Only Girl (In the World)

"Only Girl (In the World)" is a song performed by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, taken from her fifth studio album, Loud (2010). Written by Crystal Johnson, Mikkel S. Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen from the Norwegian production team Stargate and Sandy Vee, with the latter two also handling production, the song was released from September 10, 2010, as the lead single from Loud.

It is an up-tempo dominant dance-pop song which incorporates elements of Europop in its production and beats. Critical reception of the song has been largely positive, especially towards the strong chorus and musical production. Critics also complimented the choice of song and vocal strength of Rihanna. "Only Girl (In the World)" topped most of the main charts around the world and was particularly successful in New Zealand and Australia, where it was respectively certified platinum and four times platinum. The single topped the US Billboard Hot 100, giving Rihanna her ninth number one on the Hot 100.

An accompanying music video for the song was filmed by regular collaborator Anthony Mandler and uses simplistic theme mainly focusing on Rihanna with an array of artistic scenery and props. The dominant scenes feature Rihanna frolicking on a hillside. The single was performed live around the world including on series seven of The X Factor in the United Kingdom and at the 2010 American Music Awards in Los Angeles. The song won a Grammy Award in the Best Dance Recording category at 53rd Grammy Awards.

Composition
"Only Girl (In the World)" is an up-tempo dominant dance-pop song that incorporates elements of eurodance in its production and beats. The song was written by Crystal Johnson, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen and Sandy Wilhelm. The Stargate and Sandy Vee produced song features a "heavy whipping bass" with strong use of synths, while the chorus of the song incorporates a "strobing, dance club beat". The song's second verse features a dominant "throbbing bass beat" and the bridge has been described as a "realm of carnal pleasures". Rihanna's vocals throughout the song have been described as "seductive" and reminiscent of a "stronger, sexier version" of her 2007 single, "Don't Stop the Music". According to sheet music published at Musicnotes, the song is written in common time with a moderate tempo of 126 beats per minute. The song is written in the key of F-sharp minor (though the chorus is B minor) and Rihanna's vocal range in the song spans from the note of F#3 to the note of C#5.

Critical reception
The song has been well received by music critics, with the majority of acclaim going to the song's powerful chorus and thunderous beat. Bill Lamb from About.com gave the song a positive review giving it four and a half out of five stars. Lamb complimented the song for its "towering chorus" and "club ready dance beats". He concluded that "it would be no surprise if this song takes Rihanna back to number one for her second chart topper of the year after 'Rude Boy'". Gerrick D. Kennedy from the Los Angeles Times gave the song a positive review commenting, "Although we can't necessarily say Rihanna is back, since she didn't go anywhere—she is making a comeback of sorts." Quoting some of Rihanna's comments about the song, he reported, "After taking a more macabre approach to her fourth disc, Rated R, she's gone in a decidedly more 'sassy, fun, flirty [and] energetic' direction", concluding, "With its club ready bassline and Euro-pop influences, not to mention one heck of an epic chorus, the track is a surefire hit." Monica Herrera from Billboard complimented the production of the song as well as Rihanna, writing, "[the song] aims squarely for dancefloor domination, as the pop star pours her heart out to one man over a full-throttle production by Norwegian hitmaking duo, Stargate."

James Dinh of MTV News was well taken with the song writing, "After going deep and dark on her last album, Rihanna has returned to the dance floor with her new single", "On the high-energy track, Rihanna yearns for her lover to keep her at the center of his attention over a pulsing electro beat. The singer's voice remains silky on the verses, then bursts out on the song's monstrous chorus." Nick Levine of Digital Spy awarded the song four stars out of five, describing the song as a "crowd-pleasing kinda-comeback single". He also said that even though the song might not be original, it is probably Rihanna's "purest pop rush since 'Don't Stop The Music'". BBC's Fraser McAlpine reviewed "Only Girl" giving the single four out of a possible five stars. McAlpine wrote "whatever you may think about Rihanna, she is very good at demanding that you listen to what she has to say, even if she has to hurt you in order to do it."

At the 53rd Grammy Awards, held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the song won the award for Best Dance Recording.

