Grading the iTunes Hits

Rihanna: “Take a Bow.” Another instant #1 and a song that completely dominated the iTunes singles chart up until that American Idol finale. This is one of those awful tacked-on ripoff tracks on a forthcoming special edition of Rihanna’s album, but unlike most of those shady bonus-tracks, this one can hang with just about anything on the rest of the album. I’ve never much liked Rihanna’s ballads because her voice is too icy and hard-edged to tackle anything resembling actual human emotion; she’s generally a whole lot better off with robotic dance-pop. “Take a Bow” works, though, because it the wronged-woman sentiment at its hard couldn’t be more cruelly expressed. “You’re so ugly when you cry,” she sniffs on the first verse, before sarcastically applauding whatever big speech the guy is giving her. She lets a few vague glints of humanity creep through (”Don’t tell me you’re sorry when you’re not / Baby, when I know you’re only sorry you got caught”), and there’s a subtly regretful undercurrent running through the thing, but this whole thing is basically what you don’t want to ever hear from a girlfriend. The track is one of these gleamingly professional and satisfying Ne-Yo/Stargate things, but the stately piano-and-strings construction doesn’t even has that vaguely comforting acoustic guitar running through it the way “Irreplaceable” did. Rihanna, meanwhile, sounds more confident every day; it’s fun watching her turn into an honest-to-God star. 7.6

Source: The Village Voice

2 Responses to “Grading the iTunes Hits”

1. missF says:

   May 28, 2008 at 5:14 AM

   Go Rihanna!!! I defintly luv this song
2. Leo says:

   May 28, 2008 at 11:55 PM

   I love the song too!