Predictive Questions

URLs: "Rhianna's 'Umbrella' was the perfect storm that almost didn't happen"


Summary: Rhianna's song "Umbrella" was probably the most popular song of the year in the United States and definitely at CIS 339. According to this article, however, it was almost never made. The song was originally written for Britney Spears, but because of the personal issues with which she was dealing it didn't work out. Then the song almost went to Mary J Blige, but Rhianna's people were more persistent. According to the article, "Two days after "Umbrella" was created, Rihanna was in a Los Angeles studio laying down her vocals. Stewart said he was still unsure whether Rihanna was the right choice for the song, but when the singer nailed the now famous "ella" refrain, he knew they were all onto something." The rest, as they say, is history.


Predictive Questions I asked before reading the article:
1. Who as Rhianna before "Umbrella" came out?

2. Why did "Umbrella" almost not happen?

3. What was Jay-Z's role in making the song.


I found the answers to all of these questions in the article that I read. I learned that Rhianna was a lesser known pop artist whose future as a star was uncertain before "Umbrella" made her world famous. The song wasn't originally written for her, but fate was looking her way that year. Britney was distracted by a personal meltdown and Mary J Blige was too caught-up in Grammy fever to close in on the gold gem of 2007. Jay-Z became involved in the production process AFTER Rhianna had recorded her vocals. They were never actually together in the recording studio. He actually recorded two different versions of his rap because after hearing the first cut of the track he wanted to make his lyrics tie-in more closely with the rest of the song.