American singer Rihanna has been creeping up the TellYouGov leaderboard in recent days, with her volume score rising 34 points to 58, and her sentiment score dropping down several points to a disappointing -2, suggesting an overall increase in negative feelings towards the star.
Many of the comments, or ‘tygs’, focus on the singer’s recent duet with rap star Eminem. Love the Way You Lie entered the UK charts at number 7 at the beginning of July and is currently number two in the singles chart. The song, which was recorded by Eminem in just two days, is about domestic violence, and Rihanna, who was assaulted by ex-partner Chris Brown, reportedly agreed to do the vocals because she feels the emotional lyrics will help raise awareness of the problem. "It was something that needed to be done," she said.
Rihanna, who is from Barbados, first came to public attention following the release of her debut single Pon de Replay in 2005. She has since enjoyed almost continous success, with the subsequent release of singles Take a Bow, Unfaithful and the widely-played track Umbrella. Her single Rude Boy, from her most recent album (Rated R) and featuring obviously sexual lyrics, peaked at number one in the UK.
Cool collaboration
Despite the overall negative sentiment score for the artist herself, TellYouGov users, or ‘tyggers’, have been generally positive about new single Love the Way You Lie, with some applauding the ‘excellent collaboration’ and others clearly saying they ‘love her new song with Eminem’, which many felt would ‘never work [...] but it does’. Another posted ‘[Rihanna’s] duet with Eminem is one of the best I've heard in a long time’.
The star has received a number of positive tygs about her music in general, with tyggers commenting on her ‘amazing voice’ and ‘deep emotions in her songs’. Others believe her to be ‘very talented’, while another tygger was especially complimentary, calling her ‘amazing in every way’.
There have also been the inevitable responses to the singer’s increasingly ‘sexy’ image – one called her the ‘fittest woman alive’, while another simply noted that she is ‘looking better and better each day’.
Rated R?
However, Rihanna’s ‘sexy’ reputation has also been the target of a number of negative tygs, which has tipped the sentiment score balance into the early minus figures. Many are concerned that she is too sexualised to be a role model for young girls, and it seems many ‘find her music too suggestive and feel she sets a bad example for impressionable young girls’. Another complained that the singer’s lyrics are ‘too rude to be played on music channels and by radio companies during the day’ and said that they were ‘not impressed’. Some equally sceptical tyggers just do not seem to like the sound of the singer’s voice, which, while praised by many, was called ‘annoying’, ‘nasaly’ and ‘whiny’. The simple dismissal [she] ‘can’t sing’ also served to sour the score.
In spite of this, though, Rihanna’s sentiment score has actually risen 13 points in the past 24 hours, and as her volume score remains the highest it has been for two weeks, it looks like many will be pleading Please Don’t Stop the Music for some time yet.
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