Birthday Cake (song)
"Birthday Cake" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna, from her sixth studio album, Talk That Talk (2011). After it leaked onto the Internet, fans expressed interest in the track being included on Talk That Talk, but it was later revealed that the 1:18 (one minute, 18 seconds) length that leaked was in fact the final cut and was not being considered for inclusion on the album. Due to a high level of fan interest, the song was included on the album as an interlude. The full length version, also known as the official remix of the track, featuring Rihanna's ex-boyfriend Chris Brown, premiered online on February 20, 2012, to coincide with Rihanna's 24th birthday. The song peaked in the top thirty on the Billboard Hot 100. The lyrics to "Birthday Cake" express the desire to have spontaneous sex. Music critics were divided on "Birthday Cake", with the majority both praising and criticising the song's sexual lyrical content. Several critics compared the song to the previous track on the album "Cockiness (Love It)", which also consists of sexually explicit lyrics. Upon the release of Talk That Talk, the song debuted on the lower regions of the singles charts in South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
This article is about the Rihanna song. For the Ivri Lider song, see Birthday Cake (Ivri Lider song)."Birthday Cake"
Composition and lyrics[edit]
"Birthday Cake" is an R&B[3] interlude which lasts for one minute and 18 seconds, appearing as the sixth track on the album.[4][5][6] The instrumentation of "Birthday Cake" consists of a heavy bass, schoolbells, engine sounds, claps, and electro beats. It also samples the song "Dominator" by Human Resource.[7][8][9][10][11] The track also consists of hoover synths, synth handclaps, an Eastern-inspired tone and chants.[12] In the song, Rihanna adopts a sensual tone in her vocals, as she chants the song's provocative and sexually explicit lyrics.[8][13] A reviewer for Flavour described the singer's vocal performance in "Birthday Cake" as "sultry".[8] Nathan S. of DJ Booth concurred that Rihanna sounds "sultry" as well as "playful" on the song.[11]
The lyrical content of the interlude is spare and largely revolves around Rihanna chanting, "cake cake cake cake cake cake."[8][13] Aside from the repetitive chant of "cake", the interlude consists of multiple sexual metaphors.[10] The lyric "I know you wanna bite this/ It's so enticing/ Nothing else like this, I'ma make you my bitch/ And it's not even my birthday/ But you wanna put your name on it" is a metaphor referring to a vagina.[9] Rihanna sings about the desire to have spontaneous sex.[4][8] Rihanna promises her lover that she will make him do whatever she pleases, singing "I'mma make you my bitch."[4] T'Cha Dunlevy of The Montreal Gazette described the lyric as a "promise", with Rihanna intending to act upon her desires.[4] The interlude ends mid-verse and mid-lyric with a fade at 1:18.[4][12] Katherine St. Asaph of Popdust described the fade as "ungraceful", as well as writing that it makes the track appear as though it is not finished.[12] Upon the fade, Rihanna puts forward the line "Ooh, I wanna fuck you right now."[4] Dunlevy and St. Asaph were critical of the final line, with the former labelling it as "blatant",[4] and the latter noting that "cursing makes everything obvious."[12]
Chart performance[edit]
Upon the release of Talk That Talk, "Birthday Cake" debuted on several world charts. The song entered the South Korea Gaon International Chart at number 67 on November 26, 2011, with sales of 6,661 digital downloads.[19] In the United Kingdom, "Birthday Cake" debuted at number 172 on December 3, 2011.[20] In the United States, the song charted at number 22 on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, which represents the 25 songs which failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.[21] On March 3, 2012, "Birthday Cake" made its first appearance on the US Digital Songs chart at number 62, following the release of the official remix featuring Brown,[22] and has peaked at number 30.[23] Due to strong airplay spins, the interlude of "Birthday Cake" peaked at number 4 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[24] "Birthday Cake" was certified two-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of over 2,000,000 units.[25]
Live performance[edit]
Rihanna performed the song for the first time on May 5, 2012, on Saturday Night Live, as part of a medley with "Talk That Talk".[26] The performance started with the original interlude version "Birthday Cake" and featured Rihanna in an all black outfit with a giant spiders web as the backdrop behind her.[26] After she performed a short section of the song, it transitioned into "Talk That Talk", where she performed her part of the song in full, without the rap vocal by Jay-Z.[26] The remix of the song was included on her Diamonds World Tour as part of her first act in 2013. She performed it on the Anti World Tour with a different beat in 2016 with included Rihanna rap in the song.
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Talk That Talk, Def Jam Recordings, SRP Records.[1]
"Birthday Cake"
December 29, 2011
November 2011 - December 2011
3:39
- Def Jam
- SRP