"Birthday Cake" is a song by Barbadian singer
Rihanna, from her sixth
studio album, ''
Talk That Talk
''Talk That Talk'' is the sixth studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna, released on November 18, 2011, by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. It was recorded while traveling for the Loud Tour between February and November 2011, and was origin ...
'' (2011). After it leaked onto the Internet, fans expressed interest in the track being included on ''Talk That Talk'', but it was later revealed that the 1:18 (one minute, 18 seconds) length that leaked was in fact the final cut and was not being considered for inclusion on the album. Due to a high level of fan interest, the song was included on the album as an
interlude
Interlude may refer to:
*a short play or, in general, any representation between parts of a larger stage production
*''Entr'acte'', a piece of music performed between acts of a theatrical production
*a section in a movement of a musical piece, se ...
. The full length version, also known as the official remix of the track, featuring Rihanna's ex-boyfriend
Chris Brown, premiered online on February 20, 2012, to coincide with Rihanna's 24th birthday. The song peaked in the top thirty on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100.
The lyrics to "Birthday Cake" express the desire to have
spontaneous sex.
Music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
were divided on "Birthday Cake", with the majority both praising and criticising the song's sexual lyrical content. Several critics compared the song to the previous track on the album "
Cockiness (Love It)
"Cockiness (Love It)" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna, from her sixth studio album ''Talk That Talk'' (2011). The song was written by Rihanna, Candice Pillay, D. Abernathy and Shondrae Crawford, with production helmed by Mr. Bangladesh. C ...
", which also consists of sexually explicit lyrics. Upon the release of ''Talk That Talk'', the song debuted on the lower regions of the singles charts in South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Background and development
![SAS Royal Hotel, Copenhagen, 1955-1960](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/SAS_Royal_Hotel%2C_Copenhagen%2C_1955-1960.jpg)
"Birthday Cake" was written by
The-Dream
Terius Youngdell Nash (born September 20, 1977), better known by his stage name The-Dream, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. His co-writing credits include songs with "Me Against the Music" (2003) for Britney Spears, " Rid ...
,
Rihanna, Marcos Palacios, and Earnest Clark, with production helmed by Da Internz and The-Dream. The interlude was recorded in room 1306 of the
Radisson Blu Royal Hotel in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
, Denmark.
In an interview for The Boom Box, producer answered a question about fans being disappointed that "Birthday Cake" would not be featured on ''
Talk That Talk
''Talk That Talk'' is the sixth studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna, released on November 18, 2011, by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. It was recorded while traveling for the Loud Tour between February and November 2011, and was origin ...
'' (2011) after it leaked online before the album's November 2011 release; the producer explained that only an interlude had been produced, and that a full length version of the song would be released at some point during the ''Talk That Talk'' era, saying:
Composition and lyrics
"Birthday Cake" is an
R&B interlude
Interlude may refer to:
*a short play or, in general, any representation between parts of a larger stage production
*''Entr'acte'', a piece of music performed between acts of a theatrical production
*a section in a movement of a musical piece, se ...
which lasts for one minute and 18 seconds, appearing as the sixth track on the album.
The instrumentation of "Birthday Cake" consists of a heavy
bass,
schoolbells,
engine sounds,
claps, and
electro beats. It also samples the song "
Dominator" by
Human Resource
Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ...
.
The track also consists of
hoover synths, synth handclaps, an
Eastern
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
*Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air Li ...
-inspired tone and
chants
A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes ...
.
In the song, Rihanna adopts a sensual tone in her vocals, as she chants the song's provocative and sexually explicit lyrics.
A reviewer for Flavour described the singer's vocal performance in "Birthday Cake" as "sultry".
Nathan S. of DJ Booth concurred that Rihanna sounds "sultry" as well as "playful" on the song.
The lyrical content of the interlude is spare and largely revolves around Rihanna chanting, "cake cake cake cake cake cake."
Aside from the repetitive chant of "cake", the interlude consists of multiple sexual metaphors.
The lyric "I know you wanna bite this/ It's so enticing/ Nothing else like this, I'ma make you my bitch/ And it's not even my birthday/ But you wanna put your name on it" is a metaphor referring to a vagina.
Rihanna sings about the desire to have
spontaneous sex.
