I’m nearing the end of my Valentine project, woohoo! For today, I thought of making a double post, starting off with Rihanna‘s “Stay.” More than the hooky tracks of pop/hip hop/R&B artists like her, I look forward when they release ballads because it’s an opportunity for us to hear them in their rawest – stripped off of heavy production and grand arrangements. This is a quiet song but explodes with emotion. It’s just Rihanna’s and Mikky Ekko‘s (who’s also one of its writers and producers) voices, a piano, and some unapologetically vulnerable lyrics about wanting a relationship to work out because it means so much to you and wanting it to last in spite of and despite your and your beloved’s imperfections. Beautiful.
The Winged Wonder 