Rihanna, Good Girl Gone Bad

Rihanna looks every bit the R& B star while at the same time, she's just enough off-center to make herself unique from the rest.

"Pon De Replay, "S.O.S.," "Unfaithful" -- these Rihanna hit songs not only made their way to the top of the charts, they also found their way to your cell phones! Now back with an even bigger, sexier image and sound, Rihanna is all ready to call the No. 1 spot her home again.

Taking its cue from the hit single "S.O.S.," Good Girl Gone Bad plays with up-tempo '80s flavors and has several dance-oriented tracks that, while not as sharp as those of her competition (Beyonce and Ciara), have a distinct sound and style. First single "Umbrella," featuring Jay-Z, is an infectious, familiar number that has gotten everyone, love it or hate it, hooked on to the tongue friendly words of "Ella, ella, eh-eh-eh." Lyrics aside, "Umbrella" (which soars into wild synthetic layers during the chorus) does show Rihanna's sonic adventurousness.

And for a more diverse sound, Rihanna roped in a heavy list of collaborators. Other than Jay-Z, Timbaland lends his talent as well, adding his production skills to songs like "Sell Me Candy," "Lemme Get That," and "Rehab," a song written by the multi-talented Justin Timberlake who also did the backing vocals for the track. Ne-Yo, who penned two tracks on the album, also steers the album into a more mainstream territory. It's a move that doesn't necessarily gel with the more club-oriented material on the album, but is forgivable as it's all part of the adventure plan.

Whether she's a good girl gone bad or not, Rihanna looks every bit the R& B star while at the same time, she's just enough off-center to make herself unique from the rest. And Good Girl Gone Bad is an album that validates that observation.