Rihanna - Only Girl (In The World)

Rihanna's back after the global smash success of her darker Rated R album and she's keen to show off a new sound, but does 'Only Girl' take her in the right direction?
In one word - a resounding, exuberant, 1000% YES...that may be more than one word, but it's the reaction that this tune should be evoking!


After lulling the listener into a false sense of security with some mellow yet catchy "la la la la's" layered with a subtle blend of club beats, (Think chilled Ibiza) Rihanna begins to step up the energy notch by notch.


She moves into the first verse with slick and sexy seductiveness, displaying a cheeky laugh and a couple of "ahhh's." Hearing Rihanna returning to her previous, more flirtatious sound after the drama of her last "Hard" image, is a breath of fresh air. Rihanna's vocals ripple over an ever growing beat of which Stargate continues to intensify as the song goes on. It's true to say that this is Stargate at their finest, building once more on the success of their previous productions such as Beyoncé's 'Irreplaceable' and Rihanna's 'Rude Boy.'


Rihanna then explodes into the chorus, with Stargate pumping it full of high powered synths. At this point, Rihanna is reminiscent of a high maintenance but confident girlfriend, with lines such as "Want you to make me feel like I'm the only girl in the world." As the chorus enters the second half, the anticipated Stargate magic club beat prounds into action, setting the track up to be yet another international club smash.


The song follows the same pattern of verse and chorus with similar effect before arriving at the highly sexualised bridge, most likely ensure Ri a place in countless "sexiest female" polls, before storming back through the chorus.


So how does Rihanna's latest work rate? Her vocals show huge versatility, from sultry verses to dominating choruses. Furthermore this is a definite happier step away from the deeper Rated R project. Rihanna shows that she can take control in a teasing, flirtatious manner, belting sassy lines like "I'm the only one who understands how to make you feel like a man" whilst managing to express her sexual desires through extremely passionate imagery. It would also appear that 'Only Girl' can quite easily be seen to take influence from  David Guetta (who also contributed to her upcoming 'Loud' album) produced material, in particular 'Commander' by Kelly Rowland. The chorus to 'Only Girl' carries similar tones and even features a reference to the former, (Like I'm the only one that's in command). However, unlike Kelly Rowland, it feels as though Rihanna is controlling the beat and not the other way around.


I'm sure this is set to blow up in a huge way and will ensure that Rihanna can leave Rated R comfortably behind whilst her latest vocals will be filling clubs across the globe with its infectious tone.


10/10 - SPICE!