Unfaithful (song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Unfaithful"

Single by Rihanna
from the album A Girl Like Me
Released	June 29, 2006 (US) July 17, 2006 (UK)
Format	Digital download Digital maxi single 12" maxi single
Recorded	Battery Studios, New York, NY
Genre	Piano pop
Length	3:47
Label	Def Jam Records
Writer(s)	Ne-Yo, Tor Erik Hermansen, Rihanna, Mikkel S. Eriksen
Producer(s)	Stargate
Chart positions
#1 (Poland, Portugal, Switzerland) #2 (Australia, Germany, Ireland, UK) #3 (Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia) #6 (U.S.) #7 (France, Sweden)
Rihanna singles chronology
"SOS" (2006)	"Unfaithful" (2006)	"We Ride" (2006)

Unfaithful is a pop song written by Ne-Yo, Tor Erik Hermansen and Mikkel S. Eriksen for Rihanna's second album A Girl Like Me (2006). It was produced by Stargate and released as the album's second single in mid-2006. Unfaithful reached number one in seven countries and charted strongly across the world.

1 Song information
2 Critical reception
3 Track listing
4 Chart performance
5 Charts
6 External links
7 References

[edit] Song information

The song is a take on a woman who is in a relationship with a man but is seeing someone else on the side. The woman begins to realize that her partner is well aware that she is having an affair and it is hurting him badly, so she begins to regret her affair, stating "Every time I walk out the door, I see him die a little more inside" and "I don't wanna be a murderer"

Many radio stations, the majority of which are owned by Clear Channel, play an edited version of the song, in which the words "gun and" in the bridge are removed out of the part that says "I might as well take a gun and put it to his head. Get it over with..."

Rihanna said on August 26, 2006 that her chart-topping hit "Unfaithful” was birthed out of a relationship she outgrew when she was fourteen. She was quick to add though that the relationship was not physical.^[1]

The song and the video seemed to be based on the movie of the same name starring Diane Lane and Richard Gere.

[edit] Critical reception

Despite strong chart performance, the track has proven controversial among Rihanna's fans and critics, as it is the first ballad she released and quite a contrast to the R&B–reggae foundation of her previous work. Her vocal performance has also been the subject of criticism. Shaun Kitchener of UKMix states "There's no denying that her voice is strong",^[2] but Bill Lamb of About.com states, "Rihanna's voice is not particularly strong. There are points here at which it sounds thin and reedy", though due to the fact that this song would be a strong contender for the Grammy.^[3]

[edit] Track listing

CD single (UK version)

"Unfaithful" (Eriksen, M./Hermansen, T./Smith, S.) — 3:48
"SOS (Moto Blanco Remix)" (Bogart, E. Kidd/Cobb, E./Rotem, J.) — 5:14

CD single Pt. 2

"Unfaithful" (Eriksen, M./Hermansen, T./Smith, S.) — 3:48
"Unfaithful (Tony Moran Radio Edit)" (Eriksen, M./Hermansen, T./Smith, S.) — 3:10
"Unfaithful (Instrumental)" (Eriksen, M./Hermansen, T./Smith, S.)

Extras:

"Unfaithful" (Video) — 4:34

[edit] Chart performance

"Unfaithful" reached number six on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in July 2006. Its music video also performed well on MTV's Total Request Live peaking at No. 1 for 19 days. She performed the song on TRL on July 25 and the video was retired on July 27 (being at number 7 on the countdown). This was also her first video to retire on TRL.

The single was released July 17, 2006 in the UK and Australia where it is already available for downloads worldwide. It debuted at number sixteen in the UK singles chart on downloads alone one week prior to its physical release. The following week, July 24 it jumped to #2 on the UK Singles Chart after a physical release. That same day "Unfaithful" debuted at #2 on the ARIA Singles Chart. It reached #1 on the Eurochart 100 and stayed in the top 3 for several weeks.

[edit] Charts

Chart (2006)	Peak position
Polish Singles Chart	1
(PL) L.P.N.R HIT FM FM^[4]	1
Czech IFPI Chart	1
Portugal Singles Chart	1
Swiss Singles Chart	1
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles	1
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	2
German Singles Chart	1
Irish Singles Chart	2
Norwegian Singles Chart	1
Tokyo Singles Chart	1
UK Singles Chart	2
Lithuania Singles Chart	2
Belgian Singles Chart	2
Denmark Singles Chart	2
Austrian Singles Chart	3
Dutch Singles Chart	1
Hungarian Singles Chart	3
New Zealand Singles Chart	3
United World Chart	1

Chart (2006)	Peak position
Armenia Singles Chart	3
Luxembourg Singles Chart	3
Slovakia Singles Chart	4
Swedish Singles Chart	6
Russia Singles Chart	1
Venezuela Singles Chart	1
French Singles Chart	7
Aruba Singles Chart	5
South Africa Singles Chart	6
Canadian BDS Airplay Chart	1
Romania Singles Chart	2
Italian Singles Chart	14
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	1
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream	2
U.S. Billboard Pop 100	2
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	6
U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40	4
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	15
U.S. Billboard Hot Ringtones	1

Preceded by "Słowa" by Gosia Andrzejewicz	Poland Singles Chart number-one single September 18, 2006	Succeeded by "Słowa" by Gosia Andrzejewicz