With eight albums and 14 indelible chart-topping hits, Bad Girl RiRi has become a cultural cornerstone, a bona fide icon who has soundtracked the better part of a generation. All of this has happened since Rihanna's first hit song, "Pon de Replay," in 2005. We all love Rihanna and her fabulous style. But if you are wondering what her greatest hits are, here is a list of the best Rihanna songs you should listen to.
Maybe we're too obsessed with Rihanna, but hey, it's been long enough since we got to shout Rihanna's hits on the dancefloor, asking the DJ not to stop the music. This time, however, she's back with something more emotional. Co-written by Tems, Ryan Coogler, Ludwig G?ransson, and Rihanna, "Lift Me Up" for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (out November 2022) is a touching tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman, the protagonist T'Challa in the last Black Panther film (2021).
"Where have you been? All my life, all my life," the EDM-inspired club classic, has Rihanna wondering where her lover's been before meeting her. And who knows? Maybe Rihanna and ASAP Rocky have found what she was searching for all these years. Every pop star has that one song that gets everyone clapping in sync at the club, and this upbeat banger from her 2011 album Talk That Talk is Rihanna's.
Rihanna delivering this dancehall classic, "Man Down," will always be the perfect summer vibe. This gem from the album Loud packs a serious emotional wallop by the song's end, finishing with a gorgeous falsetto coda. We knew it before, but it bears repeating: the girl's got the range.
Even though Rihanna's "Pour It Up" didn't make it to the top of the charts, its accompanying music video is one of the best things she has ever done, period. Flashing her dollar bills at the strip club and singing "I still got mo' money," Rihanna reminds everyone that she's a big spender and has the leverage to do whatever the fuck she wants with all of her money, honey.
"And to him, I just can't be true." Though this Rihanna and Ne-Yo song collaboration, "Unfaithful," has found as many opponents as proponents thanks to its lyrics, this Music of the Sun album track from 2005 is an exclamation of delight with provocative words. It's a ballad inspired by Evanescence that serves as a reminder that not only men cheat.
Here is Rihanna reminding a man that the only thing he's good for is sexual pleasure—if he can even fulfil that requirement. But do heed the warning: "Didn't they tell you that I was a savage?"
Of the many surprises that awaited us when Rihanna first dropped ANTI, the biggest was surely this extremely casual Tame Impala cover. Indie fans were aghast that she was audacious enough to lift the track with singer Kevin Parker's backing vocals still intact. Still, they failed to grasp what was obvious from the get-go: this is how the song should have sounded all along.
Ok, it's no chart-topper, but then again, that's not the reason we're here. When it comes to a classic love song, Rihanna's got it covered. Released in collaboration with rapper Future for her seventh studio album Unconditional, this touching ballad duet is a vibe from another world with a laid-back melody about unconditional love. Much love for these love song lyrics, Rihanna!
A dancehall hit in its first appearance, but RiRi is trying to tell us more. Rihanna and Ne-Yo's first collaboration from Good Girl Gone Bad differs like night and day from the fast-paced pop hits "Umbrella" and "Please Don't Stop the Music" from the same album, capturing the emotion of conflicted love. We've all been there.
Ask any man about how ANTI impacted their life, and they'll get choked up talking about this track. The way that Rihanna's voice cracks in the chorus could kill a man on the spot. If your ex isn't drunk and isn't profusely apologising with this much passion in their voice, hang up and put them on the block.
None of us stand for abusive relationships, and we're with you, RiRi. Whereas Eminem and Rihanna's song "Love the Way You Lie" originally featured Eminem as the lead vocalist, the second version was rerecorded to have a female (Rihanna's) perspective. The song offers an emotional reflection of her tumultuous and abusive relationship with Chris Brown. The most provocative statement she's made to date is speaking up and openly sharing her first-hand experience of the trauma. It has left a mark and helped generations to come.??