Last night EW threw its annual party for its EW 100 issue — on stands today! — at the cavernous Gotham Hall in Manhattan. I went for one reason: to watch Rihanna perform "Umbrella" in the flesh.
Pop music ain’t my beat at EW. I grew up on classical, then switched to your typical twenty-something white-dude indie rock sometime around college. Then, out at a party one June evening back in 2003, while drunk, I heard Beyonce’s "Crazy in Love" for the first time. Ever since, I’ve been moderately obsessed with the idea of the summer song — i.e., the infectious and inescapable pop tune will define and even mythologize the year’s three or four best months for sunshine, drinking, yakking, sweating, and all that rigmarole.
And now "Umbrella," according to my music-o-meter, is the truest, best summer song since "Crazy in Love." 2004? We heard "Yeah," by Usher, pretty good, but only that. (And since tainted forever by Hitch.) 2005? "Hollaback Girl" will be the first song I dance to at my wedding, I love that stupid ditty so much. But it came out in the spring. Disqualified. And last summer was a disaster. Timing is everything in a summer song, and no tune last year got it right. "Crazy" and "Sexy Back" were formidable, but they came out too late into the season, after the annoying "Promiscuous" had been anointed the S.S. by default. What a mess. It’s a big relief — given that I was starting to wonder if "Crazy in Love" was a fluke and I had it all wrong about the summer song — that "Umbrella" arrived perfectly timed to take over the season, and is awesome. And after the jump, "Rihanna" will sing it to us at the EW 100 party!
She hit the stage around 10:40, hair falling in two bewitching fronds down the sides of her face, and wearing that black leather-y sleeveless slingy top that she cavorts in at the beginning and end of the wonderful "Umbrella" video. In the clip, she sports two fingerless black gloves; last night she only had on one — very M.J. of her (decipher that as you will). If she walked on the tips of her toes, ballerina-style, like she also does in the video, I was standing too far back to see it. Her set was six songs long. I was only vaguely familiar with a few of the first five numbers, because one of the tenets of summer song-ery is that the summer song is a single, and knowing all the other songs on the album (or, in some cases, even other songs by the same artist) is dangerous, because it might only dilute the power of the summer single. So let’s just skip to the closer.
We were a few bars into "Umbrella" — it was certainly well after Rihanna asked us all to get the hands in the air — before I even realized, Hey, it’s on. The studio version begins with percussion and Jay-Z; the live version began with synth noise, out of which the familiar drumming quickly popped through. Jay-Z was sadly not in attendance, but his curiously short intro was not particularly missed — the song does just fine without it. "Umbrella" has great build; the chorus gets a little bit catchier each time Rihanna runs through it in the song, until we get to that great moment in the last third where she takes everything down a notch (I believe, in my limited pop-musical know-how, that this section might be called "the bridge"). She slow-jams for awhile, and then the sound gets bigger and bigger, until we burst back into the chorus again. This is the irresistible part of the video where suddenly she’s dancing (Madonna-style, circa "Vogue") in a shower of yellow sparks with an umbrella and a crew of hip-hop Gene Kellys, and this was the irresistible part in the live performance where the guitars and her voice got huge, her four backup dancers performed neat acrobatic moves with their prop umbrellas, and the song smashed its stamp on all us party people’s summers, 2007, forever. Rihanna is an amazing performer, and once "Umbrella" has loosed its grip on me I will go listen to everything else she’s ever done.
What do you think? Is "Umbrella’s this year’s summer song, and is it the best summer song since "Crazy in Love" or what? (Just don’t bring up "LoveStoned"; I’ve been listening to that song off the album for the past year; it’s DQ’ed.)
I WAS going to bring up “LoveStoned” because, well, the song is amazing, is totally a summer song, and I’ve been waiting for its release since “FutureSex” dropped last year.
Anyway, I loathed Rhianna and her nasally non-voice until “Umbrella”; I’m always willing to retract my dismissals if an artist steps it up and/or can hook me, and she totally has. My current pick for song of the summer is not “Umbrella”, but track 3, “Don’t Stop the Music” from the same album. I’m addicted. (Hell, I’m actually hooked on the whole damn album, particularly the first five songs. Damn, she got me.)
