Authors: Sarah Oliver
‘But the music is awesome. I like the more traditional rock bands, too: Aerosmith and Bon Jovi. I think I could rock the stage at Glastonbury, no question.’
R
ihanna collaborated with Eminem on his track ‘Love the Way You Lie’, which was the second single from his album,
Recovery.
It was released on 8 June 2010 and quickly became the most successful collaboration Rihanna had ever done: it was No. 1 in 16 countries and was at the top of the US charts for seven consecutive weeks.
In the UK, ‘Love the Way You Lie’ only reached No. 2 in the charts, but ended up becoming the bestselling single of 2010. It was also the second bestselling single of 2010 in Canada. To date, it has sold more than nine million copies worldwide.
Rihanna and Eminem performed the track together at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards and during the 21 July performance of Rihanna’s ‘Last Girl on Earth Tour’. They also performed it at the 2011 Grammy Awards: they had
been nominated for five awards that night but didn’t win any of them. However, they did pick up the Best Rap/Hip-Hop Track Award at the Teen Choice Awards, Best Song Hip-Hop of the Year at the Soul Train Awards, and Favourite Music Video and Favourite Song at the People’s Choice Awards.
In the video Rihanna and Eminem appear in some scenes, but the main story scenes were done by Megan Fox and Dominic Monaghan. Fox and Monaghan play lovers in an abusive relationship, who become physical, fight, steal and drink too much. It is clear that they should separate, but they don’t, because they love each other. In Rihanna’s scenes she sings outside the couple’s burning house, and the video ends with Eminem, Fox and Monaghan engulfed by flames. It was the first video Rihanna filmed with bright red hair.
The video became a record breaker when it was released on YouTube, as it had 6.6 million views in the first 24 hours, the most any video has ever had. Fans of both Rihanna and Eminem loved the track, and the wider music world also rated the video. It was considered so good that it could have been the trailer for a big blockbuster movie.
The track was so popular that they recorded ‘Love the Way You Lie (Part II)’, which had Rihanna singing the majority of the lyrics, with Eminem taking the supporting role. Rihanna hadn’t wanted to do this in the beginning because she felt that the first version had been so perfect that the Part II version would just look second best. Eventually Eminem was able to convince her to do
so and the track they produced ended up being just as good as the first. They produced a few more versions in the end, one with just a piano accompaniment and another with just drums. Eventually, Rihanna liked ‘Love the Way You Lie (Part II)’ so much that she included it in her next album,
Loud.
RiRi might have collaborated with Eminem, but he hasn’t become her best friend or anything, and their relationship is purely business-based. When
Q Magazine
asked her to tell them something they didn’t know about him, she couldn’t think of anything and replied: ‘Believe me, he is a mystery even to those who spend time with him. He is very reserved and he keeps things to himself. When he sent “Love The Way You Lie” to me, I thought it was an amazing song. Truly amazing lyrically, and that is what he is known for. That’s the reason why I did it. I have become numb to the idea that I am going to get sh*t for doing things that push boundaries and go to the edge. The song does go to the edge because he has a past and I have experienced bad things in the past.
‘It was a great piece of music and I went with it. Eminem is cool. Could I ring him for a chat? No, unless it’s about music. He doesn’t do a lot of small talk.’
R
ihanna’s hairstylist is called Ursula Stephen; she is one of the best celebrity stylists in the world. She has coloured and cut the hair of Keyshia Cole and Michelle Williams (of Destiny’s Child fame), but Rihanna is the client she is best known for styling.
Back in September 2008, Ursula told
People
magazine: ‘Her hair is so versatile. Spiked up, all forward, slick it back, she rocks!’ Fans all around the world had started to ask their hairdressers to give them ‘the Rihanna’, which amazed Ursula and RiRi because they never expected her short hairstyle to become iconic.
Rihanna has vowed never again to have her hair long and light brown as it was for ‘Pon de Replay’, because it didn’t reflect who she wanted to be: she feels it was too generic. She has to get approval from her people before she
makes any huge changes to her appearance, though, so they had to give her the thumbs-up first before she dyed her hair red. In one interview, she admitted that colouring her hair pink, purple or green was out of the question. When she first rebelled and cut her hair, they just made her wear hair extensions instead, which defeated the whole point of RiRi cutting her hair in the first place.
Since then, Rihanna has experimented with lots of different hairstyles, but when she made the decision to go red in June 2010, the whole world started talking about it. Ursula added real hair extensions dyed red to Rihanna’s own hair, and used Motions Silkening Shine Relaxer System to keep it looking in tip-top condition.
Having long hair again, after having it short for so long, was quite irritating for Rihanna when she wanted to get some sleep. It keeps getting in the way, and so she uses a scarf to control it while she sleeps.
