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Rihanna: Good Girl Gone Bad

Someone, somewhere is suddenly taking Rihanna a lot more seriously. Maybe it's the consistency with which her short career has delivered hits - step forward chart-eating anthems "Pon De Replay" and "S.O.S". Or maybe it's the fact that she's matured from fresh faced Barbadian teen to an unexpectedly sultry diva. Either way, "Good Girl Gone Bad" comes with a seismic shift in attitude. If there's a heavy thudding in the background as her new, impeccably tailored beats play out, that's the sound of the rest of R&B firmly putting their bets on her.

Despite being her third album in two years, Good Girl Gone Bad bucks the thrown together trend of its predecessors. In fact, it's a meticulously engineered album, with each and every song earning its place on the tracklisting and every harmony, click and low-slung sentiment working to the single aim of rebranding Rihanna from hopeful starlet to main event. And it's faultless throughout.

Aiding her transition, and as a sign of just how seriously her fortunes are now being taken, the R&B cavalry have been called in; a heavy hitting cast who not only ensure that she's seen as credible, but bring with them a creativity which makes every track memorable. The tally of hits continues in the form of the decidedly unthrowaway "Umbrella", the strength and integrity of which is reinforced by the ever eloquent and dogmatic Jay-Z. An instant chorus, built of intelligence and a sombre head nod, it promises a quality which, for once, the accompanying album delivers.

 
"Hate That I Love You" finds genuinely sweet love, with Ne-Yo playing the romantic lead. Timbaland proves that there were plenty more where Nelly Furtado's album came from, supplying computer generated elegance and three stand-out tracks - smouldering club come-on "Sell Me Candy", monotone booty bounce "Lemme Get That" and bruised break-up "Rehab", which also benefits from high-pitched melancholy via Timbaland's tight-trousered shadow, Justin Timberlake.
 

With "Push Up On Me", "Don't Stop The Music" and "Shut Up And Drive" respectively using Lionel Richie's "Running With The Night", Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Starting Something" and New Order's "Blue Monday" to the same stunning anthemic effect that "S.O.S" did Soft Cell's "Tainted Love", the supply of potential singles, like the bpm, is relentless. An album of class, depth and seriously hard grinding, it's a major transformation from pretty girl with potential to star turn. And while relying on R&B's usual suspects to up the ante may be predictable, the result is hard to argue with. No contest, Rihanna now sounds every inch the real deal.

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