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| Rihanna shows us her "california king bed" |
Sure, she's most popular for her provocative imagery and tailor-made pop smashes, and anyone who looks to her first hit "Pon De Replay" will laugh off Rihanna's occupation as "singer".
But there is no doubt that she has improved greatly as a singer from Music of the Sun. Her latest album Loud has the Barbados beauty taking more risks with her voice than ever before. No song encapsulates that more than "California King Bed", her latest single.
Following the sex craze of "S&M", "California King Bed" is a powerful ballad about two people distancing in a relationship. The song's real power surprisingly comes from Rihanna and her voice. She spends a lot of the song building up the song's tension, singing softly and sensually in the verses, then exploding full-voice in the chorus. It's surely nothing new, especially for pop ballads; Whitney, Mariah, and Celine have been doing it for two decades. But Rihanna's voice is unique. It's not technically great like the three divas, but what she lacks there she makes up for in utter performance. The song itself probably would've faltered without Rihanna's extremely passionate vocals. She sells the song on that alone, which is a rarity in the era of Auto-Tune.
I often long for the days when Whitney and Celine ran the world (and topped the charts) with their glass-shattering vocals. She may not be on their level, but it's great to know that there is still some appreciation for the power ballad, and the vocals to back those up.
What do you think about Rihanna's new power ballad?
Check out the video below:
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