Rihanna finds red hair liberating, and enjoys the attention she gets from having such bright hair. She told SugarScape: ‘With my hair I was ready for something new, something loud, something expressive and something fun. I’d had blonde hair and it was so boring for me.
‘Black is still my favourite colour, but this time I wanted something edgier because I don’t like the edgy clothes anymore. I guess I had to take the edge to somewhere else – my hair!’
For Rihanna’s hairstylist Ursula Stephen, filming music videos can sometimes be a nightmare; however, she enjoyed the creative freedom she was given for her
client’s hair in the ‘S & M’ video, which was filmed in the middle of January 2010. She admitted to StyleList: ‘Rihanna had all kinds of crazy ideas for that video and I went all out, buying like six different wigs, colouring them, cutting them. Music videos are usually my least favourite to do because there is so much pressure and such a rush, and then they wear the look for like, two minutes. But this was a creative challenge for me, so I loved it.’
Fans are sometimes shocked that RiRi wears a lot of wigs, but most celebrities do so because it protects their real hair from getting damaged. RiRi is constantly changing her hairstyles (from one day to the next sometimes), so Ursula can use wigs to give her the exact look she wants without having to touch her own hair, which is hidden underneath. The wigs Ursula gives RiRi to wear can vary enormously in price; some are only $20 but others cost thousands. She cuts and styles them in the same way that you would do with natural hair.
Even when Rihanna’s not working, she likes to wear wigs, and after they finished the ‘S & M’ video she was careful to pack the fizzy afro curls wig, and took it on holiday with her. She likes her hair to complement her outfits and to make a statement.
Ursula explains to journalist Grace Gold how the style RiRi wants dictates what type of wig is chosen: ‘It’s not about the cost, or even if it’s synthetic or real hair: it’s about the style you want first. You have to have your vision then you go and find the piece. The only thing I’d say is a better
choice is to go with synthetic hair if you want a real curly style. It holds much better.
‘People say to me, “Why did you make her hair so big? Why is it so crazy out there?” But you have to understand: She’s a performer. She can’t just walk around with some little ponytail. She has to perform. She has to have an image. The hair even helps her get into the character of whatever she’s doing.’
In order for RiRi to look great, it is important that everyone on her style team, her hair stylist, her make-up artist and her clothing stylist all work together to get her look just right: she needs her hair to complement her outfit, which needs to complement her make-up, and so on. She also needs to feel happy with her look so that she can go out and perform, whether that is on stage or on a red carpet. And before Rihanna steps onto the red carpet, she uses Motions Hold & Shine Styling Spray to make sure her hair looks perfect.
As well as being close to Ursula, Rihanna is also close to her make-up team because of the amount of time they spend together. Even when they’re not working, they will go out for a bite to eat together or just hang out.
One of her make-up artists is Karin Darnell, who has worked with Victoria Beckham, the Sugababes, Peter Andre, Katie Price, Anastacia and George Michael in the past. She started doing Rihanna’s make-up when she was in the UK and in Europe five years ago, and since then she’s joined the main style team and does Rihanna’s make-up wherever she travels around the world.
Because Karin has worked with Rihanna for so long, she has seen her develop musically and as a woman. She talked to RihannaDaily about meeting Rihanna all those years ago: ‘I was certain Rihanna would turn out to be a major artist, but as an English make-up artist based in London, I could never have anticipated my future role in her image! And I feel truly blessed and genuinely enjoy the creative process working alongside Ursula (hair) and Mariel and Rob (stylists) and of course with Rihanna herself!’
Rihanna understands how powerful make-up can be in creating a look, and isn’t afraid to push the boundaries and experiment. When her hair changed to red, her make-up had to change, too, as Karin explains: ‘Along with the amazing red hair, a make-up change is always sure to follow! Every hairstyle, outfit change and event dictates a make-up moment!!! Always less obvious than the hair, but always there, nevertheless! Ursula and I love to work together, we “push” each other hard! It’s great! The “new look” is softer than ever before! There are no hard lines or dark eyes! Just soft pastel, feminine eyes with fluttery lashes! Colours don’t need to match, maybe just surprise you a little with an unusual colour wash or hue! Sometimes I like to bring out the red lip for impact! And that’s enough!’
If you want to learn how to do your make-up like Rihanna, you need to head over to YouTube and check out the amazing tutorials that fans have done, which show you, step-by-step, how to recreate Rihanna’s look in the different music videos. If her own make-up artist is impressed by how
accurate they are, then you should be pleased with the results if you follow their advice.
Several of Rihanna’s videos have been directed by Anthony Mandler, the man behind Nelly Furtado’s ‘Maneater’, Fergie’s ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’ and John Mayer’s ‘Heartbreak Warfare’. He has also directed videos for Jay-Z, Ciara, Mariah Carey, Snoop Dogg, Beyoncé and many more big stars.
Mandler was first brought on board to direct ‘Unfaithful’ in 2006, but he has done several more of RiRi’s videos since then. He directed ‘We Ride’, ‘Shut Up and Drive’, ‘Hate That I Love You’, ‘Take A Bow’, ‘Disturbia’, ‘Rehab’, ‘Russian Roulette’, ‘Wait Your Town’, ‘Te Amo’, ‘Only Girl (In the World)’ and ‘California King Bed’.
He has also directed Rihanna in videos when she has collaborated with other artists. In 2008, he directed the Maroon 5 video for ‘If I Never See Your Face Again’ and T.I.’s video for ‘Live Your Life’. Then, in 2009, he directed Jay-Z’s ‘Run This Town’ video, which also stars Kanye West.
Def Jam liked some of the videos that Mandler had directed previously and wanted him to reinvent Rihanna. Once Mandler met her, they formed a friendship that has got stronger and stronger as time passed. Anthony talked to Rap-Up.com about what it was like in the beginning. He said: ‘We just really connected. From that point on, it was “Unfaithful”. She saw me as someone who could support and drive her artistry and personality, eventually in a more sexual and womanly way. I saw it as an opportunity to work with somebody in the capacity of a muse – I really look at
her like that. I feel like we’ve grown through each other, around each other, and because of each other, and will never take back the quality of work or the freedom that she’s given me to communicate. You kill for stuff like that in an artist, especially in this medium, which is filled with disloyalty and criticism. I can’t tell you how many No. 1 videos I’ve had where the artist went somewhere else after: she’s the ultimate in loyalty.’
To date, his two favourite Rihanna videos are ‘Disturbia’ and ‘Russian Roulette’. He explained why: ‘“Disturbia” was the one that everybody said would ruin her career from the inside out. People were not supportive of that video and it took myself, Rihanna and my partner Ciarra Pardo to defend it and push it forward – move the needle as far as what was okay and not okay with a girl like her. It really broadened and opened her brand. “Russian Roulette” because it’s obviously a piece of the pie of what happened and it was the way to tell an intense story that obviously had a lot behind it. She really gave me free rein. I had a dream about her being underwater and these people shooting at her and bullets whipping by her and grazing her. I woke up and called her and said, “I got this idea. You gotta tell me what the song is.” At that point, I don’t even think the song had been made yet. To be able to have a moment like that, and be able to call one of the biggest stars in the world and pitch that to them, and then have them saying, “Let’s do it”, it’s such a blessing. Every artist dreams of having that kind of outlet.’
Rihanna might really admire Anthony’s work, but she also
uses other directors. Melina Matsoukas directed ‘Rude Boy’, ‘Hard’, ‘Rockstar 101’ and ‘S & M’ (alongside Rihanna).
It seems that everyone who has worked with Rihanna regards her as a great singer and a nice person, too. Makeba Riddick is one of Rihanna’s core people, and also one of the best producers and songwriters in the world.
Makeba started out working for Jennifer Lopez and the band B2K back in 2002, but since then, she has worked with a whole host of big stars: Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Beyoncé, Kelis and the Sugababes, to name but a few. The first song she worked on with Rihanna was the T.I. Track, ‘Live Your Life’. Since then she has helped produce and write songs for four of Rihanna’s albums.
She revealed to
Us
magazine: ‘I was there from the beginning, from the week she got signed before she even had a record deal. I was one of the first people she went into the studio with. It is always a wild adventure with her. Rihanna travels a lot, and she loves to have her people with her. We listen to music, we watch videos, we drink champagne – it’s literally a party in the studio with her all of the time and it’s fun.
‘She’s very witty and definitely an easy person to work with. Although she’s an international superstar, we’ve had a relationship for so many years now that it’s like going in the studio with a cousin. It doesn’t feel like work at all.’
If Makeba had to pick a favourite song out of all the ones she has written or produced, she would have to choose ‘Live Your Life’ because of the fun she had in Italy recording it with T.I. and Rihanna, and because it did so
well in the charts. It managed to stay at the top of the charts for 10 weeks, which is a personal record for Makeba.
During the interview with
Us
magazine she talked about two special times she has shared with Rihanna. She admitted: ‘We were in Hawaii last year and we were on these paddle-boards. Everyone we were with was falling into the water and it was hilarious, but Rihanna was the only one that was able to keep her balance. We’re all soaking wet, drenched with water, hair all over the place and that really stood out to me because it was so much fun. Another time we were in London, working on the
Rated R
album, and there was a sushi spot we love that they shut down for us. Jay-Z and all his Rock Nation people were there and we turned that place into a club. It always just feels like family with her and her people.’