Put away all the leather and black, because Rihanna is back in the club with the strobe lights on, fist pumping the night away. Her new single, "Only Girl (In the World)," returns the Bajan pop star to the dance pop territory she ruled with songs like "S.O.S." and "Please Don't Stop The Music." The Stargate-produced track will certainly get bodies sweaty and feet moving, but there's something faceless about this Euro-pop jam.
On her previous lead singles, "Umbrella" and "Russian Roulette," Rihanna was setting the trends or experimenting with new sounds and styles. But "Only Girl" is following the dance trend, not reinventing it or doing anything unexpected with it. In fact, this song sounds like it could just as easily be a Taio Cruz song, with a few lyrical changes here and there.
That's not to say the song doesn't deliver as an upbeat dance floor-filler meant to divorce Rihanna from the dark imagery she draped herself in for Rated R. Despite what some might say, one of Rihanna's biggest assets is her unique voice, and on "Only Girl" she adds her mark to the track with classic Rihanna grunts, growls and whispers. Her voice is almost feline-like as she slinkily purrs on the verses: "Want you to take me like a thief in the night, Hold me like a pillow, make me feel right." Rihanna wants to be your teddy bear, don't disappoint.
"Only Girl" is purposefully light-hearted and care-free, meant for easy consumption and minimal thought processing. Which is fine; a mindless tune here and there never hurt anybody. But hopefully there are more daring and experimental tracks in store for us on the new album. "Only Girl" is a bag of Cheeto Puffs: Tasty but not very filling. Let's just hope there are some meat and potatoes on the back burner.
