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).[5] 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.
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.[13] 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.[14] 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."[14] 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."[15]
For writing and production of A Girl Like Me Rihanna teamed up once again with record producersCarl Sturken and Evan Rogers, who produced most of the tracks on her previous album, J. R. Rotem and Norwegian production duo Stargate.[14] While recording the track "If It's Lovin' That You Want" for her debut album, Rihanna received a visit from American singer Ne-Yo, in which they met for the first time, although they never got the chance to collaborate on Music of the Sun.[13] When production started, she came up with the idea of working with Ne-Yo.[15] When asked about collaborating with Ne-Yo, Rihanna stated: "We never got around to it on the first album. So for the second album, I was like, 'You know what? I have to work with that guy Ne-Yo.' And it made it a lot easier because he's on the same label I am."[13] For the album, Rihanna also worked with Jamaicanreggae and dancehall artist Sean Paul on the track "Break It Off", which was recorded in Paul's hometown of Kingston, Jamaica.
While working on A Girl Like Me, Rihanna not only recorded songs but also promoted Music of the Sun.[13] She commented: "We were so busy promoting the first album while trying to get this one done, working some crazy hours. That's why this album is so close to me, 'cause I really put my heart and soul into it."[13] "SOS" was the first recorded track for the album, a song which was originally intended for Christina Milian's third studio albumSo Amazin'; however, she rejected it.[16]L.A. Reid had Rihanna in mind as the next artist to record the song.[17] The song was recorded within three days and eventually later released as the lead single from A Girl Like Me.[13] "Kisses Don't Lie" was penned and produced by Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken and it was one of the three songs on the album on which Rihanna received writing credit.[18] The song was written and recorded in her native Barbados, and was described by Rihanna as mixed with rock and reggae.[18]
In the song "Unfaithful", penned by Ne-Yo, Rihanna wanted to speak about personal things that girls her age at the time were experiencing, which was inspired by the album's title[15] and according to her it is one of her favorite songs on the album.[13] "We Ride" was written and produced by StarGate, who also produced and co-wrote "Unfaithful".[19] For the song "Break It Off", which features Jamaican artist Sean Paul, Rihanna flew down to Jamaica to record the song.[20] The song was written by Donovan Bennet and it was co-written by Sean Paul and Rihanna herself.[20] The album's closing tracks were written by Rogers, Sturken and Rihanna, who co-wrote the album's title track "A Girl Like Me".[19] Rogers and Sturken produced and wrote eight of the album's 16 tracks.[19]
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.[13] Her goal on the album was to find songs that express the many things young women want to say, but might not know how.[20] 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."[14]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.[14] 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",[14] though Rihanna herself stated that the album is not overall driven by rock influence.[21] 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."[14] 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".[22]
Lyrically, the album's theme speaks of girls' experiences.[14] 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:[23] people being cheated on, falling in and out of love, people hating on you, having feelings towards a guy and partying.[23] "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.[23] "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.[24] "Unfaithful" documents the decay of a relationship when another person starts cheating.[20] 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."[14] "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.[25] The lyrics of "Dem Haters" portray a message about how "haters" try to bring people down and recommends excluding them from your life.[26] "Final Goodbye" talks about a woman who wants to spend the rest of her life with a man[27] but feels that she needs to reveal a secret before moving on.[23] "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.[23]
The album's opening track "SOS" is an uptempodance song incorporating the key section, bass line, and drum beat of the 1981 recording of "Tainted Love" as performed by Soft Cell, although "SOS" contains a more dance-oriented beat to create a soulful anthem of young love.[20] The song received positive reviews by critics, who called it "a sexy club tune."[28] The song also features three different music videos, including two promotional music videos for Agent Provocateur and Nike, and the official music video, which was directed by Chris Applebaum. "Kisses Don't Lie", the album's second song, uses a mixture of Caribbean elements and electric guitar together with a mesmerizing bassline.[20] On the ballad song "Unfaithful", the background instrumentation features a piano and strings.[29] The song is the third track and the second single from the album, and was written by labelmate and fellow R&B musician Ne-Yo. Despite its strong chart performance, the song was panned by critics, who stated that "Rihanna's voice [on the song was] not particularly strong."[30] The fourth track, "We Ride", features gently strummedacoustic guitar, with production handled by Stargate.[31] The song received mixed reviews from critics and was less successful than the other singles. In the song's music video, directed by Anthony Mandler, Rihanna was featured hanging with her friends and scenes of her at the beach.[32] After the song failed to chart in the United States, the song became the last single from the album to feature a music video.