Rihanna promises her lover that she will make him do whatever she pleases, singing "I'mma make you my bitch."
T'Cha Dunlevy of ''
The Montreal Gazette
The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...
'' described the lyric as a "promise", with Rihanna intending to act upon her desires.
The interlude ends mid-
verse and mid-lyric with a
fade at 1:18.
Katherine St. Asaph of Popdust described the fade as "ungraceful", as well as writing that it makes the track appear as though it is not finished.
Upon the fade, Rihanna puts forward the line "Ooh, I wanna fuck you right now."
Dunlevy and St. Asaph were critical of the final line, with the former labelling it as "blatant",
and the latter noting that "cursing makes everything obvious."
Critical reception
"Birthday Cake" garnered mixed reviews from music critics. Jayson Lipshutz of ''
Billboard'' praised the interlude, writing "We're all for birthday-themed naughtiness in pop music form, but only 78 seconds of 'Birthday Cake' is just not enough of a celebration!"
Lipshutz continued to compare the song's lyrical message to
Jeremih
Jeremy Phillip Felton (born July 17, 1987), known professionally as Jeremih ( ), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. In 2009, he signed a record deal with Def Jam Recordings. Jeremih's commercial debut single, "Birthday Sex", ...
's "
Birthday Sex
"Birthday Sex" is the debut single by American singer Jeremih. It is the lead single from his debut studio album, ''Jeremih'' (2009). The song was written by Jeremih, Elliot Prince, and Keith James and produced by Mick Schultz. "Birthday Sex" peak ...
".
Sam Lansky of
MTV Buzzworthy
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
was complimentary of "Birthday Cake", writing, "The only misstep on the album – not because it's not amazing (it is!), but because it's only 78 seconds long. 'Birthday Cake' is more decadent Rihanna filth, this time courtesy of sensual R&B-master The-Dream. Have any Rihanna Navy members made an hour-long mix yet? We need to keep the bump 'n' grind going all night." Pip Ellwood of Entertainment-Focus noted that "Birthday Cake", along with "
Cockiness (Love It)
"Cockiness (Love It)" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna, from her sixth studio album ''Talk That Talk'' (2011). The song was written by Rihanna, Candice Pillay, D. Abernathy and Shondrae Crawford, with production helmed by Mr. Bangladesh. C ...
", "leave you under no misunderstanding that Rihanna is as sexual as she's ever been throughout her career." Melissa Maerz of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...
'' wrote that "Birthday Cake", along with "Cockiness (Love It)", were the most provocative songs on the album, describing them as "I-like-it-rough tracks", but criticized them for being album fillers designed to get the listener out of the bedroom and on to the dance floor.
![The-Dream performing](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/The-Dream_performing.jpg)
Mike Diver of
BBC Music
BBC Music is responsible for the music played across the BBC. The current director of music is Bob Shennan, who is also the controller of BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, and the BBC Asian Network.
Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio ...
disliked "Birthday Cake" as a "wholly pointless minute-something in the company of star producer The-Dream, wasted on the boring profanities of Birthday Cake." A reviewer for Flavour had a mixed reaction to the lyrical content, writing, "I can't exactly say it is a bad song. In fact, I will probably be singing it over the next few weeks. But at this point its like, 'we get it – you like sex.' Chill out about it and sing about education or something – your younger fans need more SUBSTANCE."
icref name="Flavour"/> Nathan S. of DJ Booth noted that the song resembles a real life "
quickie", continuing to write that the overtly sexual lyrics in the song earned ''Talk That Talk'' the
Parental Advisory
Advisory (abbreviated PAL) is a warning label introduced by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1985 and adopted by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2011. It is placed on audio recordings in recognition of profan ...
sticker.
Randall Roberts of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' commented that the lyrics on "Birthday Cake" "wouldn't seem out of place on
Spinal Taps '
Smell the Glove'."
Roberts continued to note that "Birthday Cake" appeared to be an afterthought, writing,
Chart performance
Upon the release of ''Talk That Talk'', "Birthday Cake" debuted on several world charts. The song entered the
South Korea Gaon International Chart at number 67 on November 26, 2011, with sales of 6,661 digital downloads.
