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Anthony Mandler discusses working with the superstar singer, with whom he's collaborated more than a dozen times.
Rihanna showed off her pale-hued softer side in her "California King Bed" video. A sweeping, romantic look at the demise of a relationship is perfectly encapsulated in the Anthony Mandler-directed clip.
Rihanna and Mandler are certainly not strangers when it comes to collaborating, having made more than a dozen clips together, ranging from the fun "Only Girl (In the World)" to the dark "Russian Roulette." When MTV News recently spoke to Mandler, he noted that he and Ri brought out a whole new side to the always-changing singer.
"I think it's something that is so unique about Rihanna whatever she's doing, whatever character she's playing, whatever side of herself she's showing, she's in it 1,000 percent," he explained. "They're all twists and variations on herself, and in each of them, the way she pushes the visual and the way she pushes the styling and the look of it, she really kind of gives them another twist on Rihanna.
"And I think the song and the theme of this song, she wanted to obviously show a softer side, a lighter side, one that's caught in maybe a tumultuous relationship," he continued. "But not let the tumultuous relationship dominate the visual, really counterbalance it with tension-filled chaotic beauty."
Instead of finding a scenic location on which to shoot the video, they built their own set in order to have control over the elements of the video. Rihanna gave Mandler a "basic foundation," and from there, he put his magic on what he describes as a "really pure beauty video with a story line underneath."
Having shot both a softer-edge Rihanna and a harder-edged one, Mandler weighed in on which he prefers. "There's so much variety with her and it's been such a journey with her," he said. "It's hard to say which one I enjoy more than the other. I just enjoy working with her, so whatever that means. ... There are gray shades that are brilliant that I'm constantly discovering."
The 'California King Bed' singer looks gorgeous in the black-and-white artwork of her next 'Loud' single.
Rihanna has just dropped an official cover art of her latest single "Man Down". Taken from "Loud" album photo shoot, the artwork is a black-and-white snapshot which depicts RiRi, who was recently named as the new spokesmodel of Vita Coco, wearing an oversized glass while holding a rose on her lips.
Music video for the single has recently been filmed in Jamaica. One on-set picture shows RiRi riding a bike in Portland, a parish located on the island's northeast coast. The red-haired singer is snapped wearing a skimpy white top, purple skirt, green socks, and headband.
Rumor has it, she worked with director Anthony Mandler who also helmed her "California King Bed" music video. The "CKB" video arrived earlier this week, and it sees her lying under the sheets with her head resting on her shirtless man's chest. Wearing a white bandeau and matching shorts, she laments the distance growing between them.
In commemoration of its 100-year anniversary, skin care company Nivea celebrated its birthday in a big way, and they brought Rihanna along for the ride. The company kicked off a two-day celebration beginning May 9, on the special Nivea Blue Boat cruise in Hamburg, Germany. The event was also followed by a meet and greet with more than 50 Nivea consumers from around the world.
Rihanna signed on as spokesperson for the skin care brand earlier this year, posing nude for their 'The 100 Years of Skincare for Life' campaign. In accordance with the endorsement, the company will also sponsor the 23-year-old's Loud tour, which begins later this month.
"Over the past 100 years, Nivea has been an iconic skincare brand across the world that is built on the trust of our consumers," Nivea board member Markus Pinger said in a statement. "We are excited to have Rihanna supporting us in our celebration and building a new generation of fans."
Nivea began in Hamburg 1911 with the development of the first stable emollient and moisturizing crème containing the emulsifier Eucerit, created by Dr. Oscar Troplowitz, owner of the cosmetics company Beiersdorf AG's. Over the past century, Nivea has become the world's largest skin care brand, and is one of four other skincare companies under the Beiersdorf umbrella.
On the music front, Rihanna recently released the video for 'California King Bed,' a single off her fifth album, 'Loud.' She also finished filming the clip for 'Man Down' in Jamaica, however, no release date has been set for the video.
Yesterday (May 9th) Rihanna released the latest video from her 5th album, Loud. The video is for one of the only ballads to be released from ths very Dance heavy album. (Excluding "Love The Way You Lie Part II" featuring Eminem, which recieved some buzz play associated with the promotion behind Eminem's Recovery) The song is "California King Bed" an Adult Contemporary style ballad produced by Orlando based productiong group, The Runners. The interesting part about that is, The Runners have become best known for producing rhythmic Hip Hop for such southern Rap stars like Rick Ross, Young Jeezy, T.I., U.G.K. and many other. "California King Bed" is the first of its kind for the production group. Even though the group has worked with R&B singers like Day 26 and Chris Brown in the past, this is the first time they have produced a song that is stripped down leaning more towards the Soft Rock genre, and then have it released as a single.
