"Towards the Sun" is a song recorded by the 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 ...

for the soundtrack to the 2015 film ''

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

''. The song was premiered on

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on February 9, 2015, and it was released for digital download as the soundtrack's

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 ...

the same day by Westbury Road. The song was set to play on mainstream radio on March 17, 2015, but the radio release was cancelled. The song was written and produced by Tiago Carvalho and

Gary Go Gary Baker, known professionally as Gary Go, is a British songwriter, producer, composer and media artist. He has written and produced songs performed by artists including Rihanna, Robbie Williams, Steve Angello, Benny Benassi, Gryffin, Take That ...

, with additional writing by Rihanna. "Towards the Sun" is a mid-tempo pop and R&B

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 ...

with positive and optimistic lyrics. On release, it received positive reviews from music critics who praised Rihanna's vocals and compared the song to the works of the British band

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...

and their 2012 collaboration with Rihanna, "

Princess of China "Princess of China" is a duet recorded by British rock band Coldplay and Barbadian singer Rihanna for Coldplay's fifth studio album ''Mylo Xyloto''. The song was written by band members Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion, and Chris M ...

". Commercially the song was a moderate success, peaking at 76 on the UK Singles Chart and 22 on the French singles chart.

Background

In June 2012, it was announced that Rihanna would star in the lead role in the film ''Happy Smekday!'' with the American actor

Jim Parsons James Joseph Parsons (born March 24, 1973) is an American actor. From 2007 to 2019, he played Sheldon Cooper in the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory''. He has received various awards, including four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead A ...

. In September 2012,

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and DreamWorks Animation announced that the movie would be released on November 26, 2014. In June 2013, the film was retitled from as ''Home''. In 2014, ''

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'' magazine reported that, in addition to her voice role, Rihanna had created a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

for the film which was to be released on March 13, 2015. It was later reported that the film's soundtrack would also include songs recorded by

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Cambridge and raised in Start Hill, Essex, she began posting songs on Myspace in 2008, which led to her discovery ...

Kiesza Kiesa Rae Ellestad (born January 16, 1989), known professionally as Kiesza ( ), is a Canadian singer and multi-instrumentalist from Calgary. In 2017, she was involved in a car accident in Toronto, suffering severe injuries that required her to ...

and

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

. "Towards the Sun" was written by

Tiago Carvalho Tiago is a given and a family name, being one of the Portuguese equivalents of the names Jacob and James. Its archaic spelling, used mostly in Brazil, is Thiago. Tiago may also refer to: *Tiago (horse) (foaled 2004), an American racehorse * "Ti ...

and Rihanna.

Scott Mills Scott Robert Mills (born 28 March 1973) is an English radio DJ, television presenter and occasional actor. He is best known for presenting the '' Scott Mills'' show on BBC Radio 1 from 2004 to 2022 and since then, on BBC Radio 2. Mills has also ...

premiered the song on BBC Radio 1 on February 9, 2015 and it was made available for digital download the same day on the

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. It was supposed to be on US Top 40/Mainstream radio on March 3, 2015, but its release was cancelled at the last minute.

Composition and lyrics

"Towards the Sun" is a mid-tempo pop and R&B

with a length of four minutes and thirty-three seconds. The single has "pounding" drums, sing-along lyrics, "gigantic"

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

, "layered harmonies", "swirling effects" and uplifting, positive lyrics. Nolan Feeney of ''

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'' noted that the song features "a children's choir and atmospherics". Andrew Trendell of ''

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'' described it as a "slow-burning stomper of a number, loaded with huge drums and arena backing vocals", further comparing it to the works of the British band Coldplay. Daniel Welsh of ''

The Huffington Post UK ''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 ...

'' agreed with Trendell about the Coldplay comparison and linked the song to the band's 2012 collaboration with Rihanna, "

". Jason Lipshutz of ''

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'' compared the song's mid-tempo

groove Groove or Grooves may refer to: Music * Groove (music) * Groove (drumming) * The Groove (band), an Australian rock/pop band of the 1960s * The Groove (Sirius XM), a US radio station * Groove 101.7FM, a former Perth, Australia, radio station * ...

to the one on the singer's 2012 single, "

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 ...

". ''

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s Jaclyn Hendricks noted that the song has a "livelier" production than Rihanna's previous single, her collaboration with

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 ...

and

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

, "

FourFiveSeconds "FourFiveSeconds" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna, American rapper Kanye West, and English musician Paul McCartney. It was written and produced by McCartney, Kanye West, Mike Dean, Dave Longstreth and Noah Goldstein with additiona ...

" (2015). Madison Vain 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 cul ...

'' opined that the song is "anthemic" and "whispier" than Rihanna's previous singles. According to Brittany Spanos 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 ...

'', the song is more optimistic and positive than her previous singles and albums which could be heard in the lines, "Turn your face towards the sun. Let the shadows fall behind you." According to Welsh the song's lyrics are "seriously empowering" and "very dramatic stuff". ''

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'' Brenna Enrlich called the song "heroic" in which Rihanna is clearly singing to turn the face to the shadows and look at the sun.

Critical reception

Daniel Welsh of ''The Huffington Post UK'' praised "Towards the Sun"'s lyrics, its production, Rihanna's voice on the song and its chorus. According to him, "with the theatrical atmosphere of the track, we can imagine the chorus will sound particularly anthemic being sung by a stadium crowd". ''

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 ...

''s Brennan Carley called the song "bombastic" and also praised its chorus and the "anthemic" nature. Trendell noted, "The result is no less than epic and triumphant. Expect this to soundtrack many a victory this summer." Spanos praised Rihanna's

falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous ed ...

on the song and called the track "epic" and "empowering".

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Home''. ;Locations *Recorded at The Canvas Room, London *Mixed at Larabee Studios, North Hollywood, Los Angeles ;Personnel *Lead vocals – Rihanna *Songwriting – Tiago Carvalho, Gary Go, Robyn Fenty *Production – Tiago *Co-production – Gary Go *Additional vocals and instrumentation – Tiago, Gary Go *Choir – Ifield Community College Choir *Choir master –

Patrick Allen John Keith Patrick Allen (17 March 1927 – 28 July 2006) was a British actor. Life and career Allen was born in Nyasaland (now Malawi), where his father was a tobacco farmer. After his parents returned to Britain, he was evacuated to Canada ...

*Engineer – Andreas Eide Larsen *Assistant engineer – B.B. Banks *Vocal production – Kuk Harrell *Recording – Marcos Tovar, Kuk Harrell *Mixing – Manny Marroquin *Assistant mixing – Chris Galland, Jeff Jackson, Ike Schultz

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2015 songs 2015 singles Rihanna songs Songs written by Rihanna 2010s ballads Pop ballads Songs written by Gary Go Songs written for animated films Songs written for films