RiRi is back... and working her way to number 1

It has been 4 years since Rihanna's last album 'Unapologetic' was released which featured the hit number one singles "Diamonds" and "Stay". Since then, Rihanna has been pretty quiet in the world of music and fans questioned whether or not she would bring out another album and when this would be.

On the 28th January, the world was surprised to discover Rihanna's album had been leaked online on the music website 'Tidal' for free. The album now stands strong on the #1 spot on iTunes where it was released a day later. The Deluxe album features a total of 16 songs, where as the regular edition has 13.

The album is anything but similar to her previous. Rihanna has most certainly changed her style from previous pop chick to primarily R&B. New York Times stated "Rihanna's 'Anti' is the record you make when you don't need to sell records".

In addition to the fact that her style on this album is very different to her previous, her voice sounds almost unfamiliar on some tracks also. On the track "Love On The Brain" her voice has some resemblance to Paloma Faith in parts. Similarly, "Goodnight Gotham" has a similar style to that of a Florence and the Machine track.

However despite the change in style, the album is actually very catchy and a great listen. It feels as though in the past 4 years since her last album, she has worked on discovering who she is as an artist, and this album shows us that.

Her track "Work" featuring Drake which was released days previous to the album stormed onto the charts just 24 hours after being released. Under 2 weeks after it's release, it has pushed itself up to #7 on the iTunes charts.

The question is, is this Rihanna's best album yet? Is it packed with number one singles as previous albums have been? Unfortunately I don't think so. However, still a brilliant album if you're into the whole Kanye West feel.

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