If It's Lovin' that You Want

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"If It's Lovin' That You Want"
Single by Rihanna
from the album Music of the Sun
ReleasedAugust 16, 2005 (2005-08-16)
Recorded2005
StudioBassmint, The Loft (Bronxville, New York)
GenreReggae
Length3:28
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Poke & Tone
Rihanna singles chronology
"Pon de Replay"
(2005) 		"If It's Lovin' That You Want"
(2005) 		"SOS"
(2006)
Music video
"If It's Lovin' That You Want" on
YouTube

"If It's Lovin' That You Want" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna from her debut studio album, Music of the Sun (2005). It was written by Samuel Barnes, Scott La Rock, Makeba Riddick, Jean-Claude Oliver, Lawrence Parker, and produced by Poke & Tone. It was released on August 16, 2005, as the second and final single from the album. The lyrics revolve around "basically telling a guy, 'If it's lovin' that you want, you should make me your girl because I've got what you need".[1]

The song received mixed reviews from

jet skis
with her friends.

Background and composition

Rihanna — "If It's Lovin' that You Want"
A 20 second sample of "If It's Lovin' that You Want", of which critics both praised Rihanna's vocal range[2] but also criticized the singer for sounding "too light" and "thin".[3]
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Following the release and commercial success of "Pon de Replay", the lead single from Music of the Sun and Rihanna's debut in the music industry, "If It's Lovin' that You Want" was released as the second single from the album.[4] In an interview with MTV News, Rihanna explained the lyrical meaning behind the song, saying "The song is basically telling a guy, 'If it's lovin' that you want, you should make me your girl because I've got what you need".[1]

Musically, is a

Scott LaRock, Makeba Riddick, Jean-Claude Oliver, Lawrence Parker[8] and was produced by the latter two under their production name, Poke & Tone of Trackmasters." "If It's Lovin' that You Want" contains interpolations from the composition "The Bridge Is Over", as performed by Boogie Down Productions, and written by Scott La Rock and Lawrence Parker
.

Critical reception

The song was met with generally mixed reviews from music critics, who both praised and criticised Rihanna's vocal performance. Bill Lamb of

About.com wrote that although the singer provides "simple, pleasant vocals", her voice sounds "too light" and "thin".[3] Lamb continued to comment about the song, writing that although the song is "pleasurable" and "summery" to listen to and is not "offensive", it fails to re-capture the "killer hook of 'Pon de Replay'".[3] However, A. Vishnu of The Hindu had contrasting opinions with regard to Rihanna's vocal performance, writing the song further "exposes her versatility and vocal range".[2] A reviewer for Billboard praised the song's composition and beat, writing "['If It's Lovin' that You Want'] reinforces Rihanna's tropical reggae signature with an itchy hook that, albeit monotonous, cannot miss."[5] A reviewer of Take40 and Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times were brief in their reviews of "If It's Lovin' that You Want", with the former writing that the song is more "low-key" compared to Rihanna's previous release, "Pon de Replay",[9] and the latter simply writing that it is a "pretty good" song.[10]

Chart performance

"If It's Lovin' that You Want" peaked at number 36 on the

New Zealand Singles Chart on December 19, 2005.[12] During "If It's Lovin' that You Want"'s first four weeks of charting, it fluctuated in the top twenty, but managed to peak at number 9 in its fifth week for one week.[12] In total, the song spent 12 weeks on the chart.[12]

In Europe, "If It's Lovin' that You Want" debuted on the

UK Singles Chart at number 11 on December 10, 2005, and dropped out of the Official UK Top 40 after five weeks on the chart.[17][18]

Music video

Rihanna lying on a beach in the music video for "If It's Lovin' That You Want"

The music video for the song was shot on a stretch of beach on the coast of California in Malibu and directed by Marcus Raboy on August 9, 2005.[1] In an interview with MTV News, Rihanna spoke about the development of the shoot for the video, saying "The water was so cold ... but oh my gosh, we had so much fun ... We were bumping each other off the Jet Skis and just had a ball".[1] During the interview, the singer elaborated further upon the content of the video and the meaning behind it, saying "This video is about having fun, giving off the vibe of the Caribbean ... we did some mermaid-looking stuff down on the sand ...and I'm just [performing] to the camera as if it were my boyfriend. Now we're going to do [some scenes with] the Tiki torches. It's going to be incredible".[1] The dance routines in the video were choreographed by noted choreographer Fatima Robinson.[1]

The video begins with scenes of Rihanna dancing and walking along the beach and riding

jet ski's with her friends during the first chorus and continues into the first verse.[1] Halfway through the first verse, a new scene of the singer is introduced, where she is dancing on a platform with four other female dancers, wearing a "short, flowing white skirt and a cropped tee",[1] with the ocean as the backdrop behind her. During the second chorus, the previous scenes are intercut with each other, and continue into the second verse, where a new scene of the singer wearing a different outfit and lying on the beach, whilst also choreographing with some male extras. For the third chorus, which is repeated twice, another new scene of Rihanna is shown with four other female dancers who belly dance in the middle of a Tiki torch circle during the night.[1]

Track listing

Charts

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "If It's Lovin' that You Want"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[47] Silver 200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[48] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "If It's Lovin' that You Want"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States August 16, 2005 12-inch vinyl
[49]
August 30, 2005
Rhythmic contemporary radio
 [50]
September 13, 2005
Urban contemporary radio
 [51]
September 20, 2005 Contemporary hit radio [50]
United Kingdom November 28, 2005 CD Mercury [52]
Germany December 2, 2005 Maxi CD
Universal Music
 [53][54]
Australia January 23, 2006 [55]

References

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