Do to the fact that song stands out so much from the rest of Rihanna's music, it has also quickly become one of her best reviewed. Stacey Anderson of Spin commented on the song:
"'California King Bed' is a wrenching ballad about the waking death of a relationship, the stage of limbo before the final crash; it's so well-delivered, in fact, that it's hard to hear." Ryan Dombell from Pitchfork Media said,
"'California King Bed' is a 'I Don't Want to Miss a Thing'-type power ballad genetically engineered to soundtrack a bi-coastal Kate Hudson rom-com." Andy Gill of The Independent viewed the song as a big break-up power-ballad and that it features Rihanna's best vocal performance. Like Fergie's ballad "Big Girls Don't Cry" came from her Urban influenced Rhythmic album The Dutchess, but went on to become one of the biggest hits with wide universal appeal for 2007 and 2008, Rihanna's "California King Bed" has potential to become one of her biggest hits.
The song has already become a hit in other countries like Australia and New Zealand. It is scheduled to be officially released in the US on May 31st, as the 6th single from Loud, following "Man Down", which was also recently released on May 3rd. Even though this is one of the last singles to be released from Loud, this is without a doubt one of the best! Take a look at the music video that was directed by Anthony Mander that premiered yesterday!
The outing comes just as it was announced that RiRi has been slated to kickoff the "Today" show's 2011 Summer Concert Series.
With the 23-year-old set to take the stage on May 27th, the show also granted a slot to Rihanna's ex-beau, Chris Brown, will will perform on July 15th.
Enjoy the pictures of Rihanna leaving her hotel to stroll about Paris, France (May 08).
Rihanna can't seem to get any privacy, even when it comes to spending time with the opposite sex. The 'Loud' songstress was recently spotted cozying up to a New York City DJ at a Manhattan lounge late Tuesday (May 3) night.
According to New York Post's Page Six, Rihanna made an appearance at East Village hotspot La Vie, which was the venue housing a birthday celebration for Power 105.1's DJ Prostyle. While inside, a source revealed to the gossip paper that the two were dancing closely with one another "till the lights came up at 4AM." They also reportedly stuck to the dance floor, declining a VIP table. "They looked pretty cozy and left together," the source also disclosed.
To confirm her presence at his bash, Prostyle tweeted a picture of the two posing together, though by the looks of the photo they appeared to be solely on friendly terms. "Me and my girl @Rihanna in the club chilling http://lockerz.com/s/98570347", he wrote.
The red-haired singer, whose past relationship with Chris Brown and fling with Drake have bombarded headlines, also celebrated the radio jock and BET '106 & Park' host turning another year older with a toast. "Still drinking! Still toasting with my girl Ri Ri @rihanna !! Lets gooo http://lockerz.com/s/98572577," Prostyle tweeted.
Neither Rihanna nor Prostyle have addressed the rumors surrounding Page Six's report.
On the music front, the Barbados native recently shot the videos for 'California King Bed' and 'Man Down,' the latter having been filmed in Jamaica. The clips have no set debut date as of yet.
A newspaper ad for Rihanna's popular fragrance Reb'l Fleur has seemingly been censored in the Middle East because the singer shows too much skin.
In the original version of the promo that ran in the United States, Rihanna is seen seductively sniffing a flower while wearing a pastel robe that opens to flash a little flesh.
n the Kuwaiti edition of the ad, her robe mysteriously appears closed, likely with the help of Photoshop. It is believed the ad was doctored to appeal to women in the mostly Muslim state.
Today Rihanna made an appearance in Milan, Italy. The singer, who was appropriately covered in a gorgeous white Dolce&Gabbana dress, performed at the Nivea 100th anniversary celebration.
'They're both very different,' singer tweets about upcoming clips.
Rihanna has two videos coming your way. The singer is working on clips for "California King Bed" and "Man Down," two singles off her Loud album, and has been keeping her fans up-to-date about them on her Twitter page.
On Tuesday, she teased, "JAMAICA was the BEST!!!!! #RihannaNavy its a big month for u guys! TWO #MAJAH videos droppin' #whosLOUD. They're both very different! One is #GAWJUS and the other is a MOVIE. RIHquest Mandown and California King Bed on your favorite radio station."
Rihanna recently performed "California King Bed" at the ACM Awards. But it was "Man Down" that the singer was excited to talk about late last year.
" 'Man Down' is gangsta! It comes from me trying to achieve that [vibe]," Rihanna told MTV News in November about the saucy song. "I'm super inspired by reggae music [and it] has been a part of me since I was born, and I grew up listening to it. I grew up loving it. My favorite artists are all reggae artists.
"The special thing in that song is the fact that it's a female singing those lyrics, then you have that reggae thing and the chant; the overall energy in that song is so gangsta," she added. "It's got a lot of swagger. I really enjoy it."
The singer also tweeted a photo from the "California King Bed" shoot. The photo is really just a tease as the only visible part of Rihanna is her eyes. She looks out into the camera, snuggled in the sheets in someone's arms. On Sunday, she tweeted that the video would be dropping in less than 10 days, so fans will soon see what Rihanna has in store.
