"Loveeeeeee Song" is a song by Barbadian recording artist
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...
recorded for her seventh studio album ''
Unapologetic
''Unapologetic'' is the seventh studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on 19 November 2012 by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. It was recorded between June and November 2012, during promotion of her sixth studio album, ' ...
'' (2012). The song features vocals by American rapper
Future
The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ...
who also co-wrote, and music produced by Luney Tunez, Emmanuel Zaragoza (previously known as Mex Manny) and Future. Additional writing was done by Denisia "Blu June" Andrews and Rihanna herself.
"Loveeeeeee Song" is a sci-fi slow
R&B song, that features lyrics the revolve around themes of love and affection that hear Rihanna singing in an accent.
"Loveeeeeee Song" received general acclaim, some of whom complimented Rihanna's vocals and called it a "stand-out track, while others called the song a "touching duet". It has since then peaked at number 55 on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and charted on the
R&B Chart
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 p ...
at number 17 in the United Kingdom.
The song is also included on the setlist of 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 performanc ...
(2013).
Background
Rihanna began "working on the new sound" for her seventh studio album in March 2012, even though she had not yet begun recording. On September 12, 2012,
Def Jam
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 ...
France announced via
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 ...
that Rihanna would release a new single the upcoming week while her seventh studio album was scheduled to be released in November 2012. However, the tweet was shortly deleted and replaced with another clarifying that "more information will be made available tomorrow, Thursday, September 13". Right after her performance at the
iHeartRadio
iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast and radio streaming Computing platform, platform owned by iHeartMedia. It was founded in August 2008. , iHeartRadio was functioning as the national umbr ...
music festival in September 2012, Rihanna revealed that her single "Diamonds" would be released the same month.
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, Rihanna posted a series of "teasing" tweets announcing her seventh studio album. On October 11, 2012, in one of her tweets she revealed that the title of her new album is ''
Unapologetic
''Unapologetic'' is the seventh studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on 19 November 2012 by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. It was recorded between June and November 2012, during promotion of her sixth studio album, ' ...
''.
Production and composition
"Loveeeeeee Song" is a "druggy slab of
sci-fi
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...
"
R&B song and is also the fifth track on the album. Co-producer Luney Tunez spoke about the process of working on it.
In an interview with ''
Complex
Complex commonly refers to:
* Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe
** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' he stated, "that was one of the beats I really don't like. It wasn't one of my favorites. When I made it, I was in the mindset of being real, melodic, laid back, and sexy."
He further added that from the beginning he was aware that the song will be a "pop-female record" and that he also didn't want to put too many instruments in it. Luney Tunez labeled it as one of the favorite songs that he has ever produced.
In an interview for
MTV News
MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...
, Future spoke about collaborating with Rihanna, "They wanted a more uptempo record, so I sent four or five records, and I left the last record. It was more like a ballad, and I left it." He further revealed that the original title of the song was "Love & Affection", however, Rihanna's mentor
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...
changed it to "Love Song" and added two additional 'e's becoming "Loveee Song".
Seth Firkins
recorded the music for "Loveeeeeee Song" together with Future's vocals at Triangle Studios in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
.
Rihanna's vocals were recorded by Marcus Tovar and
Kuk Harrell
Thaddis Laphonia "Kuk" Harrell ( ) is an American songwriter, vocal producer, arranger and engineer. He was a member of a songwriting–production team composed of himself, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and The-Dream, Terius "The-Dream" Nash. In ...
at
Westlake Recording Studios
Westlake Recording Studios is a music recording studio in West Hollywood, California.
History
Westlake Recording Studios was founded in the early 1970s by the American audio engineer Tom Hidley under the name Westlake Audio. Hidley was experienc ...
in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, while it was
mixed by Manny Marroquin at Larrabee Studios in
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...
.
Harrell also handled production of Rihanna's vocals.
All
instrumentation
Instrumentation a collective term for measuring instruments that are used for indicating, measuring and recording physical quantities. The term has its origins in the art and science of scientific instrument-making.
Instrumentation can refer to ...
and
programming was carried out by Future who appears as courtesy of
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America
Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...
.
The song starts with Future "slow-rolling track singing in his computerized drawl" the lyrics, "I don't want to give you the wrong impression, I need love and affection" and croons before Rihanna starts singing, "I want you now, I want you now." It ends with him saying "L O V E E E and affection".
The song was composed in the key of
B♭major and set in
common time
The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...
signature, and has a moderately fast tempo of 116
beats per minute
Beat, beats or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area
** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols
** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men
* Battery ( ...
. Rihanna and Future's vocals span from the low note of
F3 to the high note of
F5.
Critical reception
The song was met with critical acclaim. Caryn Ganz of ''
Spin
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning
* Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis
* Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
'' called the song a slow jam,
while ''
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 ...
''s Jon Caramanica labeled it as striking and affecting duet.
Shamika Sanders of Hello Beautiful called the song a "stand-out track" on the album and concluded that Future's rapping and singing vocals "find a nestled residence beside Rihanna’s sensual register. Together, they create a harmonious mixture of bedroom magic." According to Sarah H. Grant of
Consequence of Sound
''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...
"Loveeeeeee Song" is an "emotionally fragmented" and a "touching duet" with Future.
Digital Spy
Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...
's Robert Copsey wrote that the song is one of the few ballads on ''Unapologetic'' that can touch you deeper than the average slow songs. According to him, the reason for that are the circumstances with American entertainer
Chris Brown
Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...
which are felt through the whole album. In a review of ''Unapologetic'', Alex Macpherson of ''
Fact
A fact is a datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance, which, if accepted as true and proven true, allows a logical conclusion to be reached on a true–false evaluation. Standard reference works are often used to check facts. Scient ...
'' wrote that "Loveeeeeee Song" "is a boilerplate Future space ballad with an unforgivably stupid title."
Commercial performance
Following the release of ''Unapologetic'', "Loveeeeeee Song" entered the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 100. It ascended to 88 its second week and to 63 in its third week. It additionally debuted at number 14 on the US
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 ...
due to strong digital downloads.
The song has also peaked at four on the
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay
R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (previously known as Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay) is a chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the top R&B and hip hop songs in the United States, based on audience impressions from a panel of radio stations monitored ...
chart.
"Loveeeeeee Song" charted on the
UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart at number 17.
Credits and personnel
;Recording
*Recorded at Westlake Recording Studios, Los Angeles, California; Triangle Studios, Atlanta, Georgia.
*Mixed at Larrabee Studios, Burbank, California.
;Personnel
*Vocals – Rihanna, & Future
*Featured artist – Future
*Songwriting – Nayvadius Wilburn, Denisea "Blu June" Andrews, Robyn Fenty
*Production – Luney Tunez and E. Zaragoza p/k/a (Mex Manny) and Future
*Future's performance recorded & engineered by – Seth Firkins
*Vocal production – Kuk Harrell
*Rihanna's Vocals recorded by – Kuk Harrell, & Marcos Tovar
*Assistant engineer – Robert Cohen
*Mixing – Manny Marroquin
*All instruments and programming – Future
Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Unapologetic'',
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 ...
, SRP Records.
Charts
Certifications
References
{{authority control
2012 songs
Rihanna songs
Contemporary R&B ballads
Future (rapper) songs
2010s ballads
Songs written by Rihanna
Songs written by Future (rapper)