"Dem Haters" features guest vocals by Barbadian singer Dwane Husbands. The song is the album's fifth track and was produced by Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers. The sixth track, "Final Goodbye", is a mid-tempo ballad containing ambient of strummed acoustic guitar. The seventh track, and the album's fourth and final single, "Break It Off", is a collaboration with Jamaican recording artist Sean Paul. The song contains dancehall influence.[33] Although "Break It Off" did not feature a music video for its promotion, it still managed to reach the top ten in the singles charts in the United States, in ironic contrast to "We Ride", which did count with the support of an official music video. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", the album's eighth track, is another collaboration song featuring Jamaican music group J-Status. The Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers-produced "Selfish Girl", is the ninth song of the album and contains reggae elements. The tenth track, "P.S. (I'm Still Not Over You)", is an R&B song also produced by Sturken and Rogers. "A Girl Like Me", the album's eleventh song and title track, is another R&B song also containing reggae elements. The album's third ballad, "A Million Miles Away", is the twelfth song on the album. It received mixed reviews from music critics, who commented that the song "kills whatever momentum the album has."[22] The closing track on the standard version of the album is a remix serving as a sequel to "If It's Lovin' That You Want", which was Rihanna's second single from her debut album. The track, titled "If It's Lovin' That You Want - Part 2", features American rapperCorey Gunz.
A 23 second audio sample of Rihanna singing the chorus of "SOS". The sample includes the synthriffs and machine beats instrumental,[34] as well as the layered and compressed vocals.[35]
"SOS" was released as the album's lead single on February 14, 2006, and as a physical maxi single on March 27, 2006.[36] The maxi single included both the radio edit and instrumental versions of "SOS", as well as the album track "Break It Off", which features Jamaicanreggae singer Sean Paul.[36] "SOS" contains a sped up sample[37] of "Tainted Love", which was originally written by Ed Cobb in 1965 and popularized by Englishsynthpop duo Soft Cell, when they released their cover version in 1981.[38][39] It received positive reviews from music critics, especially for its energy and Rihanna's vocal performance.[38] It peaked at number one on the USBillboard Hot 100,[40] and became the singer's first number one single on the chart.[41] It also peaked at number one on the US Hot Dance Club Play and Pop Songs charts,[11][42] as well as number two on the UK Singles Chart.[43] Two music videos, an official version and a Nike promotional version, were directed by Chris Applebaum.[44]
"Unfaithful" was released as the second single from A Girl Like Me on May 2, 2006.[45] Written by American singer Ne-Yo and Mikkel S. Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen of Stargate, the song was originally titled "Murderer" and was inspired by the works of American rock band Evanescence.[46] It garnered a mixed response from critics; many praised its powerful balladry, but some criticized the lyrics.[47] The single peaked at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart[12] as well as at number two on the UK Singles Chart.[48] The song's accompanying music video was directed by Anthony Mandler, and features Rihanna in a love triangle in which she struggles to choose between her husband and her romantic interest, and regrets having cheated on the former.[49] Rihanna performed the song at the 2006 MOBO Awards[50] and it has been included on the set lists of her concert tours, the Good Girl Gone Bad Tour (2007–09),[51] the Last Girl on Earth (2010–11)[52] and the Loud Tour (2011).[53]
