''Unapologetic'' is the seventh

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by Barbadian singer

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 ...

. It was released on 19 November 2012 by

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 ...

and SRP Records. It was recorded between June and November 2012, during promotion of 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 origina ...

'' (2011). As executive producer, Rihanna enlisted previous collaborators

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, "Ride ...

David Guetta Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...

Chase & Status Chase & Status are an English electronic music duo composed of Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard (Status). In addition, Andy Gangadeen is the drummer when the band performs live. MC Rage formerly performed as MC with the group, but left in Ju ...

, and

Stargate ''Stargate'' (often stylized in all caps) is a military science fiction media franchise based on the Stargate (film), film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin. The franchise is based on the idea of an alien E ...

to work alongside new collaborators such as

Parker Ighile Parker Ibrahim Ighile (born Parker Oseomwan Ibrahim Ighile-Peters; 1 March 1990) is a British record producer, rapper, singer and songwriter. He was born in London. , he was signed to US rapper Nicki Minaj's record label. As a producer, artist a ...

, Mike Will Made-It, and

Labrinth Timothy Lee McKenzie (born 4 January 1989), better known by his stage name Labrinth, is an English singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. After initially pursuing a career in music production, Simon Cowell signed him to his record labe ...

. ''Unapologetic'' is primarily a pop,

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

, and R&B record that incorporates elements of hip hop,

EDM EDM or E-DM may refer to: Music * Electronic dance music * Early Day Miners, American band Science and technology * Electric dipole moment * Electrical discharge machining * Electronic distance measurement *Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...

and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

in its production, similar to the sound of her previous albums ''

'' (2011), '' Loud'' (2010) and ''

Rated R Rated R refers to movies (and also to TV shows and video games in certain systems) that have been given a "restricted" rating by one of the following film rating systems: * Motion Picture Association of America film rating system * Canadian Home Vid ...

'' (2009). ''Unapologetic'' received generally mixed reviews from critics, with some reviewers describing its music as interesting, while others criticized its weak lyrical content and rushed nature. The album won the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for

Best Urban Contemporary Album The Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for quality works on albums in the urban contemporary subgenre within the R&B field. Honors in several categories are presented at t ...

at the 2014 ceremony, while "

Stay Stay may refer to: Places * Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US Law * Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment * Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a tri ...

" was nominated for

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance The Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 63rd Grammy Awards category rules, "this category ...

. It debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 with first-week sales of 238,000 copies, becoming Rihanna's first number one album on the chart and best-selling debut week of her career. The album also became the singer's third, fourth, and fifth consecutive number one album in the United Kingdom, Norway, and Switzerland, respectively. According to the

International Federation of the Phonographic Industry The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 19 ...

(IFPI), it was the ninth global best-selling album of 2012 with sales of 2.3 million copies. As of December 2014, ''Unapologetic'' has sold over four million copies worldwide. The album produced seven singles including the international hits "

Diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...

" and "

". The former peaked at number one on both the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 where it became Rihanna's twelfth number one song, tying her with

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

and

the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

for fourth most number one songs in the history of the chart. Prior to its release, Rihanna promoted the album with the

777 Tour ''Rihanna 777 Documentary... 7Countries7Days7Shows'' is the third live long-form video by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on May 7, 2013, by Def Jam Recordings. An edited version aired on May 6 on the Fox Network. It features behind-th ...

which consisted of a seven-date promotional tour in which she performed seven concerts each in a different city in North America and Europe in seven days. To further promote the album, Rihanna embarked on her fourth worldwide concert tour, entitled the

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 ...

Background

In November 2011, Rihanna released her sixth studio album ''

''. The album was rooted in pop,

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

and R&B but also incorporated a variety of other musical genres such as hip hop,

electro house Electro house is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by heavy bass and a tempo around 130 beats per minute. The term has been used to describe the music of many ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 DJs, including Benny Benassi, Skrillex, Steve Aoki ...

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

, and

, a genre which was prominent on her fourth

'' (2009). ''Talk That Talk'' received generally positive reviews from contemporary

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 ...

upon its release. It was a commercial success and reached the top ten in over twenty national charts, including number one on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

and number three on the US ''Billboard'' 200. The album produced six singles including the worldwide hits "

We Found Love "We Found Love" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna from her sixth studio album, ''Talk That Talk'' (2011). Scottish DJ Calvin Harris wrote, produced, and features on the song, which also appears on his third album '' 18 Months'' (2012). "We F ...

" and "

Where Have You Been "Where Have You Been" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna, from her sixth studio album, ''Talk That Talk'' (2011) serving as the fifth single. The song was written by Ester Dean, Geoff Mack, Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, Henry "Cirkut" Walt ...

". "We Found Love" topped the charts in over 25 countries and sold over 9 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time. In March 2012, Rihanna revealed that although she had not yet begun recording, she started "working on the new sound" for her seventh studio album.

Recording and production

On 20 June 2012, Rihanna began recording her seventh studio album, working with Nicky Romero and Burns. Rihanna and Burns booked three days in a studio in London while Rihanna was performing at Radio 1's Hackney Weekend. It was also confirmed that Rihanna worked with Eric Bellinger,

Sean Garrett Garrett Robin Hamler, known professionally as Sean Garrett, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is responsible for a series of chart-topping compositions, most notably Usher's " Yeah!" which ranks second on the ''Billboa ...