Chart performance
In the United States, "Only Girl" made its debut on the Billboard Hot 100 at number seventy-five. The following week the song jumped to number three giving Rihanna her sixteenth top ten on the chart, and the sixth-best total among women in the chart's 52-year history. In its eleventh week, the song climbed to the top of the chart, becoming Rihanna's ninth number one. It was the first time in the chart's history for an album's lead single to reach number one after the second ("What's My Name?"). "Only Girl" debuted at number one on the Hot Digital Songs chart after selling 249,000 copies. It became Rihanna's sixth single to debut at number one and is her eighth number one single on the chart. The song has also reached number one on the Pop Songs airplay chart, giving Rihanna her seventh number one and also giving her the most number ones in the history of the chart. As of March 2011, the single has sold more than 2 million paid downloads in the United States alone.

The song entered the Canadian Hot 100 at number sixty-five on the issue dated September 25, 2010. The following week the single jumped to attain the number one position, losing the position the following week. After weeks of fluctuating around the chart the single reached the number one position once again on the week entitled November 6, 2010. The song held the position for three weeks giving it a total of four weeks atop the chart. Only Girl(In the World) became the seventh best selling single of 2010 in Canada selling 231,000 copies.

In Australia, "Only Girl" entered the chart at number one on the issue date entitled October 3, 2010. The song held the position for a total of three weeks before losing the position to Pink's, "Raise Your Glass". The song reached the top position for a fourth and final time on November 7, 2010. It has since been certified four times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of 280,000 units. In New Zealand, the song debuted at number one and has since been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ).

In the United Kingdom the song debuted at number two on the chart dated October 31, 2010, selling over 126,000 copies. The sales gave Rihanna the second-biggest first-week single of 2010 and "Only Girl" became her fourteenth top-ten hit. The following week the song rose to number one, becoming her fourth number one in the UK and remained atop the chart for two consecutive weeks. The song has since been certified Platinum for shipments of 600,000 units. On January 2, 2011, "Only Girl" was listed as the fifteenth-most downloaded song of all time in the UK.

In France the song sold 257,000 copies. In South Korea the song sold 328,000 copies during 2010.

In February 2011, the song was certified Platinum for 300,000 copies sold in Germany, making it her third single to do so (following "Umbrella" and "Love The Way You Lie", on which she is featured by Eminem) and her first one to do so without reaching number one there.

Music video
The music video for "Only Girl" was directed by Anthony Mandler and premiered online on October 13, 2010. While being interviewed Rihanna explained the filming of the video and the video's simplistic theme, "It's really, really beautifully shot in these crazy, crazy, crazy places, We shot landscapes that we found a couple hours outside of L.A. It looks so unreal. It looks fake, like something out of a postcard with the beautiful hills… We had a lot of sunshine those couple of days, so it really worked with the whole essence of the video. But really, the video just shows this big landscape and the only person there is me."

The video mimics the carefree lyrics to the song, which suggest that she is the "only girl in the world." The video features Rihanna as the only person in the video singing and dancing among different surroundings and props. The majority of the video features Rihanna prancing around hillsides wearing a mohair sweater and shorter skirt, a bustier and mini floral skirt, and lastly, a white bra and "boy shorts". Other scenes in the video include Rihanna surrounded by multi-colored balloons, riding on a swing that hangs from the sky, lying in a bed of flowers and then dancing in front of a tree full of blinking lights that adds to the surreal imagery.

Tanner Stransky from The Music Mix reviewed the video positively, commenting on the video's simplistic theme, noting it makes it seem "as if Rihanna is speaking directly to you, the viewer, and she is your one and only amid swallowing rolling, beautiful, swallowing landscapes. It's an effect that makes you focus squarely on RiRi, who's ensconsced in flirty outfits and sporting that fire-red 'do she wore to the VMAs last month." Joyce Lee from CBS wrote, "Rihanna has officially moved on from her edgy Rated R days and has taken on a more girly and upbeat look with her new music video, "Only Girl (In the World)."

As of April, 2011 the video gained more than 130 million views on YouTube.

