"Birthday Cake" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna, from her sixth album, Talk That Talk (2011). After it leaked onto the Internet, fans expressed interest in the track being included on Talk That Talk, but it was later revealed that the 1:18 (one minute, 18 seconds) length that leaked was in fact the final cut and was not being considered for inclusion on the album. Due to a high level of fan interest, the song was included on the album as an interlude.
The full-length version, also known as the official remix of the track, featuring Rihanna's ex-boyfriend Chris Brown, premiered online on February 20, 2012, to coincide with Rihanna's 24th birthday. The song peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100. The lyrics to "Birthday Cake" express the desire to have spontaneous sex. Music critics were divided on "Birthday Cake", with the majority both praising and criticising the song's sexual lyrical content. Several critics compared the song to the previous track on the album "Cockiness (Love It)", which also consists of sexually explicit lyrics. Upon the release of Talk That Talk, the song debuted on the lower regions of the singles charts in South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It was certified Double Platinum in the US.
Background and development
"Birthday Cake" was written by The-Dream, Rihanna, Marcos Palacios, and Earnest Clark, with production helmed by Da Internz and The-Dream. The interlude was recorded in room 1306 of the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel in Copenhagen, Denmark. In an interview for The Boom Box, producer answered a question about fans being disappointed that "Birthday Cake" would not be featured on Talk That Talk (2011) after it leaked online before the album's November 2011 release; the producer explained that only an interlude had been produced, and that a full-length version of the song would be released at some point during the Talk That Talk era, saying:
Composition and lyrics "Birthday Cake" is an R&B interlude which lasts for one minute and 18 seconds, appearing as the sixth track on the album. The instrumentation of "Birthday Cake" consists of a heavy bass, schoolbells, engine sounds, claps, and electro beats. It also samples the song "Dominator" by Human Resource. The track also consists of hoover synths, synth handclaps, an Eastern-inspired tone and chants. In the song, Rihanna adopts a sensual tone in her vocals, as she chants the song's provocative and sexually explicit lyrics. A reviewer for Flavour described the singer's vocal performance in "Birthday Cake" as "sultry". Nathan S. of DJ Booth concurred that Rihanna sounds "sultry" as well as "playful" on the song.
The lyrical content of the interlude is spare and largely revolves around Rihanna chanting, "cake cake cake cake cake cake." Aside from the repetitive chant of "cake", the interlude consists of multiple sexual metaphors. The lyric "I know you wanna bite this/ It's so enticing/ Nothing else like this, I'ma make you my bitch/ And it's not even my birthday/ But you wanna put your name on it" is a metaphor referring to a vagina. Rihanna sings about the desire to have spontaneous sex. Rihanna promises her lover that she will make him do whatever she pleases, singing "I'mma make you my bitch." T'Cha Dunlevy of The Montreal Gazette described the lyric as a "promise", with Rihanna intending to act upon her desires. The interlude ends mid-verse and mid-lyric with a fade at 1:18. Katherine St. Asaph of Popdust described the fade as "ungraceful", as well as writing that it makes the track appear as though it is not finished. Upon the fade, Rihanna puts forward the line "Ooh, I wanna fuck you right now." Dunlevy and St. Asaph were critical of the final line, with the former labelling it as "blatant", and the latter noting that "cursing makes everything obvious."
Critical reception "Birthday Cake" garnered mixed reviews from music critics. Jayson Lipshutz of Billboard praised the interlude, writing "We're all for birthday-themed naughtiness in pop music form, but only 78 seconds of 'Birthday Cake' is just not enough of a celebration!" Lipshutz continued to compare the song's lyrical message to Jeremih's "Birthday Sex". Sam Lansky of MTV Buzzworthy was complimentary of "Birthday Cake", writing, "The only misstep on the album – not because it's not amazing (it is!), but because it's only 78 seconds long. 'Birthday Cake' is more decadent Rihanna filth, this time courtesy of sensual R&B-master The-Dream. Have any Rihanna Navy members made an hour-long mix yet? We need to keep the bump 'n' grind going all night." Pip Ellwood of Entertainment-Focus noted that "Birthday Cake", along with "Cockiness (Love It)", "leave you under no misunderstanding that Rihanna is as sexual as she's ever been throughout her career." Melissa Maerz of Entertainment Weekly wrote that "Birthday Cake", along with "Cockiness (Love It)", were the most provocative songs on the album, describing them as "I-like-it-rough tracks", but criticized them for being album fillers designed to get the listener out of the bedroom and on to the dance floor.