, and

Swedish House Mafia Swedish House Mafia (SHM) is a Swedish house music supergroup consisting of Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso. The group officially formed in late 2008, were placed at number ten on the ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 DJ Poll 2011, and have been ...

for her seventh album. On 6 July 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 ...

executive

No I.D. Ernest Dion Wilson (born June 23, 1971), professionally known as No I.D. (formerly Immenslope), is an American hip hop and R&B producer from Chicago, Illinois. Wilson is also a disc jockey (DJ), music arranger and former rapper, having releas ...

revealed that he had begun working with Rihanna on the album saying "I’m going in next week for about a week". On 10 July 2012, British singer and producer

revealed to Capital FM that he had been working with Rihanna on the album. On 17 July 2012, it was reported that Rihanna would be working with R&B singer

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit " Let Me Love You ...

and

N-Dubz N-Dubz are an English hip hop trio from Camden Town, London, consisting of cousins Dappy and Tulisa, and Fazer. After winning a MOBO Award for Best Newcomer in 2007, N-Dubz briefly signed to Polydor Records before joining All Around the Wor ...

member

Fazer Fazer () is one of the largest corporations in the Finnish food industry. The company was founded by Karl Fazer in 1891, as a "French-Russian confectionery" in central Helsinki. Today, it employs over ten thousand people across Finland, Sweden, R ...

. In an interview with Capital FM Ne-Yo spoke on working with Rihanna on the album saying: "I just recently went in to do some stuff for Rihanna, you know. She’s the hardest working woman in showbiz right now. She's in the process of putting together a new album as we speak, I got in with

and

and a few other people for that project.

confirmed in July 2012 that he had been in the studio with French DJ

working on Rihanna's album saying: "I was in the studio with David doing some stuff for Rihanna recently. He finds inspiration in the things I don't like, and I get excited by the things he doesn't like. He wants to be more urban and I want to be more international, so we push each other, I try to help Rihanna. She works hard and it's cool to write for someone who is so open-minded." On 21 August 2012, American songwriter Claude Kelly said that he had been writing songs for Rihanna while she was performing in London. Kelly spoke on the songs that he had written for Rihanna saying: "Rihanna's a worldwide superstar at this point and she's performing in stadiums and arenas now, so I wanted songs that reflected her audience, when I was in London she was performing at a festival in front of like 30,000 to 40,000 people. So I didn't want small songs that only worked on radio, so I tried to do anthemic big stadium-themed songs." On 16 August 2012,

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

R&B singer-songwriter

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

stated that he had been writing for Rihanna's album. He said: "I love writing songs and it's good to pitch tracks to other artists. A couple of weeks ago I was doing some writing for Rihanna". In September 2012, Ne-Yo confirmed his involvement the album saying "I did go in the studio with her, I know I got one or two on the album that she's definitely keeping."

Composition

Music and lyrics

Rihanna explained her interest in developing new soundscapes, "I love experimenting and I love working with different sounds and putting them together so they’re not one-dimensional." She also added "Right now we're working on collecting and creating the sound first before we even start working on the lyrical direction or melodies. I kind of have an idea though, and it's very rough right now. So I'm very eager to start that."

spoke on the album's sound saying it was "a great mish-mash of genres". Rihanna revealed during an interview with GQ's "Men of the Year" that she wanted her music to be uplifting saying "I want to make music that’s hopeful, uplifting. Nothing corny or supersentimental. I just want it to have the feeling that brings you out of whatever you’re going through. I want it to spark that fire. I want it to be real, authentic, and raw." The album's first half is made up of

and "syrupy"

Southern hip hop Southern hip hop, also known as Southern rap, South Coast hip hop, or dirty south, is a blanket term for a regional genre of American hip hop music that emerged in the Southern United States, especially in Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston, Memph ...

minimalism songs, which feature abrasive sound effects and eccentric beats. Like most of the album, they generally draw on

, a bass-heavy subgenre typified by wobbly

synthetic Synthetic things are composed of multiple parts, often with the implication that they are artificial. In particular, 'synthetic' may refer to: Science * Synthetic chemical or compound, produced by the process of chemical synthesis * Synthetic o ...

noises and blaring bass drops, as well as

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

and

chopped and screwed Chopped and screwed (also called screwed and chopped or slowed and throwed) is a music genre and technique of remixing music that involves slowing down the tempo and deejaying. It developed in the Houston hip hop scene in the early 1990s by DJ ...

sounds.

Jon Caramanica Jon Caramanica (born 1975) is an American journalist and pop music critic who writes for ''The New York Times''. He is also known for writing about hip hop music. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York, Caramanica received his ba ...

of ''

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 ...

'' characterizes the album's music as "brutish and bruised" with "tough and layered" production, citing David Guetta's "guttural" production on "Phresh Out the Runway" and "Right Now" as an example. Music journalist

Jude Rogers Jude Rogers (born 1978) is a Welsh journalist, lecturer, arts critic and broadcaster. She is a music critic for ''The Guardian'' and also regularly writes features and articles for ''The Observer'', ''New Statesman'' and women's magazines such a ...

characterized the album's music as voluminous "R&B-pop", while ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' magazine's Melissa Locker said that it has an "urban R&B sound". According to

Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis ( el, Αλέξης Πετρίδης; born 13 September 1971) is a British journalist, head rock and pop critic for the UK newspaper ''The Guardian'', as well as a regular contributor to the magazine '' GQ''. In addition to his mus ...

