Rihanna “Disturbia” hit #1

Disturbia Rihanna

Writer(s): Brian Kennedy, Chris Brown, Robert Allen, Andre Merritt (see lyrics here) Released: July 22, 2008 First Charted: June 14, 2008 Peak: 12 US, 14 RR, 20 A40, 88 RB, 3 UK, 2 CN, 6 AU, 21 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 7.0 US, 0.6 UK, 13.2 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.4 radio, 330.1 video, 467.39 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: A year after Rihanna released her third album, 2007’s Good Girl Gone Bad, she reissued the album as Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded. The original version had twelve songs; the reissue featured included a duet with Maroon 5, “If I Never See Your Face Again,” which shockingly stalled at #51 but two other songs – “Take a Bow” and “Disturbia” – went all the way to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. “Disturbia” was a top-10 hit in more than twenty countries. Time magazine’s Josh Tyrangiel described it as a “fun-packed electro treat filled with sizzling beats and crazy vocal effects.” WK In fact, it was Rihanna’s first use of Auto-Tune, which gave vocals a “slightly robotic sound,” on one of her hits. SF Lyrically, the song is about “the experiences of anguish, anxiety, and confusion.” WK Songfacts.com described it as “like a horror movie set to song.” SF The song was written by Chris Brown and his team with the original intent to add it to a reissue of his own 2007 Exclusive album. Brown was dating Rihanna at the time (he pled guilty to felony assault of her in 2009), and thought the song was better suited for a female singer. The video reflected the creepy vibe of the song. Rihanna is imprisoned in a facility where she is tortured. According to the director, Anthony Mandler, the label was freaked out enough by the video that they considered shelving it. SF Resources: SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 2/10/2023.