Inside Nokia Music

It may be the Last Girl On Earth Tour, but your girl Rihanna’s not alone. Check out our two new exclusive videos at nokia.com/rihanna for a few words from bandleader, bass player and musical director Eric Smith, and original bandmate and keyboard player Kevin Hastings on musical direction and the incredible journey from before until after the release of Umbrella.

Love the videos?

Then leave a comment on your favourite one from any of the videos at nokia.com/rihanna and share the video with your friends, or…

Leave a comment below with a link back to your favourite video on nokia.com/rihanna, or…

Tweet about the video with a link and a mention of @We_R_NokiaMusic

And you’ll automatically be entered into the draw to win this amazing signed and framed copy of Rated R.

Have more than one favourite?

Well, we think that’s cool too!… so do as many as you like

There’s loads of Rihanna to download at Nokia/Ovi Music Store including and exclusive version of Rated R with 2 bonus tracks. If you’ve got Comes With Music download the lot for free!

Remember the Rihanna Rated R launch party? We had Jeezy. We had Jay-Z. We had your girl Ri. We also gave a bunch of Rihanna fans tickets to attend the intimate Brixton Academy show, and for those who couldn’t make it, we streamed it live so you wouldn’t miss a thing.

Now the event has been shortlisted for this year’s “Best Event” category alongside digital coverage of Glastonbury 2010, Sonisphere 2010, Sonisphere “The Big Four” 2010 cinecast, Pendulum’s “Immersion” album preview, and The Ukelele Prom.

Some pretty stiff competition there Ri-army, so you know what needs to be done!

Head on over to btdma.com and vote for “Nokia Presents Rihanna Live” to show the world that Rihanna stans mean business!

Here’s a second serving of the delicious musical dish we dined upon that evening. Head on over to nokia.com/rihanna for more exclusive videos. While you’re there be sure to grab and share the Rihanna Widget and find links to the Ovi Store for a free Rihanna app for your compatible Nokia device.

There’s loads of Rihanna to download at Nokia/Ovi Music Store including and exclusive version of Rated R with 2 bonus tracks. If you’ve got Comes With Music download the lot for free!

Attention Ri-army! We have yet another exclusive video for you on our Nokia Rihanna dedicated page. Click the image to watch your girl and her crew as they practice to bring this world class performance to those of you lucky enough to be attending the spectacle that is The Last Girl On Earth Tour.

When you’re there, be sure to grab and share the Rihanna Widget so you and your friends can keep up to date with news, photos and even more exclusive videos throughout the world tour. If you’re on Twitter, remember to include the #RihannaTour hashtag for your tweets to show up on the Tour Tracker and if you have a compatible Nokia phone, don’t forget to snag your free Rihanna app for all the exclusives on the go.

There’s loads of Rihanna to download at Nokia Music Store including and exclusive version of Rated R with 2 bonus tracks. If you’ve got Comes With Music download the lot for free!

Back from a break following the success of her European tour leg, Rihanna returns to rock North America with her Last Girl On Earth Tour as it’s kicked-off this weekend with shows in Seattle and Vancouver, Canada with support by Ke$ha and Travie McCoy.

Head on over to our Nokia/Rihanna page where you can grab the Rihanna Tour Widget and keep track of the tour, watch exclusive tour footage and stay up to date with Rihanna news. Don’t forget to tweet using the #RihannaTour hashtag so your tweets can show up on the Tour Map showing your support for your girl Ri and if you have a compatible Nokia phone, be sure to get your free Rihanna App

Share the Widget with your friends too, and help us to make the Last Girl On Earth Tour the most connected tour ever!

There’s loads of Rihanna to download at Nokia/Ovi Music Store including and exclusive version of Rated R with 2 bonus tracks. If you’ve got Comes With Music download the lot for free!

Remember when Rihanna rocked the London O2 Arena on her Last Girl On Earth Tour a couple weeks back?… Well we managed to get a camera crew backstage to hang with your girl Ri and her crew. Check out our exclusive 3 minute documentary here. We also have loads more exclusive footage from the European leg of the tour coming your way, so don’t be a stranger and check back soon!

Download the free Ovi exclusive Rihanna Tour App and be the first to know all the Rihanna news. Get more video exclusives, music and chat with other Ri fans by getting the Rihanna Tour App now!

There’s loads of Rihanna to download at Nokia Music Store including and exclusive version of Rated R with 2 bonus tracks. If you’ve got Comes With Music download the lot for free!

More research into the listening habits of Nokia Ovi Music Store users again, but this time of a more generic nature.

With availability in 36 countries, Ovi Music is in a unique position to observe global music trends. An interesting yet unsurprising result shows that pop powerhouse Lady Gaga’s first Fame Monster single Bad Romance is on course to becoming the most popular single of the year, with the track spending an average of 7 weeks at No.1 in 13 countries including Russia, Brazil and Italy.

With 2 songs making it into the Top 10 list for most downloads between the 1st January and the 15th May 2010, Lady G “has been widely recognized as a critical factor in the rise in digital music sales since 2009, and has helped push the recorded music market into growth for the first time in 6 years” according to music revenue figures from music industry body the British Phonographic Institute (BPI).

Global Top 10 Downloads In 2010 According to Ovi Music

1. Lady Gaga - Bad Romance
2. Ke$ha – TiK ToK
3. Rihanna – Rude Boy
4. The Black Eyed Peas – I Gotta Feeling
5. Iyaz – Replay
6. Owl City – Fireflies
7. The Black Eyed Peas - Meet Me Halfway
8. Lady Gaga – Telephone
9. Jay-Z – Empire State Of Mind (Jay-Z + Alicia Keys)
10. Rihanna – Russian Roulette

Just in case you missed that, Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, Rihanna, The Black Eyed Peas, Iyaz, Owl City, Jay-Z and Alicia Keys are all available to download from the Nokia Music Store/Ovi Music and if you have Comes With Music get them all free.

Rated R has just gone Platinum in 9 countries and is getting the remix treatment with 10 exclusive tracks entirely by in-demand-man Chew Fu Phat. Chu Fu has built himself a highly reputable portfolio having remixed tracks for the likes of Black Eyed Peas, Kings Of Leon and Lady Gaga to name but a few.

1. Mad House (Chew Fu Straight Jacket Fix)
2. Russian Roulette (Chew Fu Black Russian Fix)
3. ROCKSTAR 101 (Chew Fu Teachers Pet Fix)
4. Wait Your Turn (Chew Fu Can’t Wait No More Fix)
5. Photographs feat. will.i.am (Chew Fu 35mm Fix)
6. Rude Boy (Chew Fu Bumbaclot Fix)
7. Hard feat. Jeezy (Chew Fu Granite Fix)
8. G4L (Chew Fu Guns In The Air Fix)
9. Fire Bomb (Chew Fu Molotov Fix)
10. Stupid In Love (Chew Fu Small Room Fix)

Serving as Rated R’s third international single, Te Amo is circulating radio stations with the Paris shot video due to drop any day now.

And in the US Rude Boy is #6(3) on the Billboard Hot 100. After 5 consecutive weeks at #1 Rude Boy is now the second most played record on US radio.

Rated R///Remixed is released today

Rihanna’s albums, singles and remixes are available to download at Nokia Music Store including the Nokia exclusive edition of Rated R featuring 2 bonus tracks. If you’ve got Comes With Music download them all for free!

Photo courtesy of Katie Nelson

Being an Alt-Rock child of the 90’s, any scenester-minded individual may have considered covering Rihanna through her Rated R album launch & world tour a bit laborious. But having become aware of it, then eradicating any scene adoption for the ridiculously misconceived need for a sense of belonging during my earlier years, I already had an inclination towards the odd Rihanna tune here and there. Certainly enough admiration to warrant me being a nervous wreck during the interview I did with her back in November ‘09.

Since a few weeks before the interview, I’ve near enough lived and breathed Rihanna and engaged with the fans, day in and day out. I’ve seen dedication to their Diva pushed beyond obsession, and to the likes of which I’ve never seen anywhere before. So much so that  by an innocent folly of my own I suffered a backlash from fans that were angry at me for using a certain blog as a vehicle to get concert ticket give-aways out to a potentially larger Rihanna audience – The folly being that the aforementioned blog does have the odd poke at Rihanna and are well known among Rihanna communities for doing so. Although, only opinion that I believe should be taken with a pinch of salt, at the same time I do understand the frustration for the fans – which is a conundrum I would much rather have avoided altogether. This in a round-about sort of way brings me onto last night’s show at the O2…

The Last Girl On Earth show begins with an audio-visual introduction depicting a “Welcome to Rihanna’s dream… Is this real, is this not?” scenario. A sort of post-apocalyptic future reanimation of the last girl on earth (think Alien Resurrection) that continues throughout the show during costume and minor set changes with a smorgasbord of dark imagery and stylings reminiscent of  Star wars, Tank Girl, and even Marilyn Manson.

Segueing into Russian Roulette, Rihanna is elevated by a stage platform wearing a dress red-lit on her abdomen with LED’s representing her beating heart, in context with the song’s lyrical content. As the song draws to an end, her rifle-toting dancers take up a firing squad line, and as the song’s closing shot rings out, the lights diminish to but a few…

A ballad is an unusual way to begin a show with but works on this occasion, giving impact room for Hard before rolling out the crowd pleasing Shut Up And Drive.

After Fire Bomb and a version of Disturbia with a renditioned intro, it’s Rockstar 101 when I really noticed just how much of a rock show the Last Girl On Earth Tour is. With it’s shredding guitars and world class triplet and syncopated live drumming, I couldn’t help but feel the “edgier” Rihanna does seem a bit lost on the island girl fans as the oceans of them in the standing area seemed more akin to the sea of tranquility… but never mind Ri-Ri, it was appreciated here.

