Rated R: Remixed

Rated R: Remixed (stylized as 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. 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. 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
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
Release history
References
Rihanna albums
2010 remix albums
Def Jam Recordings remix albums