, the different producers who worked on ''Unapologetic'' appeared to make an effort away from Rihanna's previous "pop-dance template ... or at least to rearrange voguish sounds into less familiar shapes". ''Unapologetic''s ballad-oriented second half incorporates

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

, and

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

styles. According to music critic

Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...

, ''Unapologetic'' is "ostensibly" a pop album, while ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...

'' said that it is "on the surface" an assortment of genres such as R&B, dubstep and pop. Up-tempo songs such as "Phresh Out the Runway", "

Jump Jumping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jump or Jumping also may refer to: Places * Jump, Kentucky or Jump St ...

", and "Pour It Up" celebrate carpe diemic

hedonism Hedonism refers to a family of theories, all of which have in common that pleasure plays a central role in them. ''Psychological'' or ''motivational hedonism'' claims that human behavior is determined by desires to increase pleasure and to decr ...

. Much of the album's lyrics are presumably concerned with Rihanna's relationship with

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 ...

, with a second half of lighter songs that have references to a dysfunctional love life. The album's subject matter is reflected by an abundance of

minor key In Western music, the adjectives major and minor may describe a chord, scale, or key. As such, composition, movement, section, or phrase may be referred to by its key, including whether that key is major or minor. Intervals Some intervals may ...

sounds throughout its songs. James Reed of ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' called ''Unapologetic'' "a defiant middle finger to her critics, particularly the ones who don’t approve of her relationship with Brown." Kot observed a "celebrity subtext" throughout the album and characterized the songs' narrators as "troubled, anxiety-ridden, lost ... the characters in these songs linger in a limbo of mixed emotions, emotionally attracted to a lover and yet uneasy about the next step." ''

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 ...

'' magazine's Caryn Ganz wrote that "Rihanna sings about her unapologetic love of" money, love, and "living in the moment" on the songs "Pour It Up", "Loveeeeeee Song", and "Right Now", respectively.

Songs and lyrical content

The album's opening track, "Phresh Out the Runway", is a "gritty club banger" that features hip hop and EDM styles. The song is a "noisy, trap-tastic twerker" that is reminiscent of Rihanna's 2012 single "

Birthday Cake A birthday cake is a cake eaten as part of a birthday celebration. Birthday cakes are often layer cakes with frosting served with small lit candles on top representing the celebrant's age. Variations include cupcakes, cake pops, pastries, and ...

", and contains "blazin' beats, brags aplenty" and an "unapologetic attitude". The song's lyrical content revolves around Rihanna explaining how if any of her crew does not respect her, then they should no longer remain with her. "Diamonds" is a mid-tempo

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

which incorporates

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

and pop musical genres. It features heavy

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

s, orchestral sounds and electronic rhythms. The song's lyrical content marks a departure from the recurring themes of unhealthy relationships on the album's other songs, and contains a prominent concept of love. "Numb" is a "slow-grinding, Middle Eastern-flavored party track". Numb's

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 ...

consists of an Egyptian flute riff and "a crashing bombastic beat". "Numb" contains a

sample Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of s ...

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

's song "

Can't Tell Me Nothing "Can't Tell Me Nothing" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his third studio album, '' Graduation'' (2007). The song contains additional vocals from Young Jeezy and Connie Mitchell. It was produced by West with DJ Toomp with West bein ...

", written by West and Aldrin Davis. The song's lyrical content is "controversial" as it is about feeling "numb after taking drugs" and a "homage to getting high". "Pour It Up" is a

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

song, with a minimal hip hop beat. Lyrically, it finds Rihanna turning a strip-club anthem into a declaration of independence, pulling out her dollar bills at the strip club, getting drunk, and bragging loudly. "Loveeeeeee Song" is a duet with rapper and singer

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 ...

, with soft vocals by Rihanna and lyrics that posit love as an adversarial game. "Jump" is a dubstep-influenced dance song that samples

Ginuwine Elgin Baylor Lumpkin (born October 15, 1970), better known by his stage name Ginuwine, is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. He began his career as a member of Swing Mob in the early 1990s. Signing to Epic R ...

's 1996 song "

Pony A pony is a type of small horse ('' Equus ferus caballus''). Depending on the context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. Compared ...

". Lyrically, in "Jump" Rihanna preaches to her former partner that she won't be chasing him. "Right Now" is a "feel-good anthem for the clubs". The song contains

and

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

, with a duration of . and the song features a "churning

bassline Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, or classical music for the low-pitched Part ( ...

". "What Now", produced by

, is a "vulnerable ballad" containing a "hard chorus". The song is a

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

-led mid tempo pop ballad and "builds nicely from its calming verse to its electrified hook." "

" is a

that has piano and guitar instrumentation. The lyrics revolve around "failing to resist true love", according to Dan Martin for ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' "Nobody's Business" mixes

Chicago stepping Chicago-Style Stepping (also known as Steppin') is an urban dance that originated in Chicago and continues to evolve nationwide and overseas, while defining its unique style and culture. within urban community. "Chicago-Style Stepping" makes ref ...

and

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

styles, featuring strings, piano, and a

four-on-the-floor Four-on-the-floor (or four-to-the-floor) is a rhythm pattern used primarily in dance genres such as disco and electronic dance music. It is a steady, uniformly accented beat in time in which the bass drum is hit on every beat (1, 2, 3, 4)."T ...

kick drum. Rihanna said that the song's lyrics show "basically the way I look at everything regarding my personal life." Lyrically, the couple proclaims their eternal fealty, make out in a Lexus and acknowledge the world that the romantic relationship between them is only their business. "Love Without Tragedy / Mother Mary" represent two

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

and new wave integrated songs, which last for a duration of with lyrics that are deeply personal, two-part song that opens with a somber mood and shifts to confessional subject matter and Rihanna's uplifting vocals. "Get It Over With" is a down-tempo, "chilled-out" song. "No Love Allowed" is a reggae song with a "bubbly, dubbed-out groove". The final track "Lost in Paradise" is a "somber-but-hopeful" mid-tempo ballad with frequent tempo

drops Drop, DROP, drops or DROPS may refer to: * Drop (liquid) or droplet, a small volume of liquid ** Eye drops, saline (sometimes mydriatic) drops used as medication for the eyes * Drop (unit), a unit of measure of volume * Falling (physics), allowin ...

