Umbrella (song)

"Umbrella"
Song

"Umbrella" is the first single released from Rihanna’s third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad. It features American rapper and Record label CEO Jay-Z, who - along with Terius "The Dream" Nash and Christopher Stewart - wrote the song.

The single topped the charts all over the world, remaining at #1 in the USA for 7 weeks and the United Kingdom for 10 weeks, coincidently at the same time as one of the UK's wettest summers on record. "Umbrella" is currently the biggest-selling song of 2007.

Background and single release

According to the songwriters The-Dream, "Umbrella" was actually offered to Mary J. Blige and Britney Spears, before being recorded by Rihanna.

The beat from "Umbrella" is called Vintage Funk Kit 03 and is a loop taken from Apple's GarageBand, a musical production application.

In many parts of the United States, the single was released on March 28, 2007, although its official release date was the following day. The song premiered on the New York radio station Hot 97 and on her official website on March 29 at 5:00pm EST.

"Umbrella" premiered on UK radio station BBC Radio 1 on the Scott Mills show. It was released digitally in Britain on May 14, 2007, with the physical CD release following exactly two weeks later, and one week before the release of the album.

Many major radio stations across the United States have played versions of the song that either shortened or completely removed Jay-Z's rap. On the issue dated April 28, 2007, "Umbrella" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #91. It eventually went on to spend seven weeks at number-one and is Rihanna’s fifth Top 10 Hot 100 single in under two years.

Promotion

Rihanna made formal appearances all over the United Kingdom. She also performed three of her new songs in Preston at the BBC Radio One One Big Weekend event. At a mini/promotional concert, she performed "Umbrella", "Shut Up and Drive" and "Breakin' Dishes". Rihanna also performed "Umbrella" at the MTV Movie Awards 2007. In Germany, she performed the track exclusively at Viva Live, and the 42nd edition of the highly popular chart show The Dome. "Umbrella" was also performed live on Live Earth, GMTV, Loose Women, Blue Peter, Kiss Concert 2007, Sprint Concert, Zoopotia Show, Stripped Show, Canadian Idol, 106 & Park and The View.

Music video

The music video was shot on April 13, 2007, and was directed by Chris Applebaum. It premiered at 10:00a.m. on April 26, 2007 at http://www.thisisrihanna.com.

Chart performance

"Umbrella" spent seven weeks at #1 in the United States and dominated radio airplay for the first half of the summer. On the issue dated June 9, 2007, "Umbrella" topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart after a jump of 40 places, from #41 to number-one; the track was downloaded a total of 277,000 times in the United States alone, the highest debut-week sum since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking downloads in 2003. "Umbrella" was Rihanna’s second number-one single (after "SOS"), and both songs have records for two of the biggest jumps to number-one on the Hot 100 chart. At the same time, the song spent a month at number-one in Canada, where it became the first song to top the new Canadian Hot 100 chart.

"Umbrella" set a record on the iTunes Music Store, with the biggest debut in iTunes' six-year history. According to the download site, it beat a record previously held by Shakira and Wyclef Jean’s "Hips Don't Lie". As a digital single, "Umbrella" topped the iTunes Store singles chart in more than 16 different countries.

As well as topping the UK charts, "Umbrella" was a massive success throughout Europe, also reaching #1 in Ireland, Spain, Poland, Sweden, Belgium, Austria, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Germany and Spain.

"Umbrella" became the first song by a female artist to debut at number-one on the official UK Singles Chart based solely on download sales. The song entered the charts at the top on May 20, 2007, selling 34,164 downloads that week. This also made Rihanna achieve her first UK number-one single. "Umbrella" also broke the UK record for the most consecutive weeks at number one in the 21st century, staying atop for 10 weeks, beating Gnarls Barkley’s 2006 hit, "Crazy", which spent nine weeks at number-one. Rihanna also became only the seventh artist in UK history to score a tenth week at the top of the chart. "Umbrella" is also the longest-running UK chart-topper since "Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet in 1994, which spent 15 weeks at the top. Overall sales of "Umbrella" (as of November 2007), are just over 473,000, being certified Gold by the BPI.