Mike Diver of BBC Music disliked "Birthday Cake" as a "wholly pointless minute-something in the company of star producer The-Dream, wasted on the boring profanities of Birthday Cake." A reviewer for Flavour had a mixed reaction to the lyrical content, writing, "I can't exactly say it is a bad song. In fact, I will probably be singing it over the next few weeks. But at this point its like, 'we get it – you like sex.' Chill out about it and sing about education or something – your younger fans need more SUBSTANCE." [sic] Nathan S. of DJ Booth noted that the song resembles a real life "quickie", continuing to write that the overtly sexual lyrics in the song earned Talk That Talk the Parental Advisory sticker. Randall Roberts of the Los Angeles Times commented that the lyrics on "Birthday Cake" "wouldn't seem out of place on Spinal Taps 'Smell the Glove'." Roberts continued to note that "Birthday Cake" appeared to be an afterthought, writing,
Chart performance Upon the release of Talk That Talk, "Birthday Cake" debuted on several world charts. The song entered the South Korea Gaon International Chart at number 67 on November 26, 2011, with sales of 6,661 digital downloads. In the United Kingdom, "Birthday Cake" debuted at number 172 on December 3, 2011. In the United States, the song charted at number 22 on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, which represents the 25 songs which failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. On March 3, 2012, "Birthday Cake" made its first appearance on the US Digital Songs chart at number 62, following the release of the official remix featuring Brown, and has peaked at number 30. Due to strong airplay spins, the interlude of "Birthday Cake" peaked at number 4 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. "Birthday Cake" was certified two-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of over 2,000,000 units.
Live performance Rihanna performed the song for the first time on May 5, 2012, on Saturday Night Live, as part of a medley with "Talk That Talk". The performance started with the original interlude version "Birthday Cake" and featured Rihanna in an all black outfit with a giant spiders web as the backdrop behind her. After she performed a short section of the song, it transitioned into "Talk That Talk", where she performed her part of the song in full, without the rap vocal by Jay-Z. The remix of the song was included on her Diamonds World Tour as part of her first act in 2013. She performed it on the Anti World Tour with a different beat in 2016 with included Rihanna rap in the song.
Track listing Album version "Birthday Cake" – 1:18
Credits and personnel Recording Recorded at Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Room 1306, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Personnel
Songwriting – Terius Nash, Robyn Fenty, Marcos Palacios, Earnest Clark Production – Da Internz, The-Dream Vocal engineering and recording – Kuk Harrell, Marcos Tovar
Assistant vocal recording – Jennifer Rosales Mixing – Kevin "KD" Davis Assistant mixing – Calvin Bailiff
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Talk That Talk, Def Jam Recordings, SRP Records.
Charts + Chart (2011–12) Peakposition South Korea (Gaon) 67 US Billboard Hot 100 24 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) 4
Certifications
Remix featuring Chris Brown
"Birthday Cake" was remixed with vocals from American recording artist Chris Brown, and is a full-length version of the interlude which was originally included on Talk That Talk. It was sent to radio as the fourth US single from the album on March 6, 2012. At first, it was rumored that Christina Aguilera would feature on the remix version after Rihanna posted a message on Twitter saying that she wanted someone "Dirrrty" on the re-recording, a supposed reference to Aguilera's 2002 song "Dirrty". However, the singer later tweeted that she wanted a male vocalist, not a female vocalist, to accompany her on the remix via Twitter with a tweet reading 'No girls allowed on #CAKE'. It was later revealed that Brown was the featured artist on the full-length version. Despite receiving negative attention regarding Rihanna's choice of collaborator from the media and fans alike, the singer defended her decision saying that it is simply music.
The remix of "Birthday Cakes lyrics are similar to the interlude, but with new lyrics provided by Brown. The collaboration was met with a mixed response from music critics, many of whom were shocked at the fact that Rihanna and Brown had collaborated on a song together despite their relationship history, but cited the remix as an improvement upon the original interlude. The remix peaked at number 24 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and number 2 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. American rappers Fabolous, Rick Ross and Busta Rhymes appeared on additional remixes of the song.
Background
Responding to requests from fans, Rihanna posted a message via her official Twitter account, promising that a full version of "Birthday Cake" was coming. Katherine St. Asaph of PopDust criticized the notion, writing "Honestly, at this point Rihanna and Def Jam would be better off just calling 'Birthday Cake' an interlude, not an incomplete version, because otherwise that's saying the album is released but essentially unfinished." Beck Bain of Idolator noted that the release of the full-length song is "doubtful", writing "the song is already too dirty in its current minute-and-twenty-second version. But if 'S&M' could be a single, is anything too risque for the radio these days?"
On February 15, 2012, Kosine of Da Internz, who produced the interlude, claimed that the featured collaborator will "shock the world," and that the full-length version would premiere between February 16, and February 20, 2012.
Development