…NEXT!

New Rihanna songs are like black-hued buses these days. You wait – well you don’t actually have to wait that long the rate she releases material – for one and two come along at once. No sooner has lead single ‘Russian Roulette’ been premiered, then the second single, ‘Wait Your Turn (The Wait Is Ova)’ leaks.

Anyone still hankering for the Rihanna of old – all baggy jeans and the desire to hear a song played louder – should probably learn to deal with the new look Rihanna pretty quickly (that’s a picture of the new album cover below). Gone is the softness and girl-next-door prettiness and in comes the razor-sharp haircut, jagged make-up and lots and lots of black. This track is another moody, mid-paced stomper, but has a certain edginess that ‘Russian Roulette’ lacks.

You get the feeling she could do a song entitled ‘I love Salt & Vinegar crisps’ and she’d still be asked if it was about Chris Brown. “Yes, you say it’s about crisps, but why salt and vinegar? Isn’t Chris Brown allergic to vinegar? Are you acting out some kind of revenge attack? It’s all incredibly subtle”. Possibly.

Eh? Eh? Eh?

It’s normal that big American superstars are awarded about six months of pre-release buzz in order to get everyone’s attention before dropping a ridiculously catchy, precision-tooled ‘joint’ all up in our collective grills. Weirdly, Rihanna has suddenly and unexpectedly announced that she’ll release her new album this November (it’s called Rated R, but isn’t a cover of the entire Queens of the Stone Age album of the same name).

This might have been preferable, however, given that the comeback single is so, well, ‘meh’. Her label have obviously decided that in the crowded Christmas market, what we really need is a Ne-yo-produced, mid-paced plodder all about shooting yourself in the head as part of some bizarre game of chance. Imagine doing THAT around the dinner table this year instead of pulling a cracker.

PLOT SPOILER: She shoots herself at the end.

Running up that hill

It’s the gift that keeps on giving.

Jay-Z’s forthcoming new album, The Blueprint III, surely has no more secrets to reveal come release time? So far, we’ve had the one that mentioned Noel Gallagher, the one about Obama, that other one with Santigold on it and finally the one dissing Autotune. Well, none of these are the official first single, that comes in the shape of ‘Run This Town’, which features Rihanna on the chorus and Kanye West rapping sans Autotune.

It’s alright. The beat has that marching-band motif that ‘Jesus Walks’ has, and hearing a guitar over the top is a nice surprise, but Jay-Z sounds a bit bored and Kanye West says the following; “she got an ass that will swallow up a g-string, and up top two bee stings”. Rihanna is the real star of the show, delivering the chorus in that kind of dead-eyed way she’s perfected.

There are more surprises on the album of course – MGMT also make an appearance!