Recent single Rude Boy revitalises the crowds again before the pace takes a laid-back turn as her guitarist and backing singers join her atop the pink tank prop (that had me grinning all night) for a medley of Oasis’ Wonderwall and Hate That I Love You.

Rehab hits it like every great power-ballad should and is followed by personal favourite Unfaithful.

After a touching Stupid In Love and a slightly over-mixed acoustic guitar on Te Amo, Pon De Replay seemed to briefly introduce a stomping Don’t Stop The Music. S.O.S seemed to get a slight chord progression rendition in the chorus too and sounded a little darker than usual… but still brilliant!

After another costume and set change I caught a cheeky glimpse from my ace seat near the stage side and instantly recognised the set from the Rated R launch party, picking Wait Your Turn as the first of the encore. The remainder of which was reserved for the biggies as she belted out Live Your Life and Run This Town… setting the beat up perfectly for show-closer Umbrella.

Stuck in my head for the rest of the night: Hard

Check out the the 2 new exclusive videos of Rihanna on ‘creating a new sound’ and what the ‘R’ stands for in Rated R here

There’s loads of Rihanna to download at Nokia Music Store including and exclusive version of Rated R with 2 bonus tracks. If you’ve got Comes With Music download the lot for free!

Are we getting excited yet Ri-Ri fans? Rihanna is kicking off her World Tour in Antwerp on the 16th April and now you can follow the tour and join the conversation, online and on your compatible Nokia phone.

Nokia have created this amazing interactive widget for your favourite social networks so you can get all the tour news with videos, photos, and exclusive Rihanna footage throughout the european leg of the tour. The widget will also be gathering all the latest news from the top Rihanna blogs so you don’t have to!

Join the conversation with the live chat function on the embeddable widget, and create and upload content by video, photo or webcam to share and discuss with other fans. It doesn’t stop there though…We also have loads of prizes up for grabs!

Every week Nokia will pick one fan tweet or photo at random from the Rihanna Tour Map and send the fan who posted it a framed, signed, limited edition photo of Rihanna. Any tweets and Twit-pics with the hash tag #RihannaTour will be eligible (subject to moderation) and will show up on the Tour Map. Fans will also get the chance to win other exclusive signed Rihanna merchandise through competitions on this blog (insidenokiamusic.com), and through @We-R-Nokiamusic on Twitter.

Download the new, improved Rihanna tour app to get up to the minute news and exclusive video content sent direct to your Nokia (available free from Ovi Store from 21st April).

Follow the conversation here using the integrated Twitter and Facebook tabs. Don’t just watch, join in and help us make Rihanna’s Last Girl On Earth Tour the most connected tour ever!!!

Having just featured a little piece on X factor, I thought I share some, um… thoughts

So I’m not a fan of X factor in the grand scheme of things but I’ll admit I do indulge in the audition phase for the sole purpose of observing the psychological behaviour of the competition hopefuls, and for the opportunity to see the overly confident yet completely delusional have their dreams come crashing back down to Earth, a little sinister I know, but it makes for great television.

Beyond this, I do also enjoy trying to pick the winner in the early stages of the game based on the group or individuals presence and personality, and to be fair, of all the seasons gone by, these have been easy choices straight of the bat, as a bit of clever video editing and focus on individuals tends to subconsciously influence us all.

Now considering X Factor, of all the winners to date there’s an obvious recurring theme, Steve Brookstein, Shayne Ward, Leona Lewis, Leon Jackson, Alexandra Burke, Joe McElderry, of which only 1 has managed a successful career (the jury’s still out on the last 2). For the most part this could be attributed to the lack of nurturing beyond the show buck stop, but I believe there’s more to it than that…

What ever happened to good old fashioned stage names for solo performers?… nothing, anyone smart enough is still using them, Lady Gaga… Stefani Germanotta couldn’t break into the industry until she invented a suprficial character, one that I’m still convinced she’ll kill-off to reveal herself as the performer she’s always wanted to be. Or how about Rihanna… as talented as she is, I doubt she’d have had the success she’s enjoyed if she was performing as Robyn Fenty, there’s power and influence in a name, I know this, you know this, the industry knows this, and even Homer Simpson knew this when he changed his name to Max Power, so why, year after year do they churn out the same formulaic photo shoot (you know, the one in the tunnel with the extraction fan in the background) and with the name/surname format? It’s almost as if it’s only about the viewers recognising the X Factor brand… but then I guess maybe the contestants are to blame for not bringing any originality to the show, perhaps they need to start bringing a name rather than just playing desperate putty for the molding.

Steve Brookstein, Shayne Ward, Leona Lewis, Leon Jackson, Alexandra Burke, and Joe McElderry, Rihanna, and Lady Gaga are all available to download from the Nokia Music Store and are completely free to ‘Comes With Music’ subscribers.