“Sticks and stones may break my bones/But chains and whips excite me,” she growls atop Hi-NRG production dotted with fuzzy keyboard riffs. Not one to take herself too seriously, though, the bedroom anthem winks with playfulness. The ferocious “S&M” is filled to the brim with “na-na-na, come on!” come-hither chants and sexually suggestive lyrics as the singer explores the world of bondage and fetishes.
Loud is a kaleidoscopic reflection of Rihanna’s personality, spiraling from cheeky to vulnerable to unabashedly taboo. The party continues with “Cheers (Drink to That),” which revs up an Avril Lavigne “I’m With You” sample into a downright fun late-night sing-along, while “Raining Men,” alongside Nicki Minaj, finds the ladies having fun using potential suitors as toys. Naturally, the bigger-is-better approach worked in the singer’s favor: “Only Girl (In the World)” soared to No. Marking her first time dipping into the genre, Rihanna demands the spotlight with full-on belts, showcasing some of her most commanding vocals to date. “Only Girl (In the World),” the album’s lead single, sets the tone thanks to its pulsating bassline and throbbing synths that defined the 2010s EDM revival. But it was Loud that confirmed just how easily she could rule any genre she experimented with. The LP spawned seven singles, three of which topped the charts both Stateside and overseas as party anthems: “Only Girl (In the World),” “What’s My Name?”, and “S&M.” Rihanna wasn’t new to crafting dance-driven hits (see 2006’s “SOS” and 2007’s “Don’t Stop the Music”). The album’s unofficial theme is liberation, with the singer dyeing her hair a striking red that perfectly embodied the attention-grabbing energy that catapulted her into full-fledged pop-star status with unshakable international dominance. She told producers Stargate at the time of recording that she wanted to go back to having fun and making happy, uptempo records. After navigating a highly publicized dark period, Rihanna re-emerged as vibrant as ever with her fifth album.
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