In the United Kingdom, "Birthday Cake" debuted at number 172 on December 3, 2011.
In the United States, the song charted at number 22 on the US
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, which represents the 25 songs which failed to chart on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100.
On March 3, 2012, "Birthday Cake" made its first appearance on the US
Digital Songs chart at number 62, following the release of the official remix featuring Brown,
and has peaked at number 30.
Due to strong airplay spins, the interlude of "Birthday Cake" peaked at number 4 on the
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
chart.
"Birthday Cake" was certified two-times platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of over 2,000,000 units.
Live performance
Rihanna performed the song for the first time on May 5, 2012, on ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
'', as part of a medley with "
Talk That Talk
''Talk That Talk'' is the sixth studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna, released on November 18, 2011, by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. It was recorded while traveling for the Loud Tour between February and November 2011, and was origin ...
".
The performance started with the original interlude version "Birthday Cake" and featured Rihanna in an all black outfit with a giant spiders web as the backdrop behind her.
After she performed a short section of the song, it transitioned into "Talk That Talk", where she performed her part of the song in full, without the rap vocal by
Jay-Z.
The remix of the song was included on her
Diamonds World Tour
The Diamonds World Tour was the fifth concert tour by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna. It was launched in support of her seventh studio album ''Unapologetic'' (2012). The tour was announced in September 2012 following the singer's performance ...
as part of her first act in 2013. She performed it on the
Anti World Tour
The Anti World Tour (stylized as ANTI World Tour) was the seventh concert tour by Barbadian singer Rihanna, in support of her eighth studio album, '' Anti'' (2016). The tour was announced on November 15, 2015 and began on March 12, 2016, in Ja ...
with a different beat in 2016 with included Rihanna rap in the song.
Track listing
*Album version
# "Birthday Cake" – 1:18
Credits and personnel
;Recording
*Recorded at Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Room 1306, Copenhagen, Denmark.
;Personnel
*Songwriting – Terius Nash, Robyn Fenty, Marcos Palacios, Earnest Clark
*Production – Da Internz, The-Dream
*Vocal engineering and recording – Kuk Harrell, Marcos Tovar
*Assistant vocal recording – Jennifer Rosales
*Mixing – Kevin "KD" Davis
*Assistant mixing – Calvin Bailiff
Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Talk That Talk'',
Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop.
The l ...
, SRP Records.
Charts
Certifications
Remix featuring Chris Brown
"Birthday Cake" was remixed with vocals from American recording artist
Chris Brown, and is a full length version of the interlude which was originally included on ''Talk That Talk''. It was sent to radio as the fourth US single from the album on March 6, 2012.
At first, it was rumored that
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...
would feature on the remix version after Rihanna posted a message on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
saying that she wanted someone "Dirrrty" on the re-recording, a supposed reference to Aguilera's 2002 song "
Dirrty
"Dirrty" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Christina Aguilera featuring American rapper Redman, released as the lead single from her fourth studio album ''Stripped''. Despite Aguilera's first three years of commercial success, sh ...
". However, the singer later tweeted that she wanted a male vocalist, not a female vocalist, to accompany her on the remix via Twitter with a tweet reading 'No girls allowed on #CAKE'. It was later revealed that Brown was the featured artist on the full length version. Despite receiving negative attention regarding Rihanna's choice of collaborator from the media and fans alike, the singer defended her decision saying that it is simply music.
The remix of "Birthday Cakes lyrics are similar to the interlude, but with new lyrics provided by Brown. The collaboration was met with a mixed response from music critics, many of whom were shocked at the fact that Rihanna and Brown had collaborated on a song together despite their relationship history, but cited the remix as an improvement upon the original interlude. The remix peaked at number 24 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and number two on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. American rappers
Fabolous
John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition while still a senior in high school, when he performed live on American music executive ...
,
Rick Ross and
Busta Rhymes appeared on additional remixes of the song.
Background
![Christina Aguilera (at premiere of](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Christina_Aguilera_%28at_premiere_of_%22To_John_With_Love%22%2C_September_2010%29.jpg)
Responding to requests from fans, Rihanna posted a message via her official
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
account, promising that a full version of "Birthday Cake" was coming.
