Rihanna - Music Of The Sun Lyrics

- Release date: August 2005 -

Music of the Sun is the debut album of Barbadian R&B singer Rihanna, released August 26, 2005 on Def Jam Recordings. Rihanna worked with several producers for the album, mainly Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers who produced and penned most of the tracks on the album. It features guest contributions by Kardinal Offishall, J-Status, and Vybz Kartel. Primarily an R&B album, Music of the Sun incorporates musical elements of dance-pop and caribbean music genres such as dancehall and reggae-pop, which reflect on Rihanna's background.

The album debuted at number 10 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 69,000 copies in its first week. It produced two singles that achieved international chart success, including "Pon de Replay" and "If It's Lovin' that You Want". Upon its release, Music of the Sun received generally mixed reviews from most music critics. It was certified gold in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), after sales in excess of 500,000 copies in the United States. To date, the album has sold over two million copies worldwide.

Recording

After signing with Def Jam in February 2005, she began working on her debut album with several producers including Evan Rogers, Carl Sturken, Stargate and Poke & Tone. The album completed within a three month period, from February 2005–May 2005. When recording the album's future lead single for her demo recordings, she revealed that when she first heard the song she didn't want to record it. She stated: "when I first heard that song, I didn't want to do it, because it was very sing-songy and very... whatever [...] But after I started recording it, I went along with it and started liking it." While working on the album, she recorded the song "The One" with label-mate Memphis Bleek for his fourth studio album 534. After coming up with the album's title, Rihanna recorded the song "Music of the Sun," which was co-written by herself and Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken. She developed her writing skills with the help of Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers and also co-wrote two other songs on the album.

In a 2005 interview, she stated: "Luckily I met two producers who discovered me in the first place and signed me to their production company, Syndicated Rhythm Productions. They work with a lot of pop artists like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard. They are great guys and I really enjoyed working with them. They are excellent song writers so they really helped me develop my writing skills."

The album features twelve songs and a remix of "Pon de Replay" with Elephant Man. For her debut album, Rihanna stuck with her Caribbean background style. Her music at the time featured soca and reggae genres due to her Caribbean descent.

Music

'Music of the Sun' was musically inspired by the variety of caribbean music genres, which includes soca, dancehall, and reggae, although the album incorporates some American genres, using a mixture of dance-pop and contemporary R&B. The music on the album showcases her musical roots and also reflects on the album's title. Rihanna explained that the word "sun" represents her culture where she's from, the Caribbean. "It represents me. So the album consists of Music of the Sun." The songs in the album are varied, with the first half of the album containing a reggae sound. With songs about the effect of love, the album falls into the contemporary R&B influence. The second half of the album starts off with dancehall up-tempo songs, however, the album's closing tracks contain ballads-oriented songs.

Release and promotion

The album's lead single, "Pon de Replay", was released on August 22, 2005. The song was a commercial success peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and Pop 100, being held off the top spot by Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together". To promote the album, Rihanna performed at the pre-show of the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, two days before the album's release. The album was released on August 30, 2005 in the United States through Def Jam Records. After the album's release, she continued her promotion by performing at the NFL Opening Kickoff pre-game concert and also giving fans a free concert at City Place Mall in Silver Spring, Maryland. The album's second single, "If It's Lovin' that You Want", was released on November 28, 2005, peaking at number thirty-six on the Billboard Hot 100. The album's ninth track, "Let Me" was supposed to be the international third single, but was only released in Japan, peaking at number eight.

Commercial performance

Music of the Sun debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200 and at number two on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums, selling 69,000 copies in its first week. The album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on November 1, 2006, selling in excess of 500,000 copies in the United States. As of July 23, 2010 the album has 593,000 copies sold in the U.S. In Canada, the album managed to peak within the top ten debuting at number seven on the Canadian Albums Chart. The album was later certified platinum, with a total sales of 100,000 in the country alone. Internationally 'Music of the Sun' failed to reach the top ten in other countries. However, the album peaked at number thirty-five in the United Kingdom on the UK Albums Chart and was awarded a Gold certification by the British Phonographic Industry. In Ireland, the album debuted at number twelve on the Irish Albums Chart and in New Zealand the album reached number twenty-six on the New Zealand Album Chart. Worldwide, Music of the Sun has sold over 2 million copies.