Rated R: Remixed is the second remix album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on May 8, 2010, in Brazil and Europe and on May 24, 2010, in the United States by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. It contains remixes from her fourth studio album, Rated R (2009). The songs were solely remixed by Chew Fu. The majority of the remixes were remastered to incorporate influences from the genre of house music, and incorporate heavy usage of synthesizers as part of their instrumentation.

Rated R: Remixed received a mixed review from Jean Goon for MSN Entertainment. She praised Fu for remixing some of the dark and sombre songs into upbeat dance songs, but criticized the album as it did not provide memorability. The album peaked at number four in Greece and number six on the US Dance/Electronic Albums chart; it peaked at number 33 on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and number 158 on the US Billboard 200 chart. As of July 2010, Rated R: Remixed has sold 13,000 copies in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Background and release Following the release and success of Rated R (2009) and its singles "Russian Roulette", "Hard" and "Rude Boy", it was confirmed on April 14, 2010, by Def Jam Recordings that Rihanna was going to release her second remix album entitled Rated R: Remixed. The singer's first remix album was Good Girl Gone Bad: The Remixes in January 2009. The project was announced as something for fans to bridge the gap while Rihanna was still on the Last Girl on Earth Tour (2010–11) and her fifth studio album, Loud, was not yet released. Rated R: Remixed was exclusively remixed by New York-based electronic record producer, remixer and DJ, Chew Fu. Although the track list on Rated R consists of 13 songs, Rated R: Remixed consists of 10 songs; "Cold Case Love", "The Last Song" and "Te Amo" were not remixed by Fu and were therefore not included. Rated R: Remixed was released on May 8, 2010, in Brazil and various European territories in a digital download format. It was released in the same format on May 24, in the United States.

Composition and reception

Rated R: Remixed includes elements of house music. "Russian Roulette", "Photographs", "Rude Boy" and "Stupid in Love" feature "heavy electro and synth beats". "Wait Your Turn", originally a dubstep and hip hop song, was remastered to a house song. "Stupid in Love", which was originally a pop and R&B power ballad, was also changed to an uptempo house track.

Critical reception Jean Goon for MSN Entertainment gave a mixed review for the album, and awarded it 2.5 stars out of five. Goon was complimentary of how Fu changed some of the more sombre and downtempo songs to incorporate "catchy, upbeat touches." She noted that Goon noted that "Photographs" had undergone a "groovy" transformation, and that the composition complemented Rihanna's vocal performance. With regard to "Stupid in Love", Goon described the remix as "classy enough to be played in a trendy boutique or cafe."

However, Goon was critical of "Russian Roulettes production, writing that Fu appeared to have "got a little carried away" and criticising him for applying electro beats to every song, not all of which may have needed them. The critic noted that "Russian Roulette" was a "mess to listen to." With regard to "Rude Boy", originally an uptempo dance song that incorporates elements of the dancehall, ragamuffin, pop and R&B genres, Goon stated that Fu's production was an attempt to try and "outdo the already upbeat original." Goon concluded although she thought some of the remixes "weren't too bad on the ears," there were not any outstanding or memorable tracks. Furthermore, Goon criticised the remixes for being too heavily distorted with electronic synths which "seemed to compete for our attention rather than complement Rihanna’s vocals."

Commercial performance In Greece, Rated R: Remixed debuted at number 11 on May 17, 2010. The following week, the album peaked at number four. The album spent a total of two weeks on the album chart. In the United States, the album debuted and peaked at number 158 on the Billboard 200 on June 12, 2010. The album stayed on the chart for one week. Rated R: Remixed debuted and peaked at number six on the US Dance/Electronic Albums on June 12, and stayed on the chart for 11 weeks. It debuted and peaked at number 33 on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums on June 12, and stayed on the chart for 13 weeks. As of July 2010, Rated R: Remixed has sold 13,000 copies in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Track listing Credits adapted from the liner notes of Rated R: Remixed.

Notes signifies a vocal producer signifies a remixer signifies a co-producer signifies an additional producer Hong Kong version replaces track 6 with the Chew Fu Bumbaclot Fix of "Rude Boy".

Personnel Credits for Rated R: Remixed adapted from Allmusic.

Mykael Alexander – assistant Beardyman – vocals Jessie Bonds – guitar Jay Brown – A&R Bobby Campbell – assistant Chase & Status – producer, musician Chew Fu – Programming, Remix Producer, Remixing James J. Cooper III – celli, soloist Cédric Culnaërt – assistant engineer Tyler Van Dalen – assistant engineer Kevin "KD" Davis – mixing Steven Dennis – assistant engineer Dylan Dresdow – mixing Mikkel S. Eriksen – engineer, vocal producer, musician James Fauntleroy II – background vocals Glenn Fischbach – celli Paul Foley – engineer Rick Friedrich – assistant engineer Future Cut – keyboards Mariel Haenn – stylist Alex Haldi – design Kevin Hanson – assistant Chuck Harmony – producer Keith Harris – strings Ben Harrison – guitar, additional production Karl Heilbron – vocal engineer Simon Henwood – art direction, design, photography, stylist Tor Erik Hermansen – musician Jean-Marie Horvat – mixing Ghazi Hourani – mixing assistant Jaycen Joshua – mixing Mike Johnson – engineer JP Robinson – art direction, design, photography Brian Kennedy – keyboards, programming, producer Padraic Kerin – engineer Olga Konopelsky – violin Emma Kummrow – violin Giancarlo Lino – mixing assistant Pater Martinez – assistant Luigi Mazzocchi – violin, soloist Monte Neuble – keyboards Terius Nash – producer Luis Navarro – assistant engineer Shaffer Smith – producer Jared Newcomb – mixing assistant Peter Nocella – viola Chris "Tek" O'Ryan – engineer Anthony Palazzole – mixing assistant Paper-Boy – additional production Ciarra Pardo – art direction, design Charles Parker – violin Ross "Dights" Parkin – assistant engineer Daniel Parry – assistant Kevin Porter – assistant Antonio Reid – executive producer Antonio Resendiz – assistant Makeba Riddick – background vocals, vocal producer Rihanna – executive producer, art direction, design Montez Roberts – assistant engineer Evan Rogers – executive producer Sébastien Salis – assistant engineer Jason Sherwood – assistant engineer Tyran "Ty Ty" Smith – A&R Caleb Speir – bass Stargate – producer Status – producer Xavier Stephenson – assistant Christopher "Tricky" Stewart – producer Tim Stewart – guitar Bernt Rune – stray guitar Carl Styrken – executive producer Rob Swire – musician Igor Szwec – violin Sean Tallman – engineer Marcos Taylor – engineer Gregory Teperman – violin Brian "B-Luv" Thomas – engineer Pat Thrall – engineer Marcos Tovar – engineer Neil Tucker – assistant, guitar engineer Ellen Von Unwerth – photography Alain Whyte – acoustic guitar Andrew Wuepper – engineer Ys – producer

Charts Chart (2010) Peakposition Greek Albums Chart4 US Billboard 200158 US Dance/Electronic Albums6 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums33

Release history Region Date Format Label Brazil May 8, 2010 Digital download Def Jam Recordings Finland Germany Hungary The Netherlands Portugal Spain Sweden Switzerland United States May 24, 2010

References