Katherine St. Asaph of PopDust criticized the notion, writing "Honestly, at this point Rihanna and Def Jam would be better off just calling 'Birthday Cake' an interlude, not an incomplete version, because otherwise that's saying the album is released but essentially unfinished."
Beck Bain of
Idolator
An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry.
Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books
*''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music
* Idolator (website), an American music blog
* ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...
noted that the release of the full length song is "doubtful", writing "the song is already too dirty in its current minute-and-twenty-second version. But if '
S&M' could be a single, is ''anything'' too risque for the radio these days?"
In February 2012, it was speculated that
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...
would appear as the featured artist on the release after Rihanna posted a message on Twitter saying, "I need somebody #DIRRRTY on my Birthday #CAKE ," a supposed reference to Aguilera's 2002 song "
Dirrty
"Dirrty" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Christina Aguilera featuring American rapper Redman, released as the lead single from her fourth studio album ''Stripped''. Despite Aguilera's first three years of commercial success, sh ...
", which contains lyrical content relating to various sexual activities. The singer later confirmed that she did not want a female artist to feature on the collaboration, stating, "No girls allowed on #CAKE. " On February 15, 2012, Kosine of Da Internz, who produced the interlude, revealed that the featured collaborator will "shock the world," and that the full length version would premiere between February 16, and February 20, 2012.
Development
On February 16, 2012, it was speculated that former boyfriend
Chris Brown was the featured artist on the full length version.
Reports surfaced after the pair were photographed leaving
Westlake Recording Studios in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
at separate times and Brown being invited to Rihanna's birthday party.
Rumors were also fueled when Rihanna and Brown spent time together at the
2012 Grammy Awards
The 54th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 12, 2012, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles being broadcast on CBS honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011. LL Cool J hosted t ...
on February 8, 2012.
The reports gained worldwide media controversy, because Brown and Rihanna were involved in a physical altercation on the evening of the
2009 Grammy Awards
The 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 8, 2009, honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2007, through September 30, 2008. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the b ...
.
The full length version, eventually revealed to feature Brown, was released on Rihanna's birthday, February 20, 2012.
In an interview with ''
Billboard'', The-Dream stated that he believed Rihanna and Brown's past together should not be judged and that "Birthday Cake" is simply a song, saying, "For me, it's just music - two talented people doing a record together, doing two records together, and that's what it was. It wasn't about an incident that happened. The true thing really is to forgive, and you want to believe in people." "Birthday Cake" impacted US
Urban contemporary radio
Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...
on March 6, 2012, serving as the fourth U.S. single from ''Talk That Talk''.
On March 15, 2012, Rihanna explained her collaboration with Brown on "Birthday Cake" and the remix of his song "
Turn Up the Music" to
Ryan Seacrest during his morning show: "The first song that came about was 'Birthday Cake'. I mean, we ended up recording them at the same time and executing them together. But I reached out to him about doing 'Birthday Cake' because that’s the only person that, really, it made sense to do the record. Just as a musician, despite everything else, that was going to be the person. You know I thought about rappers, and I've done that so many times, and the hottest R&B artist out right now is Chris Brown. So I wanted him on the track, and then in turn he was like, 'Why don't you do the remix to my track?' and it was a trade-off. We did two records. One for my fans, one for his fans, and that way our fans can come together. There shouldn’t be a divide. You know? It's music, and it's innocent." In March 2012, American rapper
Fabolous
John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition while still a senior in high school, when he performed live on American music executive ...
released his own verse to the "Birthday Cake" remix.
The following month another version featuring rapper
Fabolous
John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition while still a senior in high school, when he performed live on American music executive ...
premiered online.
Composition
Brown's verse begins with the lyric "Girl, I wanna fuck you right now,"
which is the antithesis of how Rihanna concludes the original interlude, singing "Ooh, I wanna fuck you right now."
Brown's verse continues with "Been a long time I've been missing your body/ Turn the lights down/ When I go down it's a private party."
Brown delivers his vocals in an aggressive and manipulative manner as he sings "Give it to her in the worst way, can't wait to blow her candles out."
At the end of the song, Rihanna performs new lyrics which were not included on the original 1 minute and 18 second interlude; "Remember how you did it/ If you still wanna kiss it/ Then come and get it."