In Australia, the single entered the ARIA Singles Chart at #1 and remained there for six weeks, becoming Rihanna’s second number-one single there (after "SOS"). It debuted at number-one on the ARIA Urban Chart and remained there for four weeks. While the song was at the top of the Urban Charts, two other songs ("SOS" and "Unfaithful") - from her previous album - were also on the chart.

"Umbrella" reached number-one on the United World Chart and remained there for 10 consecutive weeks. The single has managed to sell over 7.5 million units. It is so far 2007's second most successful song on the United World Chart getting beaten by Nelly Furtado's "Say It Right" with 7.6 million units sold.

In Latin America, "Umbrella" debuted at #39 in the Latin America Top 40, and in its gaining points, is currently peaking at #2. The single has become Rihanna’s biggest hit in the region, her only Top 10 single and has giving her the honor of being the only Barbadian artist to reach the Top 10. In Paraguay and Ecuador, "Umbrella" reached number-one becoming Rihanna’s biggest hit in both of these countries.

In Argentina, "Umbrella" became Rihanna's breakthrough and her only hit song, peaking so far at #2.

In Spain, five weeks after "Umbrella's" debut, the song reached the top spot in "Los 40 principales" for 5 weeks. So far regarded as the country's most important chart. It also reached number-one on the Download Chart for 7 consecutive weeks, and is certified 6x Platinum with 120,000 downloads. It has been receiving heavy airplay on other radio stations like Europa FM, Radio Flaixbac, Radio Marina, Euskatea Radio and others. "Umbrella" has proven to be one of the strongest international single releases in Spain in 2007 along with "How To Save A Life" by The Fray and "All Good Things (Come To An End)" by Nelly Furtado.

In Romania, "Umbrella" took the top position, beating Akon’s "Don't Matter". The following week, Akon returned to number-one, only to be beaten again by "Umbrella" the week after that. "Umbrella" has reached the top spot in RT100 three times, and always against "Don't Matter".

In Ireland, the song entered the chart at #8 before climbing to number-one on download sales alone. Rihanna is currently the only female artist to achieve this in Ireland. "Umbrella" stayed at #1 in Ireland for eight weeks, making it the longest serving chart-topper of 2007 there.

According to Radio and Records, "Umbrella" is currently the most-listened-to Urban song.

Charts

Chart (2007)	Peak position
ARC Weekly Top 40	1
Argentina Top 40	2
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	1
Ö3 Austria Top 40	1
Belgian Ultratop 50 Chart	1
Brazilian Hot 100	1
Canadian Hot 100	1
Chile Top 40 Singles	5
Dutch Top 40 Singles Chart	2
Ecuadorian Airplay Chart	1
Euro 200	1
Finnish Singles Top 20	2
French Top 100	6
European Singles Chart	1
German Singles Chart	1
Greek Singles Chart	4
Irish Singles Chart	1 (8 wks)

Chart (2007)	Peak position
Italian Singles Chart	1
Latin America Top40	2
México Top 100 Singles Chart	8
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart	1
Norwegian Singles Chart	1
Paraguay Airplay Chart	1
Philippines MYX Hit Chart	14
Poland Airplay Chart	1
Portuguese Airplay Chart	1
Spain's "Los 40 Principales"	1
Swedish Singles Chart	2
UK Singles Chart	1 (10 wks)
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1 (7 wks)
U.S. Billboard Pop 100	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	1
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	4
United World Chart	1 (10 wks)

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Remixes

Chris Brown wrote an answer song titled "Cinderella" with the same melody but different lyrics, and was broadcast to radio stations on June 12, 2007. Brown's verse replaces Rihanna’s second verse, although the third verse remains the same. His chorus, however, differs from Rihanna's; instead of: "You can stand under my umbrella", he sings: "You can be my Cinderella". The track is officially titled "Cinderella Under the Umbrella".

Other remixes

• Travis Barker Remix
• Remix featuring Lil Mama
• Dancehall Remix featuring Elephant Man
• Seamus Haji and Paul Emanuel Remix

Cover versions

• Indie singer-songwriter Scott Simons released a version of "Umbrella" on Myspace and his website which soon became an internet favorite and received radio play on several stations in the U.S. and overseas.