I thought Promiscuous was more of a summer song than Umbrella is today. The whole Rihanna album is more of a summer cd.
DAAANG. EW threw a party and none of us got invited? Talk about a ‘dis! There wasn’t even a “trivia” section where readers could win tickets, no notice from Susan Karish so front row members could go, nothing. What’s with the lack of love, EW? Did the obsessive readers of the week get to go? Anyone?
Whenever it came out, Crazy qualified for last summer’s track. We talked with my main man Mike Slezak about that song for a few dayz it seemed.
As for Hollaback girl, it may have come out in Spring, but it was still a summer jam that was everywhere. I’ve got to disagree with the qualification criteria.
Finally, wasn’t “Stand by me” a big summer hit in the 80′s? The song was originally from the 60′s but got a new lease on life. Does it also get the DQ? Seems odd to me to attach to many rules to what’s a true “feel good hit of the summer” (in quotes because it’s also a the name of a kikazz song by Queens of the Stone age).
this song in like an aughts version of the hollies’ “bus stop.” i guess i can get behind it.
I DON’T CARE WHAT ANYONE SAYS HER PERFROMANCES ARE STIFF AND TERRIBLE AND I KNOW THIS FIRST HAND. WHOEVER WROTE THIS BUT HAVE BEEN DEAF. HER VOICE IS SO HARD TO TAKE. SHE’S ALL PACKAGE WITH NO INSIDES. BEYONCE GAVE US CRAZY IN LOVE AND WHEN SHE PEFORMED THAT SONG SHE BROUGHT IT. I’M SORRY BUT I DID NOT GET THE SAME FEELING LAST NIGHT. SUMMER ANTHEM IS BETWEEN AKON OR BEYONCE CRAZY IN LOVE ALMOST NOTHING CAN TOP THAT.
I’ve been listening to the version of Umbrella without Jay-Z for a month or more now. Much better without him. And Ellipsian, I totally agree, “Don’t Stop the Music” is one of the hottest songs I’ve heard all year. How she managed to FINALLY pull off such a good CD (not just one popular single) is beyond me, but, I’m loving it!
“Don’t Stop The Music” would be a HUGE summer hit. Who are the people resposible for picking singles. Umbrella is a nice song, but didn’t it come out a long time ago? It’s more like a spring song. Once people hear the aforementioned “DSTM” they will jump on the Rihanna bandwagon fo’ shizzy.
I think peoples’ expectations of pop singers are way to high. It’s POP music for heaven’s sake…!
I thought EW dubbed “Ain’t No Other Man” last year’s “Crazy in Love.”
I think Rihanna’s “Breakin’ Dishes” is THE Sumer Song!
“Umbrella” can be the song of the summer until Rihanna releases “Shut Up and Drive.” And by the way, “Yeah!” came out in December 2003, so there’s no way it was the song of the summer of 2004.
Dear Gregory Kirschling, the Summer Song of 2005 is none other than WE BELONG TOGETHER by MARIAH CAREY! For the simple reason that it was the most played song of the summer! Duh! So what if it is a ballad?! You EW guys really hate Mariah because she’s so successful and talented! Ugh!
I was gonna say Ellipsian I was not a fan of Rihanna. I liked SOS, but hated Unfaithful. Then I heard Umbrella loved it. Copped the album, and you’re right the first five songs are awesome. Pick it up people.
i guess summer song’s aren’t usually performed by real singers… she isn’t the best live, far from it, actually. I really like the album, but also understand that it’s not meant to be heard live. As opposed to a Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson or Pink album. Is it not SAD that none of those three women have a “summer song”?…ah well, I love the album, love “umbrella” and life goes on.
If radio dj’s had brains, they would make “Never Again” song of the summer. But instead I have to hear that helium inhaling, teen dry- humping, fan throwing Akon on every station.
monee, what the heck are you talking about?!?! it’s called ‘since u been gone’, and i also agree with the response post to you, ‘never again’ should DEFINITELY be this year’s summer song. blogger, greg k, has admitted that he knows not much about pop music. what a doof. and the rest of the people who like rihanna and her um brella ella ella hella crapola ‘song’. she’s stealing your money right in front of your eyes as she plays dress up. sheesh. might as well go to a strip show if you like slutts lip synching and dancing like a hula to a taped track. you people disgust me.