"We Ride" was released as the third single from the album; the song was sent to US mainstream and rhythmic radio stations on August 21, 2006.[54] It was written by Makeba Riddick, Mikkel S. Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen, while production of the song was handled by Eriksen and Hermansen under their production team name, StarGate.[55] "We Ride" was well received by critics, many of whom praised it as a good cruising song.[56] It failed to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, but managed to top the US Hot Dance Club Play chart and peaked at number 34 on the US Pop Songs chart.[57][58] It failed to match the success of the album's previous singles, though peaking within the top twenty of the singles charts in Ireland, Slovakia and the United Kingdom.[59] Its accompanying music video was also directed by Anthony Mandler, who had previously directed the music video for "Unfaithful".[60] According to Rihanna, the video for "We Ride" is not as "out there" as the videos for "SOS" and "Unfaithful" were, as she wanted to do something less provocative to re-connect with people her own age.[60]
"Break It Off" was released as the album's fourth and final single; it was released first in the United States on November 13, 2006[54] and internationally over four months later on February 27, 2007.[61] The song was written by Donovan Bennett, Sean Paul, K. Ford and Rihanna, and it was recorded in Jamaica, where Rihanna joined Paul on vacation.[55] The single garnered a positive reaction from critics, who hailed it as one of the album's highlights and a return to Rihanna's dancehall roots.[62] "Break It Off" managed to attain chart success, in contrast to previous single "We Ride", and peaked at number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number six on the US Pop Songs chart.[63][64] Aside from the US charting, the only singles chart the song made an appearance on was in Belgium, where it attained a peak position of number 10.[65] No music video for the song was shot, although Rihanna performed the song at the Radio One Big Weekend in 2007, after her third studio albumGood Girl Gone Bad had been released, and performed "Break It Off" as part of the set list with other songs from all three of her albums up to that point.[66] The song was also included on the setlist of the Good Girl Gone Bad Tour (2007–09).[51]
Other charted songs
"A Girl Like Me" and "A Million Miles Away" made chart appearances on the Spanish Singles Chart in 2009, three years after the release of the album. The title track, co-written by Rogers, Sturken and Rihanna, peaked at number 25.[67] The song prompted a mixed reaction from critics; Quentin B. Huff of PopMatters praised "A Girl Like Me", writing that the song is "refreshingly unpretentious" compared to "Unfaithful", which Huff labelled as "overboard with melodrama."[68] However, Celia San Miguel of Vibe magazine criticized the song, and called it a "stumble" on the album and a "yawn-inducing slow jam."[69] "A Million Miles Away" was also written by Rogers and Sturken, and peaked at number 38 on the Spanish Singles Chart.[70] Huff wrote that the song, along with "Unfaithful", was not as good as the album's sixth track, "Final Goodbye".[68]
During the recording process of A Girl Like Me, Rihanna served as the opening act for Gwen Stefani during the Harajuku Lovers Tour 2005 in Japan to promote Music of the Sun.[18] While performing on the tour, she performed some of the songs that would appear on A Girl Like Me.[18] Before the release of the album, Rihanna was given substantial promotional support from MTV, which highlighted "SOS" on Total Request Live when she premiered the single's music video on March 23, 2006. She then took part in advertising Nike and J.C. Penney by shooting a promotional music video for the album's lead single supported by Nike. The album was released through Def Jam Recordings in North America as a digital download on April 11, 2006, and as a physical CD on April 25, 2006. On the album's release date, Rihanna made a guest appearance on MTV's Total Request Live to promote the album.[71]
The album was released only eight months after Music of the Sun had been released.[13] Rihanna stated regarding the rapid album succession: "We just felt like it was time. It made no sense waiting...you should never put time on music. You should never say, "Okay, Music of the Sun has to be out at least a year and a half before we start with--" No. That's what's great about the music business. When you feel it's time, you just go for it. And we felt like it was time to come up with a new album."[13] "SOS" was included on the soundtrack of the film Bring It On: All or Nothing, where Rihanna made a cameo in the film as herself; her debut single, "Pon de Replay", was also included in the soundtrack.