According to
Ben Rayner Ben Rayner is a music critic and writer for the ''Toronto Star'' since 1998. His commentary on artists is extensively cited across the industry. Indie88 considers him "of the most respected industry professionals around."
In 2012, he served on t ...
of the ''
Toronto Sun
The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Pos ...
'', the instrumentation of "Birthday Cake" consists of "snaky, slurpy, bass-droppin' beats."
The song's lyrics revolve around sadomasochistic sexuality and dominance over men,
and consists mainly of
oral sex
Oral sex, sometimes referred to as oral intercourse, is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a person by another person using the mouth (including the lips, tongue, or teeth) and the throat. Cunnilingus is oral sex p ...
metaphors, including the lyric "Doggy want the kitty."
Critical reception
Beth Hardie for the ''
Daily Mirror
The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...
'' wrote that the remix came as a shock, because of how Brown "beat her virtually senseless in a car three years ago just before the Grammys", and noted that Rihanna would face harsh criticism from journalists and fans alike for not setting a good example to younger girls. Hardie continued to state that although the collaboration came as a surprise, "We have to admit, it's a pretty amazing stroke of genius in terms of publicity and messing with people’s minds."
Regarding the collaboration on the remix Jo Usmar from ''
Daily Mirror
The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...
'' compared the collaboration to the physical altercation between Rihanna and Brown at the 2009 Grammy Awards, writing "In case you've been living in a cave for the last two years this is extraordinarily controversial as Brown was convicted of assaulting Rihanna in 2009 and there was a restraining order issued against him."
Ben Rayner for the ''Toronto Sun'' was complimentary of the remix, writing that it was an improvement upon the original interlude, "What was empty, unfinished titillation before, then, has become empty, overstated, boardroom-written pseudo-pornography for the pop charts."
![Chris Brown 5, 2012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Chris_Brown_5%2C_2012.jpg)
Jon Caramanica for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' commented that the remix of "Birthday Cake", as well as the original, was "very much so" a good song. However, Caramanica was critical of the collaboration itself, due to Rihanna and Brown's history, writing "You want to forget? Fine. But don't forgive." Caramanica continued to explain his distaste, writing "It displays an advanced understanding of marketing and an understanding of moral obligations and ethics that's not much more than rudimentary. It is a woman publicly accepting her abuser - nothing more, nothing less."
J. Bryan Lowder for ''
The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' labelled the song as "innuendo-iced" with regard to the song's explicit lyrics. Lowder provided an explanation for what he thought the reason was behind Rihanna asking Brown to collaborate on "Birthday Cake", writing:
Live performance
Rihanna performed "Birthday Cake" Remix at
Radio 1's Hackney Weekend on May 24, 2012, as the fifth song on the set list.
She performed the remix in its entirety, and sang Brown's lyrics.
The song was later included on her
Diamonds World Tour
The Diamonds World Tour was the fifth concert tour by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna. It was launched in support of her seventh studio album ''Unapologetic'' (2012). The tour was announced in September 2012 following the singer's performance ...
in 2013 during the first act.
Chart performance
The remix version of "Birthday Cake" debuted at number 20 on the US ''
Billboard''
R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
chart on chart issue dated March 10, 2012, and received both the Airplay and Greatest Gainer honors.
The following week, it ascended to number 17.
In its third week on the chart, the song ascended to number seven, and received the Airplay Gainer honor.
The song ascended to number four the following week, and was awarded with the Airplay Gainer honor again.
It has so far reached a peak of number two.
It debuted at number 63 on the US ''Billboard''
Hot 100 on the chart issue dated March 10, 2012.
In its fourth week on the chart, the song climbed to number 39 and became the fourth top forty single from ''Talk That Talk''.
"Birthday Cake (Remix)" has reached a peaked of number 24.
The remix of "Birthday Cake" debuted at number 73 on the
Radio Songs chart, generating a 372% increase in spins, on the chart issue dated March 10, 2012.
It reached a peak of number 16.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Premiere and radio history
References
{{authority control
Rihanna songs
2011 songs
Songs written by Rihanna
Songs written by The-Dream
Chris Brown songs
Song recordings produced by Kuk Harrell
Song recordings produced by Da Internz