Talk That Talk

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Rihanna was no stranger to EDM by the time her sixth album, <i>Talk That Talk</i>, was in the works: “Don’t Stop the Music,” off 2007’s <i>Good Girl Gone Bad</i>, quickly became a ubiquitous dance-floor standard; she dipped her toes into dubstep on 2009’s <i>Rated R</i> and collaborated with David Guetta for a track off his own 2009 album, <i>One Love</i>; and 2010’s “Only Girl (In the World),” <i>Loud</i>’s earth-shaking single, pulsed with the kind of shimmering, synthetic elements fit for the top of the charts and the clubs of Ibiza. But with “We Found Love” and “Where Have You Been,” two of the tunes that kicked off her <i>Talk That Talk</i> era, she reached a new echelon of electronic alchemy while cementing her status as a fearless pop star who thrives in the experimental space between genre. Co-written and -helmed by prolific DJ/producer Calvin Harri, “We Found Love” and “Where Have You Been” not only set a new benchmark for Rihanna’s vocal performance, but they also gave the Navy two contrasting dance anthems—the former a euphoric ode to love itself, the latter a moody, urgent search for understanding and affection. Both would go on to be pillars in Rihanna and Harris’ respective setlist, but “We Found Love” remains their shared greatest hit: It spent 10 weeks at No. 1, and its video, filmed by renowned director (and frequent Ri collaborator) Melina Matsouka, took home a Grammy and a VMA. .

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

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