News

Rihanna’s Breakout Song Umbrella Almost Went To These Artists First

This week marks 17 years since Rihanna released her hit song Umbrella.

Rih’s pop anthem was number one in the UK charts for 10 consecutive weeks – and was the song that really catapulted the rising pop star into the limelight.

It’s fair to say that the song was inescapable that year and was the soundtrack to summer 2007.

However, this breakout hit wasn’t originally intended for Rihanna.

The artists that were offered the song Umbrella first

Speaking to NME back in 2008, Tricky Stewart, the producer of the track revealed that it had been offered to artists before being offered to Rihanna.

Tricky recalled: “In a two-day period, we were in the bidding war of our lives.”

Originally, the song was actually intended for Britney Spears. However, the singer already had a full tracklist for her upcoming album Blackoutat the time and, according to NME, her people were struggling to even get those recorded.

The track was then sent to Family Affairsinger Mary J. Blige and LA Reid, CEO of Island Def Jam, Rihanna’s label at the time.

However, Mary was busy with prior commitments, later telling Andy Cohen on his podcast: “It was during Grammy time for me, it was a big Grammy time. I was nominated for eight Grammys and I was trying to get myself together for that

“And during that time, that’s when Umbrella came to me and I couldn’t do anything with it because I was so busy with my own life and I was like, you know what? It doesn’t even sound like me anyway.”

So, in the end, the song was given to Rihanna.

Umbrella was a turning point for Rihanna

The then-19-year-old told Billboard in June 2007: “My new look is purposely adult. I did what felt natural.”

It was also, she added, part of her Good Girl Gone Bad mission statement.

“I wanted to show growth as a person and artist. But for me, ‘bad girl’ does not mean ‘wild girl.’ It’s more about taking chances, trying new things — visually and musically.”

Well, given that the song stayed in the UK Top 100 for 71 weeks, it seems like the stars were aligned for Rihanna in 2007 and the hit was just the start of what was ahead for the global icon.

Related Posts

Democrats spark outrage with desperate fundraising ploy after blowing millions on celebrity performances

Democratic National Committee workers are asking for charitable donations after  making significant layoffs in a dramatic downsizing after Vice President Kamala Harris lost the election. The pleas for donations sparked outrage on social media, as memories of the massive $1 billion Kamala Harris campaign spending spree were still fresh, including millions of dollars spent to host celebrity filled town halls for the vice president. Two-thirds of DNC staffers were laid off as part of the downsizing on Wednesday, with only one day’s notice and no severance, according to the union.

Top NATO chief urges leaders to get ready for ‘wartime scenario’ after Putin ‘threatens WWIII’ as Germany draws up list of bunkers that could be used as emergency shelters

A top NATO chief has urged business leaders to begin preparing for a ‘wartime scenario’ following rising tensions across the world. The warning comes as Germany announced it was drawing up a list of bunkers and other underground facilities that could provide shelter for civilians in the event of an attack. Speaking in Brussels yesterday, Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer warned that NATO members needed to adjust their production and distribution lines in order to be less vulnerable to blackmail from countries such as Russia and China.

Stars round on Ed Sheeran over Band Aid row: Spandau Ballet’s Tony Hadley tells the singer to ‘shut up’ as record producer Trevor Horn says he would have ‘gladly not used him’

Stars have turned on Ed Sheeran in the escalating row over the new Band Aid single – with Spandau Ballet’s Tony Hadley telling him to ‘shut up’. Trevor Horn, producer of a fresh 40th anniversary version of Do They Know It’s Christmas?, has also been critical of Sheeran after the singer spoke out against the new version of the charity track. Sheeran revealed last week he would have preferred his vocal contributions from a 2014 recording were not used on the new version.

Drunk student son writes off his millionaire dad’s £350k Aston Martin by flipping into a field on joyride

A millionaire’s £350,000 Aston Martin has been written off after his drunk university son flipped it whilst taking it for an illicit 4am spin. Will Gould, 20, lost control of the 211mph DBS V12 and overturned the supercar into a field when he barely got 800 yards from his £2.4million family farm. At the time his father Colin, a 50-year-old farmer, was away on business and had no idea about his son’s jaunt until he got home.

‘She will never breathe for herself, taste food or hug her son again’: Father reveals how his daughter is quadriplegic needing 24-hour care after teen smashed into her as he filmed himself driving with no hands

A single mother who worked as a fitness instructor has been left quadriplegic and needing round-the-clock care after a teenage driver ploughed into her while he filmed himself at the wheel. George Taylor made two calls, sent text messages and recorded five videos showing him driving a Volkswagen Golf at speed and overtaking other vehicles while using his knees on his steering wheel, when he crashed into Catherine Davies. Taylor, from Stretham, Cambridgeshire, had held his licence for less than 12 weeks when he used his mobile ‘throughout the journey’ to college on the A47 near Norwich in January last year.

Trump to take drastic action against Canada, Mexico and China to stop the border ‘invasion’ and issues an ultimatum

President-elect Donald Trump threatened Monday to slap a 25 percent tariff on Mexican and Canadian goods as long as the countries allowed immigrants to flow over the U.S. border. He also said he’d impose an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods over the Chinese government’s refusal to make good on a promise to use the death penalty on drug dealers. These actions, Trump said, would take place on the first day of his administration.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *