There are definite perks to being a Rihanna fan…
You are treated to an entirely new album every year, your favorite starlet is constantly in the press (for mostly awful reasons), and her singles perform consistently well.
Unfortunately, most of the time I can’t stand Rihanna. Her whole “I didn’t ask to be a role model” shtick is tiring (who actually asks to be a role model? It’s part of the celebrity job sweetie), and there isn’t really anything that defines her music.
Instead she rushes to the latest hot producers to throw together a hodge-podge album that most people will buy three tracks from.
What really rings clear in latest single “Diamonds” is that there isn’t that one quality Rihanna’s music possesses that is uniquely her.
If she is supposed to be the “bad girl” of pop, shouldn’t she be making more hard songs? Not to say she can’t try new things, but there isn’t much personality or style to connect “SOS” to “Hard” to “Only Girl in the World” to “Diamonds.”
Instead, “Diamonds” is a clear Sia influenced track (mostly because she wrote it) that features the annoying repetition of “shine bright like a diamond.”
Sure, upon repeated listens the song may work its way into the world’s collective brain (something she has a knack for doing). But I can’t help thinking there’s a reason her album sales are consistently lower than her peers, and that a seventh album is a little late to still be figuring out an identity.
Grade: D+
