Rihanna – Rated R / Def Jam Recordings Audio CD 2009

UPC 602527283104

Rated R is the fourth studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on November 20, 2009, by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. Recording sessions for the album began in March 2009 and took place at recording studios throughout United States and Europe. Rihanna, together with Antonio "L.A." Reid and The Carter Administration, was the executive producer of the album and worked with various record producers, including Chase & Status, Stargate, The-Dream, Ne-Yo, and Brian Kennedy. The record featured several vocalists and instrumentalists, including Young Jeezy, will.i.am, Justin Timberlake and Slash, who played the guitars in "Rockstar 101".

Musically, the album represents a departure from her previous effort Good Girl Gone Bad (2007), which contained up-tempo and ballad-oriented songs. Rated R is a rock-influenced pop, hip hop and R&B album; it features a foreboding and atmospheric tone in terms of musical and lyrical direction, and it incorporates elements of dubstep. It also explores other genres, such as dancehall in "Rude Boy" and Latin-infusion in "Te Amo". Rated R received positive reviews from music critics, who commended Rihanna's mature performance and called the album her most layered and heartfelt effort. The album debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 chart and sold 181,000 copies in its first week. It also attained top ten positions in over twelve other countries.

The album produced six singles, "Russian Roulette", "Wait Your Turn", "Hard", "Rude Boy", "Rockstar 101", and "Te Amo". "Russian Roulette" was released as the album's lead single and managed to reach top-ten in over 25 countries. "Hard" became her thirteenth US top-ten single, while "Rude Boy" topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks. "Te Amo" attained top-ten positions around Europe and reached number one in Brazil. To further promote the album, Rihanna embarked on her third worldwide concert tour Last Girl on Earth (2010–2011). Rated R is deemed as an important album in Rihanna's career and a groundwork inspiration for her follow-up releases.

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