. Lyrically, it speaks about a love stronger than a gun shot, "Half of Me" is a

chamber pop Chamber pop (or Chamber rock; also called baroque pop and sometimes conflated with orchestral pop or symphonic pop) is a music genre that combines rock music with the intricate use of string section, strings, horn section, horns, piano, and voca ...

song which lasts for a duration of three minutes and twelve seconds.

Singles

" premiered on 26 September 2012, and was released the following day as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from ''Unapologetic''. Critics were divided on the track; some complimented Rihanna's different musical direction, however, others criticized its production. The cover artwork for the song features Rihanna rolling diamonds on a piece of

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

paper. The song's music video depicts Rihanna in four environments that represent the elements of earth, air, water and fire. "Diamonds" debuted at number 16 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, eventually reaching number one, giving Rihanna her twelfth number one in the country and tying her with

and

as the artists with the fifth-most number ones in the chart's history. The song also topped the charts in eighteen other countries worldwide including Austria, Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. "

", which features guest vocals by American recording artist

Mikky Ekko John Stephen Sudduth (born December 17, 1984), known professionally as Mikky Ekko, is an American recording artist and record producer from Nashville, signed to Interscope Records. He is best known for writing and being featured on Rihanna's 2013 s ...

was released as the second international single from the album, first impacting radio stations in France on 13 December 2012. Dan Martin for ''

'' thought that the lyrical content of "Stay" puts a "vulnerable spin" on her relationship with

. The song's accompanying music video was released on 11 February 2013, via E! and then to

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

the following day. The song reached the top five of twenty-four countries worldwide including number four in the UK and number three on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Rihanna's twenty-fourth top ten on the latter chart, thus passing

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

's tally of 23 top ten songs. Furthermore, it reached number one in Canada, Czech Republic and Denmark, while also topping the US

Pop Songs Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the Un ...

chart.

Pour It Up "Pour It Up" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna from her seventh studio album, ''Unapologetic'' (2012). It was serviced to urban radio stations in the United States on January 8, 2013, as the second US single, and third overall single from the ...

" was solicited to

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

radio as the album's third single in the United States on 8 January 2013. The song debuted on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 90, eventually reaching a top twenty peak of number 19. "Pour It Up" additionally charted on multiple sub-charts in the country including number one and six 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 ...

and

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 ...

charts, and number 47 on the

Hot Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart. It also made appearances in other countries such as Canada, France and the UK. A remix of "Pour It Up" was later distributed with rap verses from American rappers

Young Jeezy Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977), known by his stage name Jeezy (or Young Jeezy), is an American rapper. Signing to Def Jam Recordings in 2004, his major label debut, '' Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101'', was released the followin ...

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Sean Combs, D ...

Juicy J Jordan Michael Houston III (born April 5, 1975), known professionally as Juicy J, is an American rapper and record producer. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, he is a founding member of the Southern hip hop group Three 6 Mafia, established i ...

, and T.I. On 2 October 2013, an accompanying music video was released to Rihanna's official

account after several delays. " Right Now" was released as the fourth single from the album and was sent to

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

in the United States on 28 May 2013. Upon the release of ''Unapologetic'', the song charted at number one on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

chart and number seven on the

UK Dance Chart The UK Dance Singles Chart and the UK Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the dance music genre (e.g. house, trance, drum and bass, garage, synthpop) in record ...

. "

What Now ''What Now'' is a New Zealand children's television programme that premiered on Saturday 9 May 1981. It is currently filmed before a live audience at a different school in New Zealand, which is selected every week. The show airs every Sunday at ...

" was released as the fifth single from the album in selected countries; it has peaked at number 21 and 13 in Australia and New Zealand respectively. The single also appeared on the singles charts of France, United Kingdom and Belgium. On 29 August 2013, a promotional digital remix EP of "What Now" was released exclusively to

Beatport Beatport is an American electronic music-oriented online music store owned by LiveStyle. The company is based in Denver, Los Angeles, and Berlin. Beatport is oriented primarily towards DJs, selling full songs as well as resources that can be used ...

. "What Now" officially impacted US rhythmic radio on 24 September 2013, and later impacted on Top 40/Mainstream radio on 1 October 2013. The song's accompanying music video was released to

on 15 November 2013. "

" was issued to Australian radio on 24 January 2014, as the fifth single in Australia and sixth overall.

Release and promotion

On 12 September 2012,

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". To further promote the announcement for her seventh upcoming studio album, Rihanna launched a promotional website rihanna7.com. Via her official

account, Rihanna posted series of "teasing" tweets announcing her seventh studio album. On 11 October 2012, she revealed the cover art and title of her new album, ''Unapologetic''.

