the melody of the song and invited him to work on the track when she played him the finished recording. The collaboration was originally planned to be a remix, but later it was decided that the version featuring Drake would be used as the original. Loud was recorded in various recording studios worldwide including the Larrabee Sound Studios, The Village and Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, Platinum Sound Recording Studios, and Roc the Mic Studios in New York City and The Bunker Studios in Paris. In September 2010, during a webchat with her fansite Rihannadaily.com, Rihanna announced that the album would be called Loud, saying "get Loud everybody, get crazy, get excited, because I'm pumped. I'm just gonna be me because that's what you guys love the most, and that's what makes me feel best. Just being normal, normal for me is Loud! Sassy, fun, flirty, energetic." While Rihanna was filming Battleship, she explained in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, "Loud is, the word, the name of the album definitely reflects the attitude of it, it's really sassy and flirty and it grabs your attention and that's why I enjoy it. It takes you through a really really interesting ride. So colorful the album." Composition Influence and sound Loud is a departure from the personal, melodramatic themes of Rated R. Stylistically, it is a return to the Caribbean-inspired dance-pop of Rihanna's earlier work. Ryan Burleson of Consequence of Sound described the album as "a dynamic R&B and dance-pop record". In an interview with MTV, Rihanna said "I wanted songs that were all Rihanna songs, that nobody else could do. I didn't want the generic pop record that Ke$ha or Lady Gaga or Katy Perry could just do and it'll work. I wanted a song, or songs, that were Rihanna songs, that only I could do, had that little West Indian vibe to it, had that certain tone, a certain sass and a certain energy." During the promotion of Loud, Rihanna said that much of the music was born out of frustration. She explained: "When you go to a club and have to listen to bad music you revert to the liquor, because you want to have a good time. I hate having to skip a track. I wanted to make an album you can just play." Songs The opening track "S&M" is an up-tempo Eurodance song produced by Norwegian