Unfaithful (song)

"Unfaithful"
Song

"Unfaithful" is a R&B 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 many countries and charted strongly across the world.

Music video

File:UNFRIH03 vidcap.jpg

Rihanna in the music video.

The song is a take on a woman who is in a relationship with a man but is having an affair. 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.

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.

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

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", 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. However, when the 2007 nominations were released the song received none.

Track listing

• CD single (UK version)

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

• CD single Pt. 2

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

• Extras:

"Unfaithful" (Video) — 4:34

• Dutch CD single

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

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 14 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.

Charts

Chart (2006) Peak position Polish Singles Chart 1 Portugal Singles Chart 1 Swiss Singles Chart 1 Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 1 Australian ARIA Singles Chart 2 Czech IFPI Chart 2 German Singles Chart 2 Irish Singles Chart 2 Israeli Singles Chart 1 Norwegian Singles Chart 1 J-Wave Tokyo Hot 100 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 4

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 Finnish Singles Chart 13 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 Brazilian Singles Chart 68

Trivia

• This song's instrument ballad was featured at Hong Kong's TVB 2007 Miss Hong Kong.
• The song "Unfaithful" was first sung by Megan Rochell under the title "Murderer" but was later given to Rihanna.

External links

• Rihanna "Unfaithful" Music Video