can't completely separate herself from this man. In fact, each line begins with "I don't even", emphasizing her indecisiveness: it is not yet clear whether she has gotten over her ex, or whether she simply desires it.
Rihanna positions herself as the savior, knowing that her ex will eventually realize how unhappy he is and "send for her", to come back to be with her.
Critical reception[]
NME's Jorden Bassett reviewed the song: "It's truly incredible that it took eight people to write this track. It's even more incredible that one of those writers is The Weeknd, a man who's no stranger to a passionate R&B hook. Woo begins with two jangly atonal guitar chords repeated over and over again – initially a tantalizing prospect, in keeping with the overall sense that this is Rihanna letting herself be enthralled by mainstream success. Yet beyond some trap-influenced percussion, little is layered on that improvisation. It spread so thinly over four minutes that, in the end, they seem to be heavy."