Pon de Replay

"Pon de Replay" (English: "Play It Again") is a song written by Vada Nobles, Carl Sturken, Evan Rogers, and Alisha Brooks for eurodance, pop–reggae singer Rihanna's debut album, Music of the Sun (2005). Produced by Nobles, Struken, and Rogers, it was released as the album's first single in summer 2005. The song peaked at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, becoming her first Top 5 single; it also peaked at number 2 in the UK and at number 6 and number 7 in Australia and Canada, respectively. The beat for Pon De Replay was also used in Natasja Saad's hit "Mon De Reggae".

Music video

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Rihanna dancing in the music video.

In the music video, directed by Little X, Rihanna and her friends arrive at the club where everybody is bored and not dancing because of the low music. Rihanna steps up and sings the song, causing the DJ to turn the music up and everybody to start dancing. The music video also features Rihanna doing some belly dancing moves. The music video was also popular receiving much play from MTV and BET. It peaked at #2 on MTV's Total Request Live spending 37 days on the countdown; it was not able to retire due to the early introduction of the music video for her second single, "If It's Lovin' That You Want". The video reached #4 on BET's 106 & Park and remained on the countdown for over 20 days.

Chart performance

The song proved to be a big success, peaking at #2 on the USA Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and reaching #1 on the Hot Digital Songs chart. The song almost topped the Billboard Hot 100 but wasn't able to overcome Mariah Carey's hugely popular single "We Belong Together." Even when "We Belong Together"'s digital sales began to drop, "Pon de Replay" was still not able to overcome it due to "We Belong Together"'s massive airplay.

"Pon de Replay" was also a major dance hit topping both the Hot Dance Music/Club Play and the Dance Radio Airplay chart for 2 weeks. It also performed well on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks charts peaking at #24; most of its chart points had been received from airplay from pop stations and from its digital downloads. In an unusual situation, the track reached #6 on the Hot Rap Tracks, an unlikely supporter of the song. On the non-Billboard chart, ARC Top 40, the track also hit #1. Pop girl group Girl Authority covered the song in 2006 for their debut album.

Track listing

• CD single (European version)

1. "Pon de Replay" (Radio edit) (Brooks, Alisha/Rogers, Evan/Sturken, Carl/Nobles, Vada) — 3:34
2. "Pon de Replay" (Remix featuring Elephant Man) (Brooks, Alisha/Rogers, Evan/Sturken, Carl/Nobles, Vada) — 3:37

• CD maxi-single (European version)

1. "Pon de Replay" (Brooks, Alisha/Rogers, Evan/Sturken, Carl/Nobles, Vada) — 3:36
2. "Pon de Replay" (Cotto's Replay Dub) (Brooks, Alisha/Rogers, Evan/Sturken, Carl/Nobles, Vada) — 6:48
3. "Pon de Replay" (Instrumental) (Brooks, Alisha/Rogers, Evan/Sturken, Carl/Nobles, Vada) — 4:05

• Extras:

"Pon de Replay" (Video) — 3:37

Charts

Chart (2005) Peak position New Zealand Singles Chart 1 Belgium Singles Chart 5 Irish Singles Chart 2 UK Singles Chart 2 Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 2 United World Chart 3 Australian ARIA Singles Chart 6 German Singles Chart 6 Italy Singles Chart 6

Chart (2005) Peak position France Singles Chart 18 Russia Singles Chart 3 Dutch Top 40 18 México Top 100 Singles Chart 79 U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 1 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 2 U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Tracks 6 U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 24