Live performance
"Only Girl" was performed for the first time in North America on Saturday Night Live. Rihanna provided the soundtrack for the Hallowe'en episode of Saturday Night Live where she performed "What's My Name?" and "Only Girl (In the World)". The following day, over in the United Kingdom, Rihanna performed the song on The X-Factor. She has also performed the song at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2010 held in Madrid, Spain, X Factor in Italy and on Le Grand Journal in France on November 10, 2010. Rihanna performed a mix of the song together with "Love the Way You Lie (Part II)" and "What's My Name?" on the American Music Awards of 2010. Rihanna opened the performance singing an a cappella version of "Love The Way You Lie Part II". She was seen sitting on a stylized tree hovering above a field of sable-colored blades of grass. Once she finished the first frame of the song she plummeted from the tree to the ground. She reemerged from the fog revealing a changed costume now consisting of a black-and-white bra top and shorts and singing "What's My Name". The performance featured an accompaniment of background dancers. Rihanna then ended the performance after transitioning into "Only Girl" which featured drummers and a background of fire for the finale. On February 15, 2011 it was performed at the 2011 Brit Awards as a medley together with "S&M" and "What's My Name?". The song was also performed as an opening song on the Australian leg of the Last Girl on Earth Tour in Brisbane.

Covers
The song was covered by British singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge in late 2010 and featured as a B-side to Goulding's single "Lights" in 2011. It was also covered by the boy band One Direction on The X Factor in week 9 of the show. On February 20, 2011 it was covered by American pop musician Katy Perry at the first show of her second concert tour (The California Dreams Tour) in Lisbon, Portugal. The song has also been covered by the Irish group Westlife, who included the song as part of a covers medley on their Gravity Tour as well as by doo-wop group The Overtones for the re-release of their debut album Good Ol' Fashioned Love.

Track listing

 * Digital download
 * 1) "Only Girl (In the World)" – 3:55


 * German CD single
 * 1) "Only Girl (In the World)" – 3:55
 * 2) "Only Girl (In the World)" (Extended Club Mix) – 5:39


 * UK CD single
 * 1) "Only Girl (In the World)" – 3:55
 * 2) "Only Girl (In the World)" (Instrumental) – 3:55


 * (The Remixes)(Masterbeat.com)(Except Track 12)
 * "Only Girl (In The World)" (The Bimbo Jones Radio) - 3:52
 * "Only Girl (In The World)" (Rosabel's Only Radio Edit In The World) - 4:09
 * "Only Girl (In The World)" (Mixin Marc & Tony Svejda Radio) - 4:10
 * "Only Girl (In The World)" (CCW Radio Mix) - 3:42
 * "Only Girl (In The World)" (The Bimbo Jones Club) - 7:17
 * "Only Girl (In The World)" (Rosabel's Only Club In The World) - 8:35
 * "Only Girl (In The World)" (Mixin Marc & Tony Svejda Club Mix) - 6:25
 * "Only Girl (In The World)" (CCW Blow It Up Club Mix) - 9:44
 * "Only Girl (In The World)" (The Bimbo Jones Dub) - 7:32
 * "Only Girl (In The World)" (Rosabel's Only Dub In The World) - 8:22
 * "Only Girl (In The World)" (Mixin Marc & Tony Svejda Instrumental) - 6:25
 * "Only Girl (In The World)" (CCW Dub) - 7:25

Personnel

 * Songwriting – Crystal Johnson, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Sandy Vee
 * Production – Stargate, Sandy Vee
 * Recording – Mikkel S. Eriksen, Miles Walker, Sandy Vee
 * Vocal production – Kuk Harrell
 * Vocal recording – Kuk Harrell, Marcos Tovar, Josh Gudwin


 * Assistant vocal recording – Inaam Haq, Dane Liska, Brad Shea
 * Mixing – Sandy Vee, Phil Tan
 * Additional and assistant engineering – Damien Lewis
 * Instruments – Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Sandy Vee
 * Backing vocals – Crystal Johnson

Source: Liner notes

Chart precession and succession
}