Umbrella

Rihanna's "Umbrella" hit the airwaves on March 29, 2007, as the lead single from her third album Good Girl Gone Bad. The track features Jay-Z, her mentor and Def Jam label boss, who co-wrote it with The-Dream. Producers Tricky Stewart and Kuk Harrell also contributed to the songwriting. The single marked a turning point in Rihanna's career, shifting her sound from Caribbean-influenced pop to a darker, edgier R&B and hip-hop hybrid. Critics raved, and audiences responded in kind. "Umbrella" topped charts in 19 countries, including the US Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks and the UK Singles Chart for ten consecutive weeks. In the UK, its reign coincided with severe rain and flooding, making it an anthem of the season. The music video, directed by Chris Applebaum, featured Rihanna covered in silver paint. It won Video of the Year at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. The song's cultural footprint is vast: it has been covered by artists from Taylor Swift to Mike Shinoda, and Rihanna performed it at major awards shows and on multiple world tours. In 2021, Rolling Stone placed it at number 332 on its revised list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Written originally for Britney Spears, the song was rejected by her label and later turned down by Mary J. Blige due to scheduling conflicts. Rihanna fought to claim it, telling a manager, "This song is mine… I'm gonna fight you if I don't have this song." The distinctive "ella ella" hook became one of the most imitated pop refrains of the decade, and Jay-Z's opening verse set a tone of swaggering confidence. The track was recorded at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles in early 2007. [edit]