page_title: Only Girl (In the World)
section_title: Concept and development
hierarchical_section_title: Only Girl (In the World) / Concept and development
caption_attribution_description: English: Sandy Vee
context_page_description: "Only Girl (In the World)" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna from her fifth album, Loud. The album's lead single, it was released on September 10, 2010. Crystal Johnson wrote the song in collaboration with producers Stargate and Sandy Vee. Rihanna contacted Stargate before Loud's production and asked them to create lively, uptempo music. "Only Girl (In the World)" was the first song composed for the album, and the singer decided to include it on the track list before she recorded her vocals. Backed by strong bass and synthesizer, it is a dance-pop song that has an electronic composition. In its lyrics, Rihanna demands physical attention from her lover.
  Critical response to "Only Girl (In the World)" was positive; a number of critics praised its composition and Rihanna's decision to move away from the dark themes of her previous album, Rated R. The song reached number one on the United States' Billboard Hot 100 chart two weeks after Loud's second single, "What's My Name?", peaked at number one. It was the first time in the chart's history that an album's lead single reached number one after its second single.
context_section_description: "Only Girl (In the World)" was written by Crystal Johnson with the song's producers, Stargate and Sandy Vee. Rihanna had previously worked with Stargate on the singles "Hate That I Love You", "Don't Stop the Music" and "Rude Boy". In February 2011, Stargate said that Rihanna approached the Norwegian production duo before she began recording the then-untitled project, saying that she wanted to have fun and produce happy, uptempo songs. According to Tor Erik Hermansen of Stargate, "Only Girl (In the World)" was the first song created for Loud and Rihanna decided to include it on the album before recording her vocals. In a webchat with fans, Rihanna said that she wanted to take the next step as an artist: "I didn’t want to go backward and remake Good Girl Gone Bad. I wanted the next step in the evolution of Rihanna, and it’s perfect for us. You guys are always defending me, so now you’ve got some great songs to justify it." The singer described "Only Girl (In the World)" as having a "bigger sound" than "Rude Boy".
  The song was recorded during Rihanna's Last Girl on Earth tour. Its instrumental was recorded by Mikkel Storleer Eriksen of Stargate and Miles Walker at Roc the Mic Studios in New York City and Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, and by Vee at the Bunker in Paris. Kuk Harrell produced Rihanna's vocals, recording them with Josh Gudwin and Marcos Tovar. Inaam Haq, Dane Liska and Brad Shea recorded additional vocals. The song was mixed by Phil Tan at the Ninja Beat Club in Atlanta and by Vee at The Bunker, with engineering by Damien Lewis. Eriksen, Vee and Hermansen provided the instrumentation, and Johnson sang background vocals.
caption: Sandy Vee (pictured) co-wrote and produced "Only Girl (In the World)".
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