A Girl Like Me (Rihanna album)
A Girl Like Me is the second studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on April 10, 2006, by Def Jam Recordings.[1] For the production of the album, Rihanna worked with Evan Rogers, Carl Sturken, Stargate, J. R. Rotem, and label-mate Ne-Yo, who wrote the album's second single. Described as a "deft mixture of island rhythms, contemporary R&B, and balladry",[5] A Girl Like Me is a pop, reggae and R&B album influenced by Rihanna's Caribbean roots. The album also incorporates elements of dancehall, dub-pop, hip hop, club,[6] dance and rock music[7] as well as ballads, which music critics were ambivalent towards.
A Girl Like Me
April 10, 2006[1]
2005–2006
50:30
- Def Jam
- SRP
- The Conglomerate
- Don Corleon
- Mike City
- Poke and Tone
- Jonathan "J.R." Rotem
- Evan Rogers
- Stargate
- Carl Sturken
Some critics gave the album positive reviews, stating that Rihanna gracefully avoided the sophomore disappointment while others compared the album to her previous effort. A Girl Like Me was released less than eight months after Rihanna's debut album. It peaked at number five on the US Billboard 200 and on the UK Albums Chart. The album was successful in other countries as well, entering the top ten in Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and Japan, while topping the Canadian Albums Chart.
A Girl Like Me spawned four singles: "SOS", which became Rihanna's first single to reach number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, "Unfaithful" and "Break It Off", both reaching the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100. However, the album's third single, "We Ride", failed to reprise the success of the album's other singles. The album was re-released as an expanded two-disc deluxe package in Germany, which includes remixes to both Rihanna's debut single, "Pon de Replay", and "If It's Lovin' That You Want". The album has been certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[8] To promote both A Girl Like Me and her debut record, Rihanna embarked on her debut headlining concert tour, entitled Rihanna: Live in Concert in 2006.
Background and title
Rihanna released her debut album Music of the Sun in August 2005.[9] An R&B album, Music of the Sun incorporated musical elements of dance-pop and Caribbean music genres such as dancehall and reggae.[9] The album received mixed reviews from music critics, who complimented its dancehall and Caribbean-inspired songs, while others criticized some of the production.[9] Music of the Sun debuted at number 10 on the US Billboard 200[10] and peaked in the top-forty of album charts in Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.[11][12][13] It produced two singles: "Pon de Replay" and "If It's Lovin' that You Want", the former of which peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number one on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart.[14][15]
When discussing the conception for her second studio album with L.A. Reid—Chairman and CEO of The Island Def Jam Music Group—Rihanna talked about experimenting with different music by incorporating some rock on the album.[16] In February 2006, Rihanna announced that she was going to release her second studio album in April 2006 under the name A Girl Like Me.[17] When asked about the album in an interview with MTV News, Rihanna stated: "Vocally I've matured so much, and lyrically I'm speaking about stuff I would never sing about [before]. Now I'm singing about experiences that I've gone through and stuff that other 18-year-old girls go through, so it's all about progression."[17] In regards to the title of the album, Rihanna explained: "It's called A Girl Like Me because it's a very personal album, it's my baby. It's all about what it's like to be a girl like me, speaking of personal experiences as well as things that girls like me have gone through."[18]
Music and lyrics
Musically, A Girl Like Me reveals new types of musical genres compared to Rihanna's light and uptempo debut effort, Music of the Sun.[16] Her goal on the album was to find songs that express the many things young women want to say, but might not know how.[23] In an interview, Rihanna said: "Now I'm singing about experiences that I've gone through and stuff that other 18-year-old girls go through, so it's all about progression."[17] Reggae music, present in her debut album, subsequently continues into A Girl Like Me. For the album, Rihanna used influences of different music genres, including rock music, while keeping the reggae and dancehall roots of her previous album.[4] The new effort also presents Rihanna's new side with some balladic elements.[17] Although the album mostly follows the disco-ish mode of its predecessor, it was noted for its introduction of the rock genre to Rihanna's music, mostly represented by the rock and reggae mash-up "Kisses Don't Lie",[17] though Rihanna herself stated that the album is not overall driven by rock influence.