Hard (Lied)

"Hard" is a song performed by Barbadian singer Rihanna. The song served as the second single off her fourth studio album Rated R, and was solicited to North America only. It features American rapper Jeezy, and is his first appearance being credited as such as opposed to his longtime stage name "Young Jeezy." It first impacted rhythmic and urban radio on November 10, 2009, and mainstream on November 23, 2009. It was written by Terius "The-Dream" Nash, Rihanna, and Young Jeezy, and produced by The-Dream and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart.

The song received positive reviews, complimenting the song's hip-hop vibe and Rihanna's appealing monotone vocals. The song peaked in the top ten of Canada and the United States. Although it was only sent to U.S. radio, the song's digital success abroad helped it chart in several countries. The accompanying music video features Rihanna and Young Jeezy in military camps and in desert scenes. The music video received mixed reviews, critics noting the vulgarity of it and its portrayal of war.

Background

In an interview, producer Mikkel S. Eriksen had confirmed "Wait Your Turn" as the second single from the Rated R, however, it was later announced that "Hard" was chosen instead. In an interview with MTV News, Rihanna said: "When I first heard the song, I was in Paris, Dream and Tricky, they flew out and played me the record. They played me a few [songs], but this one stuck out to me. It had such an arrogance to it, which is so far from who I am ... which is part of why I wanted to do it. It was fun. It was bragging. A lot of attitude. Young Jeezy was the perfect person for the topic of the song. Just the vibe of the song. I love, love, love his verse. He added so much more to the record".

Critical reception

Monica Herrerra of Billboard says that in the song, "Rihanna effectively assumes the hip-hop posture and even recruits the ultimate street cred-booster in rapper Young Jeezy, who provides the thrust needed to send a song with a somewhat inert chorus home." Although Rihanna was not in her "typical comfort song", she said the "atypical is precisely what she has aimed for with her new material-and it works." The Guardian commented that "Hard" "exploit[s] Rihanna's most appealing vocal style, a sulky, icy, monotone – uniquely among the pantheon of showboating R&B divas, Rihanna often sounds as if she's about to roll her eyes and tut. It undercuts the standard braggathon of Hard – "fan mail from 27 million," she offers, in a tone that suggests she's disappointed most of them didn't even bother to include a stamped addressed envelope."

Chart performance

"Hard" debuted eighty on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 27, 2009. The following week it jumped sixty-one positions to nineteen. Four weeks later, it climbed to eleven, then fell to eighteen, but recovered to enter the top ten, eventually peaking at number eight, becoming Rihanna's second consecutive top ten hit from Rated R. It also was her thirteenth top ten single and sixteenth top twenty hit this decade, re-tying her with Beyonce Knowles as the female artist with the most Top 10's on the Billboard Hot 100 this decade.. The song peaked at fourteen on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, nine on the Pop Songs, and at number one on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. "Hard" entered the Canadian Hot 100 at fifteen, and peaked at nine.

Although it was only sent to U.S. radio, the song made international impact. It entered the Australian Singles Chart at eighty-six before peaking at fifty-one, and did not have much impact thereafter due to the release of "Rude Boy" as a single only a few weeks after "Hard" had been on the radio. On the New Zealand Singles Chart "Hard" debuted at thirty five. It also entered the Irish Singles Chart at forty-four on January 15, 2010, and climbed eleven places to thirty-three the following week to become Rihanna's fourteenth top forty solo single in Ireland. "Hard" debuted at fifty-five on the UK Singles Chart and at seventeen on the UK R&B Chart on January 17, 2010. It rose to forty-two on the singles chart the following week and to fourteen on the R&B chart.

Music video

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Rihanna in a desert scene in the "Hard" video

The music video was filmed in early December 2009, directed by Melina, and first premiered on MTV on December 17. Prior to the video, Rihanna stated in an interview with MTV News, "It's couture-military. Everything is surrounded by the whole idea of something military. We have tanks, we have troops, we've got helicopters, we've got explosions… Tight gear, lots of cute outfits, lots of bullets. Crazy." The video features Rihanna in a military house and a desert and Young Jeezy on a desert dune. Some images in the video portray Rihanna wearing war paint and shoulder pads with spikes coming out of them. That scene also takes place in a desert, which recalls the classic clip for Tupac's "California Love."

The video begins with Rihanna as a military lieutenant "yelling" at her troops, while wearing a white suit. Then she appears walking in the dunes/desert while dodging land mimes, while wearing a black outfit with spikes. Then she is playing around in wet sand, eventually being covered in it. Then she is seen playing poker, and winning. After she is ontop of a pink tank with a mouse eared helmet. Then she is seen carrying a gun, while Jeezy raps his part. Which he rides a tank. At the end of the video she is a flag girl with the "R" logo. Throughout the video Rihanna is seen in a military house, her breasts are covered in tape.

Peter Gaston of Spin Magazine said that the video is "Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation" meets Christina Aguilera's "Dirrrty" [sic] phase." Gaston also reviewed that "Rihanna vamps in dimly lit outposts, dodges explosions in the desert, and, quite enticingly, takes a break from boot camp to smother herself with mud. Morale-boosting, indeed!" Bill Lamb of About.com reviewed the video negatively, saying that it trivialized and glamorized war, calling it, "one of the most tasteless, offensive moves by a major pop artist in recent memory", pointing out the "...fail to understand the point of Rihanna humping the gun turret of a pink tank dressed in Mickey Mouse ears," and "the star of the show strutting around in panties and naked breasts with black electrical tape over nipples and elsewhere treating a tank as a sex toy."

Live performances

"Hard" was performed live for the first time on November 8, 2009 at Jay-Z's concert at UCLA Pauley Pavilion. The song was also performed at the Nokia concert promoting Rated R on November 16, 2009, and notably at the American Music Awards as a medley alongside "Wait Your Turn" on November 22, 2009. The pairVorlage:Who performed the song on Saturday Night Live on December 5, 2009, and on BET's 106 & Park on December 10, 2009. She also performed the song on NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly 2010, and on The Ellen Degeneres Show on February 1, 2010. She performed the song on February 4, 2009 at the Super Bowl Fan Jam on VH1 along with performers Timbaland and Justin Bieber. On March 27, 2010, Rihanna performed the song as part of a medley with "Rude Boy" and "Don't Stop the Music" at the 2010 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards.

Remixes

Several official remixes were released for "Hard", including one featuring Lil' Kim. American R&B singer Trey Songz has also released a freestyle over the beat.

Fabolous freestyled over the song on his "There Is No Competition 2 (The Funeral Service)" mixtape and it featured Kobe, Paul Cain, and LA The Darkman on it.Vorlage:Citation needed

Charts

Chart positions

Vorlage:Singlechart

Chart (2009/2010)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	51
Belgian Tip Chart (Wallonia)	12
Canadian Hot 100	9
Czech Republic Singles Chart	31
Irish Singles Chart	33
Japan Hot 100	82
New Zealand Singles Chart	15
Slovakian Airplay Chart	21
Swedish Singles Chart	26
UK Singles Chart	42
UK R&B Chart	14
US Billboard Hot 100	8
US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	14

Release history

Radio add dates

Country	Date	Format
United States	November 10, 2009	Rhythmic and urban
	November 23, 2009	Top 40/Mainstream

External links

• Rihanna ft. Young Jeezy - Hard Music Video