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

ranked the cover at number one on their list of The 30 Hottest Naked Album Covers Ever. Regarding the title of the album, Rihanna explained that she named it because she wanted to express how honest she is, "I named my album 'Unapologetic' because there is only one truth, and you can't apologise for that. It's honest. I'm always evolving, of course, I think the only motto I have is to be true to myself." Rihanna-mexico-city

In August 2012, it was revealed that ''Unapologetic'' would be released in late November 2012. In early October, it was reported that the album would be released on 19 November 2012. On 2 November 2012, Rihanna released a behind the scenes video of the journey to making ''Unapologetic''. The first video included a behind-the-scenes view of Rihanna backstage at the

2012 MTV Video Music Awards The 2012 MTV Video Music Awards, hosted by Kevin Hart, took place on Thursday, September 6, 2012, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. The awards were broadcast from the Staples Center arena at L.A. Live in Downtown Los Angeles. ...

, a shooting range, rehearsing for the

iHeartRadio Music Festival The iHeartRadio Music Festival is a two-day music concert festival held every year in September since 2011 by iHeartRadio along the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. From 2011 to 2015, the festival was held at the MGM Grand ...

and a photoshoot at a studio. On 14 November, Rihanna embarked on a seven-date promotional tour for ''Unapologetic'' titled the

. She performed seven concerts in seven days, each in a different city in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. Fans and members of the international press (150 journalists representing 82 countries) were invited aboard a chartered

Boeing 777 The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet. The 777 was designed to bridge the gap bet ...

twinjet to every venue. Beginning on 14 November in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, the tour visited

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

(

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

(Sweden),

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

(France),

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

(Germany),

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

(UK) and ended on 20 November in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

(United States). On 6 May 2013,

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

aired a tour documentary, with a documentary DVD being released the following day. Rihanna performed "Diamonds" and "Phresh Out the Runway" at the 2012

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was an annual promotional event sponsored by and featuring Victoria's Secret, a brand of lingerie. From 1995 to 2018, Victoria's Secret used the show to market its goods in high-profile settings. Models under ...

on 7 November 2012, which aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

on 4 December 2012. She performed "Diamonds" and a solo version of "Stay" 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. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' on 10 November 2012. On 25 November 2012, Rihanna performed "Diamonds" on ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' in the United Kingdom. On 8 December, she performed the song on '' Wetten, dass..?'' in Germany. On 9 December 2012, Rihanna performed "Stay" in a medley with her 2011 single "

" on the final of series nine of British ''The X Factor''. She also performed "Diamonds" on ''La Chanson de l'année'' (''"The song of the Year"'') in France, on 10 December 2012, which was broadcast on 29 December 2012. During the

55th Annual Grammy Awards The 55th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 10, 2013, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2011 through September 30, 2012. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. E ...

on 10 February 2013, Rihanna performed "

Could You Be Loved "Could You Be Loved" is a 1980 song by Jamaican reggae band Bob Marley and the Wailers. It was released as the first single from their twelfth and last album, ''Uprising (Bob Marley and the Wailers album), Uprising'' (1980), and is also included ...

" alongside

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical s ...

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

Damian Marley Damian Robert Nesta "Jr. Gong" Marley (born 21 July 1978) is a Jamaican DJ, singer, lyricist and rapper. He is the recipient of four Grammy Awards. Early life, education and family Damian Marley is the youngest son of reggae musician Bob Marle ...

and

Ziggy Marley David Nesta "Ziggy" Marley (born 17 October 1968) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, musician, actor and philanthropist. He is the son of reggae icon Bob Marley and Rita Marley. He led the family band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers until 200 ...

as a tribute to

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

. Rihanna performed for a second time at the award ceremony, where she performed her album's second single "Stay" along with

. To further promote the album, Rihanna embarked on her fifth concert tour, the

in March 2013. North American, African and European dates were announced with

ASAP Rocky Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky ( ; stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper, music producer and record executive. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a membe ...

serving as the support act for North America, while

performed for the Moroccan date of the tour as well as some selected European dates including London and Paris. In September 2013, she also performed on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

's '' Alan Carr: Chatty Man'' to promote "

Critical reception

''Unapologetic'' received mixed to positive reviews from

. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album holds an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

score of 61, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 25 reviews. Alexis Petridis of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' found it "far more interesting" sonically than ''Talk That Talk'' and stated, "there's stuff here that's worth hearing, if you could untangle the music from the artist's personal life." ''

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 ...

'' magazine's Alex Macpherson felt that it has some of Rihanna's most compelling songs since ''

'' (2009) and that, "even when ''Unapologetic'' fails, it often does so in interesting ways" musically.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's Andy Kellman opined that "the only way to enjoy a significant portion of it is by taking it as pure entertainment" and called it "another timely refresh of contemporary pop music". Dan Martin of ''

'' commented that, "at its best, ''Unapologetic'' trades in daring avant pop", and dubbed Rihanna the "most compelling of pop phenomena". Jon Dolan of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' asserted that "''Unapologetic''s stark, shadowy R&B is confrontationally honest and sung within an inch of its life".

of ''

'' felt that it "makes the most of ihanna'stalent" and stated, "even on the most vulnerable songs, she maintains her cool, never once verging on the maudlin." Smokey Fontaine of ''

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 ...