• Upcoming singer Marié Digby released an acoustic version of "Umbrella" through iTunes under Hollywood Records on August 3, 2007. The single was previously released on the Los Angeles based radio station STAR 98.7 as a 'You Oughta Hear' feature. Canadian ska punk band illScarlett and Terra Naomi (a singer who was discovered on YouTube), have also recorded acoustic versions.

• Pop singer and actress Mandy Moore performed her own version of the song in a slower, more ballad-like arrangement. Moore stated that while she is not the biggest fan of pop music, "...you just can't deny how melodic this song is." John West has also covered the song with acoustic guitars and a cello, providing a dramatic melodic version that is reminiscent in style to John Mayer.

• During a show on their Projekt Revolution tour, My Chemical Romance did a brief cover of the chorus. Ross Copperman (an American singer), performed a cover of "Umbrella", using only his voice and a piano. Additionally, "Umbrella" has been covered by Biffy Clyro during an appearance on BBC Radio One's Live Lounge.

• Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls, despite her blog entries questioning the quality of the song, has covered "Umbrella" numerous times live, aided by a beatboxer and mandolin.

• The Italian pop-punk band Vanilla Sky recorded "Umbrella" for an exclusive on their MySpace in September 2007, receiving over 30,000 plays in its first week online. The music video has also been shown on VH1e.

• Indie pop group Tegan and Sara performed a cover of the song during shows in Kelowna, British Columbia, Calgary, Alberta, London, Ontario, Tucson, Arizona, and Boulder, Colorado.

• Chris Brown has remixed the song into "cinderella" which is almost the same as the original, but with a chorus of "will you be my cinderella?"

• Swedish metal band Lillasyster made a hard metal version of Umbrella and also a video for their version of the song under Gain Music Entertainment. This version of the song has received a lot of attention in Sweden, Norway, Germany and even in Thailand, and went on Swedish national radio in September 2007 and received radio play on several stations in Sweden. The video is due to be released on October 10th on Myspace, Lillasyster's website and MTV and Swedish MTV did a piece on the making of the video which was aired October 3 and October 7.

• In the fourth series of British talent show The X Factor, girl group Hope performed a slower version of "Umbrella" on October 20, 2007, for the first live show.

• British pop band, McFly have also recently covered "Umbrella" to be released on their latest single.

• Natalie Gauci also performed "Umbrella" on Australian Idol Top 6. During the show, the contestants sang two songs, one chosen by themselves and the other by the judges. Gauci chose to sing an acoustic version of "Umbrella", to the delight of not only the crowd, but also the judges. She received a 'touchdown' from Mark Holden.

• Post Hardcore band Articuno covered "Umbrella" at an October 2007 concert.

• "Umbrella" has also been the attack of numerous satirists. Comedy band Exactly Midnight parodied the song, changing it to talk about Salmonella.

• Starsailor covered the song while playing their song "Fidelity" on their Latin American tour.

• Daniel McPhillips covered the song with his band The Bensons on XFM.

• Plain White T's has also done a cover version of the song

Impact of weather

The song's reign at number-one in Britain happened when the country was hit by extreme rainfall and flooding, which led some people to jokingly suggest the two events were related, calling it the "Rihanna Curse". A similar situation occurred in New Zealand where the song hit number-one in the early summer of 2007 as the country was experiencing some of the worst storms in history. [10] Interestingly, in Greece, "Umbrella" was released at a time when people were suffering through a summer of several major heatwaves topping 47C/117F, and the worst forest fires of modern history, killing 60 people. When the song peaked at #4 in the Greek singles chart in October 2007 (being one of the most successful international releases), the country began experiencing a rainy spell. It gained high airplay on radio, proving that it was one of the most successful international releases there (along with Nelly Furtado's "Say It Right"). In Spain, where it topped the downloads chart for 7 consecutive weeks and Los40 Principales chart for 4 weeks, while it entered the top 10 downloads, and while topping them both, that was in August, September and the beginning of October, has been one of the wettest summers in decades, and the coldest August from the beginning of the 20th century.

References

External links

• Chris Applebaum (Umbrella’s Director) on MySpace
• "Umbrella" lyrics on LyricWiki
• "Umbrella video" on YouTube