Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as the Disco Action Top 30 chart on August 28, 1976, and became the first chart by Billboard to document the popularity of dance music. The first number-one song on the chart for the issue dated August 28, 1976, was "You Should Be Dancing" by the Bee Gees, spending five weeks atop the chart and the group's only number-one song on the chart.
Robyn Rihanna Fenty is a Barbadian singer, actress, fashion designer, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna was discovered by American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the United States to record demo tapes. After signing with Def Jam in 2005, she soon gained recognition with the release of her first two studio albums, Music of the Sun (2005) and A Girl Like Me (2006), both of which were influenced by Caribbean music and peaked within the top ten of the US Billboard 200 chart.
Music of the Sun is the debut studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on August 29, 2005, by Def Jam Recordings. Prior to signing with Def Jam, Rihanna was discovered by record producer Evan Rogers in Barbados, who helped Rihanna record demo tapes to send out to several record labels. Jay-Z, the former chief executive officer (CEO) and president of Def Jam, was given Rihanna's demo by Jay Brown, his A&R at Def Jam, and invited her to audition for the label after hearing what turned out to be her first single, "Pon de Replay". She auditioned for Jay-Z and L.A. Reid, the former CEO and president of record label group The Island Def Jam Music Group, and was signed on the spot to prevent her from signing with another record label.
Christopher Maurice Brown is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to Billboard, Brown is one of the most influential and successful contemporary R&B singers of the early 21st century, with some considering him the "King of R&B" alongside Usher and R. Kelly. His musical style has been defined as polyhedric, with his R&B being characterized by several influences from other genres, mainly hip hop and pop music. His lyrics develop predominantly over the themes of sex, lovesickness, regret, romantic love, fast life, desire, and the difficulty of managing emotions.
"SOS" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna from her second studio album, A Girl like Me (2006). It was written by J. R. Rotem and E. Kidd Bogart with credit also assigned to Ed Cobb since the song is built around a sample of Soft Cell's 1981 recording of "Tainted Love", a song written by Cobb in 1965. Production of the dance and dance-pop song was handled by Rotem. It was released on February 13, 2006, as the lead single from the album. Critical reception of "SOS" was generally positive, with the majority of music critics praising the inclusion of the "Tainted Love" sample. Some critics compared "SOS" to Rihanna's debut single, "Pon de Replay".
A Girl Like Me is the second studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on April 10, 2006, by Def Jam Recordings. 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. A Girl Like Me is a pop and reggae album influenced by Rihanna's Caribbean roots. The album also incorporates elements of dancehall and rock, as well as ballads, which music critics were ambivalent towards.
"Unfaithful" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna from her second studio album A Girl like Me (2006). It was written by Shaffer "Ne-Yo" Smith with the song's producers Stargate. The song was released by Def Jam Recordings on May 1, 2006, as the second single from the album. "Unfaithful" is a pop and R&B ballad and was inspired by the music of American rock band Evanescence. Originally titled "Murderer", the single speaks about a woman who regrets cheating on her partner.
"Break It Off" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna from her second studio album A Girl like Me (2006), and features guest vocals from Sean Paul. It was written by Donovan Bennett, Paul, K. Ford and Rihanna, while production was handled by Don Corleon. The song was released on November 13, 2006, as the album's fourth and final single. "Break It Off" is a futuristic pop-dancehall and R&B song, which is layered over an electro-reggae beat.
Good Girl Gone Bad is the third studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on May 31, 2007, by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. Rihanna worked with various producers on the album, including Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Terius "Dream" Nash, Neo da Matrix, Timbaland, Carl Sturken, Evan Rogers and Stargate. Inspired by Brandy Norwood's fourth studio album Afrodisiac (2004), Good Girl Gone Bad is a pop, dance-pop and R&B record with 1980s music influences. Described as a turning point in Rihanna's career, it represents a departure from the Caribbean sound of her previous releases, Music of the Sun (2005) and A Girl like Me (2006). Apart from the sound, she also endorsed a new image for the release going from an innocent young woman to an edgier, more mature look.
"Umbrella" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna from her third studio album Good Girl Gone Bad (2007). It features American rapper Jay-Z, who co-wrote the song with its producers Tricky Stewart and Kuk Harrell, with additional writing from The-Dream. The song was originally written with Britney Spears in mind, but her label rejected it. "Umbrella" is a pop, hip hop and R&B song with rock elements, referring to a romantic and platonic relationship and the strength of that relationship.
