Rated R (Rihanna album)

For the remix album, see Rated R: Remixed.

Rated R
A black-and-white image of a woman wearing a leather jacket. Her hair is side-shaved, wears dark lipstick and her eye is covered with her hand. In the upper right corner there is a metal 'R' sign, while in the bottom right corner the words 'Rated R' are written in white letters.
Studio album by
Rihanna
ReleasedNovember 20, 2009 (2009-11-20)
RecordedMarch – November 2009
Studiovarious (see recording locations)
Genre
Length51:49
Label
Producer
Rihanna chronology
Good Girl Gone Bad: The Remixes
(2009) 		Rated R
(2009) 		Rated R: Remixed
(2010)
Singles from Rated R
  1. "Russian Roulette"
    Released: October 26, 2009
  2. "Hard"
    Released: November 10, 2009
  3. "Wait Your Turn"
    Released: November 13, 2009
  4. "Rude Boy"
    Released: February 5, 2010
  5. "Rockstar 101"
    Released: May 18, 2010
  6. "Te Amo"
    Released: May 28, 2010

Rated R is the fourth studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on November 20, 2009, by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. Recording sessions for the album began in March 2009 and took place at recording studios throughout United States and Europe. Rihanna was the executive producer of the album alongside Antonio "L.A." Reid and The Carter Administration. It features additional production by various record producers, including Chase & Status, Stargate, The-Dream, Ne-Yo, and Brian Kennedy. The record features several vocalists and instrumentalists, including Young Jeezy, will.i.am, Justin Timberlake and Slash, who played the guitars in "Rockstar 101".

Musically, the album represents a departure from her previous effort Good Girl Gone Bad (2007), which contained up-tempo and ballad-oriented songs. Rated R is a rock-influenced pop, hip hop and R&B album; it features a foreboding and atmospheric tone in terms of musical and lyrical direction, and it incorporates elements of dubstep. It also explores other genres, such as dancehall in "Rude Boy" and Latin-infusion in "Te Amo". Rated R received positive reviews from music critics, who commended Rihanna's mature performance and called the album her most layered and heartfelt effort. The album debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 chart and sold 181,000 copies in its first week. It also attained top ten positions in over twelve other countries.

The album produced six singles, "Russian Roulette", "Wait Your Turn", "Hard", "Rude Boy", "Rockstar 101", and "Te Amo". "Russian Roulette" was released as the album's lead single and managed to reach top-ten in over 25 countries. "Hard" became her thirteenth US top-ten single, while "Rude Boy" topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks. "Te Amo" attained top-ten positions around Europe and reached number one in Brazil. To further promote the album, Rihanna embarked on her third worldwide concert tour Last Girl on Earth (2010–2011). Rated R is deemed as an important album in Rihanna's career and a groundwork inspiration for her follow-up releases.