Chris Brown ‘Jealous’ As Rihanna Triumphs Over Haters and Players — Calvin Harris Shows Rihanna Love And Snubs ‘Hurtful’ Taylor Swift
Rihanna has had a rollercoaster few years, with rumors of breakdowns, personal troubles, and excessive partying swirling around. Fans worried when Rihanna delayed the release of her album Anti several times, and reports claimed that Rihanna was experiencing confusion about her creative direction, as well as turmoil in her personal life.
Billboard reported about the “long, rocky road” leading up to the release of Anti.Rihanna is said to have employed a number of engineers on a full-time basis at her own expense to work on her tracks and vocals, and yet she still struggled to get Anti out on time. Rihanna-watchers were especially puzzled because, prior to 2013, she had released an album every year like clockwork.
When Anti finally arrived in early 2016, Hollywood Life reported that Chris Brown was worried that Rihanna was headed for a Britney Spears-style meltdown.
Everyone remembers Britney Spears’ epic meltdown from 2007, and if Rihanna keeps going the way she’s been going, Chris Brown fears she’ll end up in the same situation, shaving her head and smashing car windows with an umbrella.
Rihanna Grammys Meltdown: Chris Brown Reportedly Fears She ll End Up Like Britney Spears – https://t.co/IxVgKKnsyn pic.twitter.com/vUbMwClL48
— Cindy Hamlet (@HamletCindy) February 18, 2016
A source told the publication that Rihanna was putting on a brave face in public but suffering deeply in private.
She’s depressed.
Even longtime Rihanna-fan Camille Paglia slammed Anti in its early days, calling the album an “absolute atrocity.” Thankfully, there were some high-profile supporters — Louis Tomlinson spoke out about his love of the album, directing a large flock of One Direction fans to Rihanna’s work, and an Idolator reviewer was very positive, calling Rihanna’s album “fearless” and “damn good” and comparing Rihanna to Madonna and Janet Jackson.
Sales for the album picked up after “Work,” a duet with Drake, gained radio circulation, boosted by not just one but two artistically-shot promotional videos.
The lyrics on the album hinted at Rihanna’s personal troubles. “I’m tired of being played like a violin,” the unlucky-in-love singer wails on “Love On The Brain.” Rihanna sings about her well-documented taste for bad boys and weed on the beautiful “James Joint,” which was dismissed by some critics, notably Camille Paglia, for lyrics judged trite and simple. “James Joint” makes up for this with its dream-like organ line and Rihanna’s sultry vocals.
Rihanna is amusing on “Desperado,” positioning herself as a bandido negotiating with a fellow traveler in the desert. “You ain’t leavin’ me, right?” Rihanna drawls, and we realize that the perpetually-single superstar is in fact sidling up to a new man — a man whom she hopes will not betray her this time. “There ain’t nothing here for me, but I don’t want to be alone,” Rihanna sings defeatedly at the end of the chorus.
We also get to hear a wailing Rihanna delivering a fraught booty call over beautiful strings on “Higher.” The track ends with the manic-sounding vocalist admitting that she has “a little bit too much to say,” and it calls to mind a billion regrettable answering machine messages left in drunken moments for uncaring former hookups by Rihanna’s millennial-age listeners.
The album is as unpredictable as Rihanna herself, and as inconsistent as critics say, but there are moments of real beauty and the production is consistently excellent. The lyrics are not as trite and unoriginal as some critics made out, and there are some strikingly original lines (“it’s always wet, a b**** never had to use lip gloss on it,” on “Sex With Me.”)
Now Daily Mail is reporting that Calvin Harris has thrown his considerable weight behind Rihanna, calling her a “superstar” and thanking her for her involvement in his track “This Is What You Came For,” which won Harris a VMA. Harris praised Rihanna in a number of interviews prior to the VMAs, stating that as a vocal stylist Rihanna is one-of-a-kind.
Calvin praised Rihanna but did not give a shout out to his ex Taylor Swift, who explosively revealed that she wrote the lyrics and melody for the track after she broke up with Harris. Harris shot back saying that he had written the music and beats, and the only reason he didn’t credit Taylor was because she initially requested that her involvement be kept private. Calvin Harris blasted Taylor’s move as “hurtful” and said it seemed like a deliberate attempt to make him look bad.
Hurtful to me at this point that her and her team would go so far out of their way to try and make ME look bad at this stage though.
Rihanna looking at this Calvin and Taylor drama. pic.twitter.com/uNwjnJjewA
— ? (@takeourshots) July 14, 2016
Calvin and Rihanna are riding high after their VMAs wins, with Rihanna also being honored with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. Rihanna’s new love interest Drake presented her with the award and declared his love for her, reportedly prompting Rihanna’s ex Chris Brown to lash out, according to Hollywood Life.
Chris Brown apparently called Drake’s display “corny” and laughed that he is trying too hard to be smooth. Rihanna’s ex laughed that Drake’s efforts will amount to nothing because Rihanna is not interested in him.
Drake is trying to be all smooth, but he’s failing because Rihanna doesn’t want him.
Other publications have insisted that Rihanna and Drake are now a serious item after having a friends-with-benefits arrangement for a long time.
Rihanna should watch out if she wants to avoid the players — IB Times previously reported that Drake is always “playing mind games” and can be a real jerk, but Rihanna cannot help getting sucked in by him again and again because he’s so charming.
Drake plays mind games and it’s sad because she’s falling for his BS all over again. She can’t help herself. She knows he’s a jerk at times and a player. She overlooks that because he’s charming, smooth and sexy. They’ve had wild sex in the past and no matter how much Rihanna says she’s looking for a long lasting commitment, she has urgent bedroom needs.
Is Chris Brown right that Rihanna should avoid Drake? Do you think Rihanna has a genuine supporter in Calvin Harris?
Wow, Drake is totally head-over-heels for Rihanna, and it's unlike anything he's felt before!https://t.co/bchSJhPv7Q
— HollywoodLife (@HollywoodLife) August 30, 2016
[Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NARAS]