An expanded double-disc deluxe edition of the album was re-released in Germany, titled A Girl Like Me: Deluxe Edition, on November 17, 2006.[72] Aside from the original track listing, the new edition features a bonus CD containing leftover tracks from A Girl Like Me and Music of the Sun.[72] It also included an enhanced CD featuring two of Rihanna's music videos. In order to promote further the album, Rihanna embarked on the Rock Tha Block Tour and then toured with the Pussycat Dolls on the PCD World Tour, from November 2006 to February 2007 in the United Kingdom.[73] She also recorded songs for advertising the Happy fragrance by Clinique and deodorant Secret of the company Procter & Gamble.[74][75]
A Girl Like Me received generally mixed-to-positive reviews from music critics. Dan Charnas of The Washington Post observed a "much broader musical palette than the wannabe-yoncés" and stated: "Sophomore slump avoided, Rihanna actually digs into some ambitious pop ballads".[88] David Jeffries of AllMusic commented: "Versatile urbandance-pop singer Rihanna gracefully avoids the sophomore slump with A Girl like Me, a less tropical-flavored, more urban effort than her sun-and-fun debut." Jeffries compared the track "Kisses Don't Lie" to Damian Marley's "Welcome to Jamrock" and commented that "the album gets bolder and seamlessly bounces from genre to genre... Rihanna goes from a film noir song that elegantly uses murder as a metaphor for cheating ("Unfaithful") to an easy-flowing weekend cruiser ("We Ride")."[28] Ruth Jamieson of The Observer noted: "Chuck in a bit of Sugababes-esque harmony, some M.I.A.-style electro and a dollop of reggae, and you're even closer to getting Rihanna. If you liked last year's ridiculously catchy "Pon de Replay", there's more of the same here."[89]
In a negative review, Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times wrote that apart from "SOS", "Unfaithful", and "Break It Off", "this scattershot album is full of duds".[90] Barry Walters of Rolling Stone felt that the album "doesn't deliver anything else as ingenious as its lead single: Lightweight dancehall and R&B jams lack the single's ear-bending boldness. But the burning rock guitar of "Kisses Don't Lie" and haunted strings of "Unfaithful" help make A Girl Like Me much more likable."[34] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine felt that the album's ballads are "at least a decade too mature for the teenage singer's minor vocal talents." He added that, despite the clever sampling on "SOS", "comparatively gooey and spineless slow numbers like "Final Goodbye" and "A Million Miles Away" kill whatever momentum the album has."[22]Robert Christgau of MSN Music graded the album a "dud",[84] indicating "a bad record whose details rarely merit further thought."[91]
Commercial performance
A Girl Like Me debuted at number five on the USBillboard 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.[92][93] The album has since been certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the United States.[94] As of June 2015, the album has sold 1.4 million copies in the US.[95] 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.[96] In Europe, the album achieved a Platinum certification, granted by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.[97] In Canada, the album topped the Canadian Albums Chart, becoming Rihanna's first number-one album in the country,[98] and was later certified Platinum there.
In Australia, the album debuted at number 12 on the ARIA Albums Chart.[99] The album later reached the number nine position and remained on the chart for twenty-one weeks.[99] It was certified Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipping 70,000 units.[100] In Switzerland, A Girl Like Me peaked at number six and remained there position for two consecutive weeks and charted for 39 weeks.[99] The album was certified Platinum there for selling over 30,000 copies.[101] 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.[99]A Girl Like Me managed to reach the top 20 in Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, France and Denmark.[99] The album ended 2006 as the 20th-best-selling album in the world that year and sold an estimated 3,600,000 units worldwide.[102]
"SOS" contains excerpts from the composition "Tainted Love" (1981), written by Ed Cobb and performed by Soft Cell. "Tainted Love" was originally performed by Gloria Jones.
"If It's Lovin' That You Want – Part 2" contains interpolations from the composition "The Bridge Is Over", written by Scott La Rock and Lawrence Parker.
The International edition features the bonus track "Pon de Replay" (Full Phatt Remix).[104][105]
The Japanese edition features the bonus tracks "Who Ya Gonna Run To", "Pon de Replay" (Full Phatt Remix), and "Coulda Been the One".[106]
Personnel
Credits for A Girl Like Me adapted from liner notes.[107]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
^ abcSanMiguel, Celia (June 2006). "Review: A Girl like Me". Vibe: 160. Archived from the original on April 8, 2017. a pop album, one informed but not bounded by Rihanna's Caribbean roots
^"Quick Spin". The Washington Post. April 26, 2006. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
^Jamieson, Ruth (April 23, 2006). "Rihanna, A Girl like Me". The Observer. London. Archived from the original on February 12, 2008. Retrieved February 4, 2008.
^"Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 33.Týden 2006 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
^オリコン年間 CDアルバムランキング 2006年度 [Oricon Annual CD Album Ranking 2006] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on June 27, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