'' called it "kinetic and musically varied", and wrote that it "blasts the sounds of global, post-

mod Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...

youth culture through every track". In a mixed review, Genevieve Koski of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' criticized Rihanna for "extend ngthe album's defiant tone to her romantic life" and called it "a fiery pop album that's unfortunately coated in the icky residue of unearned defiance that has marked Brown’s recent output." 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 Un ...

'' felt that its commercial "lyrical turns poison" the album, "even while musically, Rihanna has evolved into one of the more forward-thinking pop divas."

Simon Price Simon Price (born 25 September 1967) is a British music journalist and author. He is known for his weekly review section in ''The Independent on Sunday'' and his book ''Everything (A Book About Manic Street Preachers)''. Career Writer Pric ...

of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' panned Rihanna's singing as "

flatter A flatter is a coloring specialist within the comic book industry that prepares the inked or sketched comic book page for the colorist with digital art software such as Adobe Photoshop. The specialist does so by selecting the objects on the pag ...

than

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

" and its material "dull as dishwater", observing "the usual half-hearted, sexual single-entendres". Greg Kot of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' wrote, "in the context of an album dominated by ballads and at least superficially introspective lyrics", the dubstep songs "feel like respites". ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

''s Eric Henderson commented that the album sounds "cobbled together" and quipped, "If only the music were compelling enough to back up the supreme bad faith" of the lyrics. ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

''s Jessica Hopper dismissed its music as "synth-pop slog" and said that the songs "make for dull labor, not worth our time and not befitting Rihanna's talent". In his consumer guide for

MSN Music ''MSN Music'' was a part of MSN's web services. It delivered music news, music videos, spotlights on new music, artist information, and live performances of artists. The website also served as a digital music store from 2004 to 2008. History I ...

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

facetiously called her "so much more provocative as an android than as a human being". He cited "Phresh Out the Runway", "Diamonds", and "Numb" as highlights, and gave the album a three-star honorable mention, which indicates "an enjoyable effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well treasure".

Accolades

''Unapologetic'' received the award for Top R&B Album at the Billboard Music Awards of 2013. At the

2013 American Music Awards The 41st Annual American Music Awards was held on November 24, 2013 at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles. The awards recognized the most popular artists and albums of 2013. It was broadcast live on ABC and CTV with Simultaneous substitut ...

it was nominated for Favorite Soul/R&B Album, however, it lost to ''

The 20/20 Experience ''The 20/20 Experience'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake. It was released on March 15, 2013, by RCA Records, as the follow-up to his second studio album ''FutureSex/LoveSounds'' (2006). It is considered ...

'' by

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...

. At the

56th Annual Grammy Awards The 56th Annual Grammy Awards presentation was held on January 26, 2014, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT and was hosted for the third time by LL Cool J. The show was moved to January to avoid comp ...

, held on 26 January 2014, ''Unapologetic'' won the

for

Commercial performance

In the United States, ''Unapologetic'' debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 and sold 238,000 copies in its first week. It was Rihanna's first number-one album in the US and the best-selling debut week of her career. In the same week, the album's lead single "

" remained atop the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for a second consecutive week. Consequently, Rihanna became the second artist of 2012 to top both the ''Billboard'' 200 and Hot 100 simultaneously. The following week, the album fell to number six and sold 72,000 copies. On the issue dated 11 March 2013 (its fourteenth week on the chart), the album re-entered the ''Billboard'' 200 top five at number five, selling 28,000 that week. On 30 May, in its 27th consecutive week on the ''Billboard'' 200, ''Unapologetic'' passed the one million sales mark, selling at a faster rate than her previous album, ''Talk That Talk''. With the feat, the album became her sixth album to sell at least one million copies. On 3 July 2013, ''Billboard'' mid-year sales reported that ''Unapologetic'' is the 16th best-selling album of 2013 thus far, selling 494,000 copies from 1 January to 30 June 2013. As of June 2015, ''Unapologetic'' has sold 1.2 million copies in the US. In February 2018 the album was certified 3× Platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA), denoting shipments of over 3 million album-equivalent units in the US. In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number one on the

, with sales of more than 99,000 copies in its first week. With the debut, it became Rihanna's fourth album to reach the top spot in the UK and also her third consecutive chart topper, tying

Eva Cassidy Eva Marie Cassidy (February 2, 1963 – November 2, 1996) was an American singer and guitarist known for her interpretations of jazz, folk, and blues music, sung with a powerful, emotive soprano voice. In 1992, she released her first albu ...

and

Norah Jones Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' named her the ...

for the female artists with most consecutive UK number one albums. By May 2013, the album had sold 635,000 copies in the UK. It also reached number one in Switzerland and Norway. In Denmark, the album was

certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

gold by the

IFPI Denmark IFPI Danmark is the Danish branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and is the official charts provider and recording sales certification body for Denmark. Certification Gold and platinum awards were first awarde ...

, denoting shipments of 10,000 copies. According to the

(IFPI), the album had sold over 2.3 million copies worldwide by February 2013, making it the eight best selling album of 2012. In France, ''Unapologetic'' has sold 240,000 copies as of May 2013. As of March 2015, ''Unapologetic'' has sold over four million copies worldwide. ''Unapologetic'' was ranked as the tenth most popular album of 2013 on the ''Billboard'' 200.

