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ABitofPopMusic:
Rihanna ends the long wait with the release of ?Work?
Oh, Rihanna, where have you been? You know how people start to expect bigger things the longer you make them wait, right? Rihanna came back early in 2015 with the release of the disappointing, but still successful ?4/5 Seconds?. ?Bitch Better Have My Money? was next and did not really set the charts on fire. ?American Oxygen? followed as some sort of promo single, but then things got rather quiet. The release of Anti was announced and endless countdowns followed and today the new single ?Work?, a collaboration with Drake, finally saw the light of day. Was it worth the wait?
To be short and to the point, no. We all know with pop music, there is a fine line between creating a track that is really catchy and one that is simply annoying. Rihanna?s ?Work? is one that fits in the last category unfortunately. I admire how she writes her own singles these days and I would love to say that she keeps on putting out hit worthy tunes, but this just isn?t as strong as some of her previous material. The repetition of ?work, work work? (or ?wa wa wa?) and ?dirt, dirt, dirt? just isn?t a very good chorus. To end on a positive note, this type of song with the laidback vibe fits her voice perfectly so she actually sounds a lot better than on ?4/5 Seconds? for example. Drake delivers a solid verse with the lovely lyric ?even if you had a twin I would still choose you?. Shame the repetitions get on the nerves halfway through and the hook just isn?t exciting enough. Having said that, this will still be a hit.
A couple snippets:
::Idolator- ?a charming, if also somewhat sparse, affair,? adding, ?after this long without Rihanna in our lives, we were all likely expecting her to return with a colossal bang. Alas, ?Work? just feels a bit like a slight pop. Maybe it?s a grower??
:: Spin echoed our ambivalence, writing ?The song is? fine. It?s upbeat and fun and swishes about in its own glory. Drake?s verse is? also fine, but it?s really the singer who makes the lackadaisical song gel.?
:: The Guardian calls it a ?glossy, modernist?straightforward song about facing the labours of work before play, but Rihanna?s vocals sound a little more disappointed and dejected.?
:: Popcrush was underwhelmed by the ?meandering dancehall mumble-fest.? ?This is what we?ve been unlocking Samsung-$ponsored doors on our mobile phones and collecting mystery keys from strangers for over the past few months? RIH-lly? Oh, no.?