[24] In an interview, Rihanna commented: "Growing up in Barbados, I wasn't exposed to a lot of rock music. We really love reggae and soca music and hip-hop. But when I moved to the United States last year, I was exposed to a lot of different types of music, rock being one of them, and I fell in love with it. [Now] I love rock music."[17] Celia SanMiguel of Vibe magazine wrote that A Girl Like Me is "a pop album, one informed but not bounded by Rihanna's Caribbean roots", and that it "dispels any lingering notions of her as a dancehall-meets-R&B ambassador."[2] Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine called the album "a record that almost identically" veered between "sunny dancehall/dub-pop", "hip-hop-infused club bangers", and "adult-oriented ballads".[25]
Lyrically, the album's theme speaks of girls' experiences.[17] The album was widely addressed a personal album, speaking about what it is like to be "a girl like me"—things that girls Rihanna's age at the time were going through—as well as every aspect of her life:[26] people being cheated on, falling in and out of love, people hating on you, having feelings towards a guy and partying.[26] "SOS" tells about a guy who gives the girl a feeling that is very overwhelming—he drives the girl crazy, and she needs someone to rescue her from it.[26] "Kisses Don't Lie" talks about a girl who's in love with a guy but is stuck between an ultimatum because she's afraid of getting hurt.[27] "Unfaithful" documents the decay of a relationship when another person starts cheating.[23] According to Rihanna, "I'm referred to as a murderer in that song, meaning I'm taking this guy's life by hurting him, cheating on him. He knows, and it makes him feel so bad. It's killing him to know that another guy is making me happy."[17] "We Ride" talks about how a guy promises a girl that they will be together forever, while the girl describes moments which he did things that could tear them apart.[28] The lyrics of "Dem Haters" portray a message about how "haters" try to bring people down and recommends excluding them from your life.[29] "Final Goodbye" talks about a woman who wants to spend the rest of her life with a man[30] but feels that she needs to reveal a secret before moving on.[26] "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" continues the theme of love in a similar vein to "SOS", however, "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" portrays a message about being in love, whereas "SOS" talks about having an overwhelming feeling towards a guy.[26]
Commercial performance
A Girl Like Me debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200, selling 115,000 copies in its first week, nearly twice the debut sales of Rihanna's debut album Music of the Sun, which sold 69,000 copies in its first week.[95][96] The album has since been certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the United States.[97] As of June 2015, the album has sold 1.4 million copies in the US.[98] The album debuted at number six in Ireland on the Irish Albums Chart. A Girl Like Me was later certified 2× Platinum by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA). It also debuted at number six in the United Kingdom on the UK Albums Chart with sales of 24,000 copies on the issue dated April 24, 2006. The album reached its peak of number five in July 2006 due to the popularity of the single "Unfaithful" and it has so far sold almost 600,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[99] In Europe, the album achieved a Platinum certification, granted by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.[100] In Canada, the album topped the Canadian Albums Chart, becoming Rihanna's first number-one album in the country,[101] and was later certified Platinum there.
In Australia, the album debuted at number 12 on the ARIA Albums Chart.[102] The album later reached the number nine position and remained on the chart for twenty-one weeks.[102] It was certified Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipping 70,000 units.[103] In Switzerland, A Girl Like Me peaked at number six and remained there position for two consecutive weeks and charted for 39 weeks.[102] The album was certified Platinum there for selling over 30,000 copies.[104] In Belgium, A Girl Like Me debuted at number 45 on the Belgian Albums Chart in April 2006. The album further climbed up the chart and reached the chart's top 10 by peaking at number 10.[102] A Girl Like Me managed to reach the top 20 in Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, France and Denmark.[102] The album ended 2006 as the 20th-best-selling album in the world that year and sold an estimated 3,600,000 units worldwide.[105]