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"Unfaithful" is a song written by Americansinger-songwriterNe-Yo, Tor Erik Hermansen and Mikkel S. Eriksen for Rihanna's second album A Girl Like Me (2006). Produced by production team Stargate, the song was released as the album's second single in summer 2006. It was the first ballad to be released as a single by Rihanna; all her previous singles were uptempo songs.
Song information
The song is a take on a woman who is in a relationship with a man but is seeing someone else on the side. The woman begins to realize that her partner is well aware that she is having an affair and it is hurting him badly, so she begins to regret her affair, stating "I don't want to be a murderer."
Many radio stations, the majority of which are owned by Clear Channel, play an edited version of the song, in which the words "gun and" in the bridge is removed out of the part that says "I might as well take a gun and put it to his head. Get It over with..."
The Barbadian-born Rihanna said on August 26, 2006 that her chart-topping hit “Unfaithful” was birthed out of a relationship she outgrew when she was fourteen. She was quick to add though that the relationship was not physical.
Critical response
Despite strong chart performance, the track has proven controversial among Rihanna's fans and critics, as it is the first ballad she released and quite a contrast to the R&B/reggae foundation of her previous work. Her vocal performance has also been the subject of criticism. Shaun Kitchener of UKMix states "There's no denying that her voice is strong." But Bill Lamb of About.com states, "Rihanna's voice is not particularly strong. There are points here at which it sounds thin and reedy".
Track listing
CD single (U.K. version)
"Unfaithful" (Eriksen, M./Hermansen, T./Smith, S.) — 3:48
"Unfaithful" (Eriksen, M./Hermansen, T./Smith, S.) — 3:48
"Unfaithful (Tony Moran Radio Edit)" (Eriksen, M./Hermansen, T./Smith, S.) — 3:10
"Unfaithful (Instrumental)" (Eriksen, M./Hermansen, T./Smith, S.)
Extras:
"Unfaithful" (Video) — 4:34
Chart performance
"Unfaithful" reached number six on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in July 2006. Its music video also performed well on MTV's Total Request Live peaking at No. 1 for 14 days. She performed the song on TRL on July 25 and the video was retired on July 27th (being at number 7 on the countdown). This was also her first video to retire on TRL.
The single was released July 172006 in the UK and Australia where it is already available for downloads worldwide. It debuted at number sixteen in the UK singles chart on downloads alone one week prior to its physical release. The following week, July 24 it jumped to #2 on the UK Singles Chart after a physical release. That same day 'Unfaithful' debuted at #2 on the ARIA Singles Chart.
It reached #2 on the Eurochart 100 and stayed in the top 3 for several weeks.
The single proved to be as big as the follow up to 'SOS' and continued her streak of big hit singles. The success of 'Unfaithful' caused her album 'A Girl Like Me' to re-enter the top ten on the Billboard 200 Chart selling consistently for several weeks.