In the '' Los Angeles Times '' , Mikael Wood argued that '' Anti '' was the singer 's most experimental album yet and " remarkably tender at points " , highlighting " Kiss It Better " and the " radical vulnerability " of the ballads near the end . Writing for '' The Independent '' , Emily Jupp found the record abundant with Rihanna 's self-confidence and underrated singing , disapproving " anyone who ever said her voice could only do certain things and showing them she can do anything she wants to . " Jia Tolentino of '' Spin '' viewed it as her first " aesthetically personal album " while praising Harrell 's vocal production and the singing as " extraordinary " , highlighting the tone and roundness of Rihanna 's vocals . Robert Christgau reviewed the deluxe edition in his blog for '' Vice '' , praising " Work " , " Love on the Brain " , and the bonus tracks and called '' Anti '' " her best album for a reason so simple it 's tautological — despite its supposed rejection of track-and-hook mechanics , it features catchier songs . " Neil McCormick believed otherwise in '' The Daily Telegraph '' , finding '' Anti '' more dependent on mood and texture rather than " the practised song-craft that usually knock the wind out of listeners " . '' NME '' critic Emily Mackay also felt the album lacked an obvious hit , while Jon Caramanica from '' The New York Times '' described it as a " chaotic and scattershot album , not the product of a committed artistic vision , or even an appealingly freeform aesthetic , but rather an amalgam of approaches , tones , styles and moods " . In '' The Guardian '' , lead critic Alexis Petridis deemed '' Anti '' " sprawling , uneven and opaque " , but " at its best , its daring pays off . " Sal Cinquemani from '' Slant Magazine '' was more critical and believed " the ultimate impression the album leaves is n't just that of an artist who failed to follow through on her vision , but who never bothered to conceive one in the first place . " '' Anti '' won the award for Favorite Soul/R & B Album at the 2016 American Music Awards . The record received a nomination for Top R&B Album at the 2016 and 2017 '' Billboard '' Music Awards and was also nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album and Best Recording Package at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards . Prior to the Grammy nominations announcement , media outlets predicted that '' Anti '' would be nominated for Album of the Year ; following the announcement reporters were surprised and felt that the album had been " snubbed " . Fellow musicians also believed that the album should have been nominated , with Chance the Rapper stating that the album was " underrated " . Apart from '' Anti '' s nominations , several songs from it were also nominated including " Work " for Record of the Year and Best Pop/Duo Performance , " Needed Me " for Best R&B Performance and " Kiss It Better " for Best R&B Song . At the 2017 iHeartRadio Music Awards '' Anti '' received the award for ' R&B Album of the Year '
59th Annual Grammy Awards
59th Annual Grammy Awards
Anti (album)