Take a Bow (Rihanna song)

For other uses, see Take a Bow.

"Take a Bow"
Song

"Take a Bow" is a song written by R&B singer-songwriter Ne-Yo and production-team Stargate for the re-release of Rihanna's third studio album Good Girl Gone Bad. It is the first single from the re-release edition of the album. The single was produced by Stargate.

Background and composition

"Take a Bow" is a pop and R&B song written by Rihanna's label mate Ne-Yo, Tor Erik Hermansen and Mikkel Eriksen (StarGate), with whom she previously worked on "Unfaithful" and "Hate That I Love You". The premise of the song is based around a female's point of view as her boyfriend is attempting to apologize after being unfaithful. She sarcastically informs him that his performance is "very entertaining", and instructs him to "take a bow" like he was performing on a stage. Although there is a gentle tone to the lyrics, at the heart of it they convey a tone of bitterness and even disgust ("trying to apologize, you're so ugly when you cry"). It is the second single with the same name to top the Billboard Hot 100 after Madonna's 1995 ballad "Take a Bow."

Single release

The song premiered on KZZP and KRQQ's JohnJay and Rich in the Morning on March 14, 2008, and was made available to media outlets later that same day. It was officially released to U.S. top 40 radio on April 15, 2008 and to iTunes on May 6, 2008 where it has proven to be immensely popular both in the United States and internationally. To date the single has reached the number 1 position on iTunes in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Ireland, and has achieved top 10 chartings in ten countries across the globe.

Critical reception

Bill Lamb from About.com stated that "Rihanna has the unique ability to deliver them [Ne-Yo's lyrics] without batting an eyelash, and this is another success, if a little lifeless, for the duo. Look for it to be Rihanna's 9th, yes 9th, top 10 pop single" and "The production [of the song] utilizes brief spoken asides by Rihanna to great effect. It's her "please!" and dismissive giggle that are likely to be the most memorable elements from this effort" he also adds "The keyboard-based backing of "Take a Bow" is, by now, standard Stargate and does not challenge their best. However, you are likely to find yourself singing along after the first few times through, and that should be enough right now to keep Rihanna in good graces with pop radio programmers".

Chuck Taylor from Billboard magazine reviewed the song and said: "With superstars Stargate and Ne-Yo at the helm, the velvety ballad ticks along with well-applied piano and strings, as the instantly recognizable singer delivers a convincingly bemused vocal, complete with haughty laugh". Nick Levine of Digital Spy wrote, "'Take A Bow' does what it sets out to do very well, but it's an underwhelming follow-up to the dancefloor rush of 'Don't Stop The Music'."

Chart performance

In the issue dated May 24, 2008, "Take a Bow" jumped up 52 spots from 53 to 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. This was the second-best leap in the chart's history behind Maroon 5's "Makes Me Wonder", which jumped from 64 to 1 in May 2007. The song also opened with the third highest digital sales tally in Billboard Chart history amassing 267,000 units sold in one week after being available only on radio. The song has become Rihanna's second number-one single from her album Good Girl Gone Bad after "Umbrella" topped the charts around the same time in 2007 and her third number one overall. The song also shot-up from number 70 to one on the Canadian Billboard chart in the same week, making it the biggest jump in the chart's history.

In the United Kingdom the track debuted in the Top 10 at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart, achieved on downloads only. The following week, the track made it to the top of the chart, making it Rihanna's second UK number one following "Umbrella" in 2007. The song debuted at number 30 on the Australian ARIA Charts, the following week it climbed 17 places to number 13 and was awarded a bullet performer. So far the track has soared up to number 5 on digital sales based on the Australian iTunes Store and peaked at number 10 on the Top 50 Singles Chart, and rised to number six the following week, becoming her fourth top 10 hit from Good Girl Gone Bad. In New Zealand, the single debuted at number four on the RIANZ charts. It has since risen to number two in its second week and has continued in this position in its third week and fourth week. It also reached the number one position on the Phillipines Hot 100. "Take a Bow" debuted at number six on the United World Chart and has reached #3 with 970,000 points so far.

The single has become one of Rihanna's biggest radio hits of her entire career in the states, only 2nd to "Umbrella," which had the advantage of Urban airplay. The combined airplay on both Top 40 and Rhythmic has propelled the song ahead of flagship hits such as "Don't Stop the Music" "SOS" and "Pon De Replay".

Tracklist

UK/EU 2-track CD

1. "Take a Bow" (Album version)
2. "Don't Stop the Music" (Solitaire's More Drama remix)

EU Maxi CD

1. "Take a Bow" (Album version)
2. "Don't Stop the Music" (Solitaire's More Drama remix)
3. "Take a Bow" (Instrumental)
4. "Take a Bow" (Video)

Chart positions

Chart (2008)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	6
Canadian Hot 100	1
Danish Singles Chart	13
Dutch Top 40	9
Euro 200	12
Irish Singles Chart	1
Israeli Singles Chart	12
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart	2
Norwegian Singles Chart	8
Polish National Top 50	50
Swedish Singles Chart	12
Swiss Singles Chart	7
UK Singles Chart	1
United World Chart	3
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1
U.S. Billboard Pop 100	2
U.S. Billboard European Hot 100 Singles	3
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	49

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