Rihanna and Calvin Harris log 10th week at #1 with “We Found Love”

We Found Love Rihanna with Calvin Harris

Writer(s): Calvin Harris (see lyrics here) Released: September 22, 2011 First Charted: September 25, 2011 Peak: 110 US, 112 BA, 15 DG, 17 RR, 14 AC, 5 A40, 54 RB, 16 UK, 111 CN, 2 AU, 22 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 10.0 US, 2.4 UK, 14.68 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1267.6 video, 1224.48 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Rihanna launched her sixth album with the Calvin Harris-penned, “uptempo electro house song” WK “We Found Love.” The Scottish electro-pop producer had worked with Dizzee Rascal, Kelis, and Kylie Minogue. He’d also had top ten hits on his own in the UK, including the #1 “’m Not Alone” (2009). 2011 marked his first foray onto the U.S. pop charts with his own Feel So Close (#12) and this monster duet with Rihanna. Originally the song was intended for Leona Lewis; Nicole Scherzinger turned it down as well. When it was recorded by Rihanna, her fans pressured Harris on Twitter that “The song better not be rubbish.” SF Critical reception was mixed. New York magazine’s Amanda Dobbins said “Harris’s electro fingerprints are all over this one – it plays like a straight house track, with some dreamy Rihanna vocals added in over the beat.” WK Idolator’s Robbie Daw called the song’s line “We found love in a hopeless place” the best lyrics in pop music in 2011. WK On the flip side, NME’s Priya Elan said the over-all effect is underwhelming WK and Rolling Stone’s Jody Rosen called it “an inspid tune” and the worst single of her career. WK The song hit the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 2011, making for her 20th time in the top 10. She first landed there in June 2005 with “Pon de Replay,” giving her a span of six years and four months to land 20 songs in the top ten, besting Madonna’s record of six years and nine months to accomplish the same feat. SF “We Found Love” spent ten non-consecutive weeks, breaking Rihanna’s previous record of seven weeks on top with “Umbrella.” SF Her 11th trip to the top also became the longest-running U.S. #1 song of 2011, topped the charts in 25 other countries, WK and was the most played song on U.S. radio in 2012. SF The video was directed by Melina Matsoukas, who’d also done Rihanna’s “Rude Boy” and “S&M.” Rihanna is depicted as “a drug-abusing thrill-seeker in a relationship that quickly spirals downward into addiction and violence.” WK Matsoukas said the video was intended to be a warning about the dangers of addiction and not a reference to the singer’s past experience with domestic violence, but not everyone found the video’s message favorable. Eileen Kelly of the Rape Crisis Centre told the Daily Star that the “video is a disgrace. It sends the message that she is an object to be possessed by mne, which is disturbingly what we see in real violence cases.” SF Despite the controversy, it won the Grammy for Best Short Form Video and MTV’s Video of the Year. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Calvin Harris SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: Last updated 7/29/2023.