Track listing

Credits adapted from Rihanna's official website. Sample credits * "Numb" incorporates lyrics from "

" (2007) performed by

, written by Kanye West and Aldrin Davis. * "Jump" samples elements of "

" (1996) performed by

, written by Elgin "Ginuwine" Lumpkin,

Stephen Garrett Stephen Ellis Garrett (November 11, 1974 – February 25, 2008), known professionally as Static Major (and previously as Static), was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Louisville, Kentucky. He was a member of the R&B tri ...

and Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley. * "Nobody's Business" incorporates lyrics from "

The Way You Make Me Feel "The Way You Make Me Feel" is a song by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released by Epic Records on November 9, 1987, as the third single from his seventh studio album, ''Bad''. It was written and composed by Jackson, and prod ...

" (1987) written and performed by

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

Release formats

Standard version *

Jewel case Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage. Jewel case A ...

packaging * Standard 14 tracks Deluxe version *

packaging * Standard 14 tracks, 3 bonus tracks * Bonus DVD, including never-before-released footage, and First Look of Rihanna's

Loud Tour The Loud Tour was the fourth overall and third world concert tour by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna. Performing in over twenty countries in the Americas and Europe, the tour was launched in support of Rihanna's fifth studio album '' Loud'' ...

recorded live at London's O2 Arena * 28-page photo and art booklet Diamonds deluxe edition box * 17 deluxe version tracks * Bonus DVD * T-shirt featuring a photo from the album's photoshoot * ''Diamonds''-inspired bracelet * 7 laptop stickers * 28-page photo and art booklet * Fan mosaic poster Diamonds executive platinum box * 17 deluxe version tracks * Bonus DVD * 28-page photo and art booklet * ''Unapologetic'' USB Flash Memory Drive * T-shirt featuring a photo from the album's photoshoot * 7 art print 12 x 15 lithographs, bound together with a handwritten ''R'' logo band * 3 device adhesives * 7 laptop stickers * 11 x 17 a personal note to the fans, handwritten by Rihanna * ''Diamonds'' – Remixes on vinyl *

View-Master View-Master is the trademark name of a line of special-format stereoscopes and corresponding View-Master "reels", which are thin cardboard disks containing seven Stereoscopic 3-D pairs of small transparent color photographs on film.Mary Ann & Wo ...

including a reel of 3D images * 40-page notebook with handwritten notes and lyrics * Fan mosaic poster

Personnel

Credits are adapted from

and album's liner notes. *

– lead vocals, creative director, executive producer *

Dave Audé Dave Audé (born Oct 12, 1969) is an American Disc jockey, DJ, Record producer, producer and remixer. He operates his own label Audacious Records, and is known for having more number ones than any other producer on the ''Billboard'' Dance Club S ...

– remix, additional production, and mixdown (track 16) * Alejandro Barajas – music engineer (track 4) *

Benny Blanco Benjamin Joseph Levin (born March 8, 1988), known professionally as Benny Blanco (stylized in all lowercase), is an American record producer. He is the recipient of the 2013 Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also ...

– producer (tracks 2, 16, 17), instrumentation and programming (tracks 2, 7) * Tanisha Broadwater – production coordination (track 3) *

– vocals (track 10) * Josh Campbell – engineer (track 1) * Nathan Cassells – co-producer, engineer, instrumentation, and programming (track 8) *

Chase Chase or CHASE may refer to: Businesses * Chase Bank, a national bank based in New York City, New York * Chase Aircraft (1943–1954), a defunct American aircraft manufacturing company * Chase Coaches, a defunct bus operator in England * Chase Co ...

– producer, instrumentation, and programming (track 6) * Robert Cohen – assistant engineer (tracks 2, 3, 5, 8–12, 14) * Ronald "Flip" Colson – producer (track 3) *

Sam Dew Sam Dew is an American singer-songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. He is best known for writing the hook to the track "LoveHate Thing," a single from Wale's 2013 album '' The Gifted''. Dew is also credited for writing and performing on additional ...

– background vocals (track 3) * Christian Dwiggins – mixdown (track 16) *

– vocals, producer, arrangements, and additional production/landscape (track 9) *

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

– rap (track 3) *

Mikkel S. Eriksen Mikkel is a Danish and Norwegian masculine given name. It may refer to: * Mikkel Ødelien (1893–1984), Norwegian soil researcher * Mikkel Aaland (born 1952), award-winning American photographer * Mikkel Andersen (disambiguation) *Mikkel Bødker ...

– producer (tracks 2, 6, 7, 14–17), instrumentation and programming (tracks 2, 6, 7), engineer (tracks 2, 6, 16, 17) * Warren "Oak" Felder – producer (track 3) *

Seth Firkins Seth Chaim Firkins (August 5, 1981 – September 23, 2017) was an American audio engineer. Firkins engineered songs for artists such as Rihanna, Future, Young Thug, Jay-Z, Trina, Ciara, and Gucci Mane. Career Firkins was exposed at an early age t ...

– music engineer and vocal engineer for Future (track 5) * Melissa T. Forde – photography *

– vocals, producer, instrumentation, and programming (track 5) * Mike Gaydusek – vocal engineer (track 9) *

Kevin Cossom Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicized from , an ...

;– additional vocals, writer (track 6) *

Chris Gehringer Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered recordings such as Gwen Stefani's '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004), Rihanna's '' Loud'' (2010), Lady Gaga's '' Born This Way'' (2011) and Drake' ...

– mastering * Kemal Golden – remix and additional production (track 16) *

– producer, instrumentation, and programming (tracks 1, 7) *

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 ...

