Take a Bow

Rihanna's "Take a Bow" arrived in April 2008 as the lead single from Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded, the reissue of her third studio album. The song was crafted by the Norwegian production duo StarGate and singer-songwriter Ne-Yo, who also penned the lyrics. It's a sleek contemporary R&B ballad that finds Rihanna dismissing a remorseful ex-lover with cold precision. The track's sharp hook and theatrical delivery helped it become a defining moment of her late-2000s run.

Released through Def Jam Recordings, "Take a Bow" quickly climbed charts worldwide. It became Rihanna's third number-one on the Billboard Hot 100, and also topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Pop Songs charts. The Recording Industry Association of America later certified it sextuple platinum. Internationally, it hit number one in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Slovakia, and the UK, and reached the top ten in Australia, Austria, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, and Switzerland.

Critics were split on the track. Some praised Ne-Yo's lyrical bite and Rihanna's vocal restraint, while others found StarGate's production formulaic. The accompanying music video, directed by Anthony Mandler, dramatizes the song's narrative of betrayal and empowerment. Rihanna has performed "Take a Bow" on several tours, including the Good Girl Gone Bad Tour, Last Girl on Earth, Loud Tour, and Diamonds World Tour, making it a staple of her live shows. [edit]