Barbadian singer Rihanna has released four video albums and appeared in sixty-two music videos, twelve films, thirteen television programs, and several television commercials. In 2005, Rihanna signed a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings and released her debut single "Pon de Replay", taken from her first studio album Music of the Sun (2005). Like its lyrical theme, the music video for the song was inspired by disco and dance; it was directed by Little X. Three separate videos were released for "SOS", the lead single from her second studio album A Girl like Me (2006), all of which contained various dance sequences. The same year, American director Anthony Mandler directed the accompanying music video for the second single "Unfaithful", which featured Rihanna in a dangerous love triangle with her lover and her husband. "Unfaithful" was Rihanna's first collaboration with Mandler; they later worked together regularly. Also in 2006, Rihanna played herself in the third installment of the Bring It On film series, entitled Bring It On: All or Nothing.
"Don't Stop the Music" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna for her third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007). It was released worldwide on September 7, 2007, as the album's fourth single. The song was written by Tawanna Dabney and its producers StarGate. Michael Jackson also received a songwriting credit for the sampling of the line "Mama-say, mama-sa, ma-ma-ko-ssa" from Jackson's 1983 single "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'". Both Rihanna and Jackson were sued by Cameroonian musician Manu Dibango, who asserted that the hook originated in his 1972 song "Soul Makossa". "Don't Stop the Music" is a dance track that features rhythmic devices used primarily in hip hop music.
Stephen Alan Fletcher Pownall is an English singer-songwriter and the husband of actress Gabriella Wilde.
"Love the Way You Lie" is a song recorded by American rapper Eminem, featuring Barbadian singer Rihanna, from Eminem's seventh studio album Recovery (2010). The singer and songwriter Skylar Grey wrote and recorded a demo of the song alongside the producer Alex da Kid when she felt she was in an abusive romantic relationship with the music industry. Eminem wrote the verses and chose Rihanna to sing the chorus, resulting in a collaboration influenced by their past experiences in difficult relationships. Recording sessions were held in Ferndale, Michigan, and Dublin, Ireland. Backed by guitar, piano and violin, the track is a midtempo hip-hop ballad with a pop refrain, sung by Rihanna, and describes two lovers who refuse to separate despite being in a dangerous love–hate relationship.
"We Found Love" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna from her sixth studio album, Talk That Talk (2011). It was written and produced by, and features Scottish DJ Calvin Harris; the song was also featured on his third album 18 Months (2012). "We Found Love" premiered on September 22, 2011, on the Capital FM radio station in the United Kingdom, and was made available to download on the same day as the lead single from Talk That Talk. "We Found Love" is an uptempo electro house song, with elements of dance-pop, techno and Europop. The song's lyrics speak of a couple who "found love in a hopeless place".
"FourFiveSeconds" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna, American rapper Kanye West, and English musician Paul McCartney. It was written and produced by West, McCartney, Mike Dean, Dave Longstreth and Noah Goldstein with additional writing from Kirby Lauryen, Ty Dolla Sign, Dallas Austin, Elon Rutberg and Rihanna. Previewed by West at the iHeartMedia Music Summit on January 21, 2015, it was digitally released on January 24. "FourFiveSeconds" is a folk-pop and soul song with an instrumentation consisting of an acoustic guitar, organ and bass guitar.
"Love on the Brain" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna for her eighth studio album, Anti (2016). It was written by Joseph Angel and produced by Fred Ball, with additional writing by Rihanna. The song was sent to the US rhythmic contemporary and urban contemporary radio stations on 27 September 2016 as the album's fourth and final single. "Love on the Brain" is a doo-wop and soul ballad inspired by 1950s and 1960s music. Its instrumentation consists of a guitar arpeggio, swirling organ, a simple chord progression, syncopated strings, and orchestra. Lyrically, the song has themes of swinging back and forth between the highs and lows of toxic love.
"Work" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna for her eighth studio album, Anti (2016), featuring Canadian rapper Drake. The song was released as the lead single on January 27, 2016, through Westbury Road and Roc Nation. The song was written by PartyNextDoor, Rihanna, Drake, Monte Moir, Rupert "Sevn" Thomas, Allen Ritter and Matthew Samuels, and was produced by Boi-1da, Kuk Harrell and Noah "40" Shebib. The dancehall, reggae-pop and R&B song, contains an interpolation of "If You Were Here Tonight" (1985) performed by Alexander O'Neal. Lyrically, the song incorporates themes of working for money, as well as discussing fragile relationships. The song is in the Jamaican Patois language and three of its writer-producers: Rupert "Sevn" Thomas, Matthew "Boi-1da" Samuels, and Jahron "PartyNextDoor" Brathwaite, are Jamaican-Canadians.