– vocal engineer (tracks 1–9, 11–17), vocal producer (tracks 1–3, 5–17) *

Tor Erik Hermansen Tor, TOR or ToR may refer to: Places * Tor, Pallars, a village in Spain * Tor, former name of Sloviansk, Ukraine, a city * Mount Tor, Tasmania, Australia, an extinct volcano * Tor Bay, Devon, England * Tor River, Western New Guinea, Indonesia Sc ...

– producer (tracks 2, 6, 7, 14–17), instrumentation and programming (tracks 2, 6, 7) * Tom Hough – assistant engineer (track 1) * Mario Hugo – illustrations *

– producer, music engineer, instrumentation, and programming (track 8) * J-Bo – co-producer, instrumentation, and programming (track 4) * Jayson Joshua – mixing (track 11) * Brian Kennedy – producer, instrumentation, and programming (track 12) * Kimmie Keyes – make-up * Rob Kinelski – additional engineering (track 13) *

– producer (track 14) * Elof Loelv – producer and additional production/landscape (track 9) * Andrew "Muffman" Luftman – assistant engineer (tracks 2, 16, 17) * Deborah Mannis-Gardner – sample clearance * Blake Mares – assistant engineer (tracks 2, 3, 8–14) *

Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is an American mixing engineer.Daley, Dan (May 2005).Manny Marroquin. ''Sound on Sound''. Retrieved February 10, 2007 He has received ten Grammy awards for his professional audio work. Life and career M ...

– mixing (tracks 3–5, 10, 13) * Carlos "Los" McKinney – producer (tracks 10, 11) * Donnie Meadows – production coordination (track 3) * MJ – additional drum programming (track 1) * Mylah Morales – make-up * Michael Muller – photography * Terius "The-Dream" Nash – producer (tracks 1, 10, 11), instrumentation & programming (track 1) *

– producer (track 13) * Liam Nolan – assistant engineer (tracks 3, 13) * Paul Norris – engineer (track 7), assistant engineer (tracks 8, 12, 13) * Mel Ottenberg – stylist * Ciarra Pardo – art direction, creative director * Justin Parker – producer, arrangements, and piano (track 9) * Joel Peters – assistant engineer (track 1) *

James Poyser James Jason Poyser is an American songwriter, record producer, musician and current member of the hip hop band The Roots. Poyser has written and produced songs for various legendary and award-winning artists such as Erykah Badu, Mariah Carey, ...

– keyboards (track 13) * Will Quinnell – mastering assistant * Ben Rhodes – assistant engineer (track 1) * Daniela Rivera – additional assistant engineer (tracks 2, 6–8, 16, 17) *

Evan Rogers Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers are New York–based songwriters and record producers. They have produced hits for Ruben Studdard, Wild Orchid, Christina Aguilera and Evelyn Champagne King and helped build the career of Rihanna. In addition to ...

– executive producer *

Nicky Romero Nick Rotteveel (; born January 6, 1989), professionally known as Nicky Romero or Monocule, is a Dutch DJ, record producer and remixer from Amerongen, Utrecht Province. He has worked with, and received support from DJs, such as Tiësto, Fedde l ...

– producer, mixing, instrumentation, and programming (track 7) *

Gregor Salto Gregor van Offeren (born 21 April 1979 in Haarlem, Netherlands), better known as Gregor Salto, is a Dutch DJ and record producer. Biography Dominating the Dutch club scene for over a decade, Haarlem native Gregor Salto has become famous amon ...

– remix and additional production (track 17) * Donnie Scantz – music engineer (track 13) * Bart Schoudel – music engineer (tracks 10, 11), additional engineering (track 1) *

Status Status (Latin plural: ''statūs''), is a state, condition, or situation, and may refer to: * Status (law) ** City status ** Legal status, in law ** Political status, in international law ** Small entity status, in patent law ** Status conference ...

– producer, instrumentation, and programming (track 6) * Ursula Stephens – hairstylist * Xavier Stephenson – additional engineering (track 3), assistant engineer (track 7) * Carl Sturken – executive producer *

Phil Tan Phil Tan is a Malaysian-American music and audio engineer. Early life and education Tan was born in Malaysia. He attended Full Sail University in Florida in the U.S., where he attained a degree in Recording Arts in 1990. Afterwards he moved to Atla ...

– mixing (tracks 2, 6, 8, 9, 14–17), vocal mixing (track 7) * Tzvestin Todorov – remix and additional production (track 17) * Marcos Tovar – vocal engineer (tracks 1–9, 11–17), additional engineering (tracks 8, 13), music engineer (track 12) *

Giorgio Tuinfort Giorgio Hesdey Tuinfort is a Dutch record producer and songwriter. Biography Born in Suriname, Tuinfort moved to the Netherlands at 9 months old. His musical career started at age 4, after he attended a special music class for toddlers. After b ...

– producer, instrumentation, and programming (tracks 1, 7) * Anna Ugarte – assistant engineer (track 13) * Miles Walker – engineer (tracks 2, 6, 16, 17) * Andrew "Pop" Wansel – producer (track 3) * Mike Will – producer, instrumentation, programming, and additional vocals (track 4) * Steve Wyreman – guitar and bass (track 13) * Aamir Yaqub – assistant engineer (tracks 3, 6), engineer (track 7)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

References

External links

Background

Recording and production

Composition

Music and lyrics

Songs and lyrical content

Singles

Release and promotion

Critical reception

Accolades

Commercial performance

Track listing

Release formats

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

See also

References

External links