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Rihanna fans have been blown away after discovering the numerous 1980s song references subtly woven into the lyrics of her 2006 hit “SOS.”
Appearing on the Behind the Wall podcast, songwriter Evan “Kidd” Bogart reflected on the song that would become Rih’s first No. 1 hit — which was also the first pop song the seasoned rap writer penned.
If you really look at how that song is written, it’s not written by anyone who knows anything about pop music,” he explained. “I was going off of instinct. If you look at the verses, they’re crafted with a lot of clever word play and internal rhyme schemes — like a rapper would.
“The whole second verse of that song is ’80s song titles strung together as sentences because I thought it would be clever.”
On the song’s second verse, Rihanna sings: ““Take on me (a-ha), you know inside you feel it right / Take me on, I could just die up in your arms tonight / I melt with you, you got me head over heels / Boy, you keep me hangin’ on, the way you make me feel.”
In just those few bars, she references “Take on Me” by A-ha, Cutting Crew’s “(I Just) Died in Your Arms,” “Head Over Heels” by Tears for Fears, Kim Wilde’s “You Keep Me Hanging On” and “The Way You Make Me Feel” by Michael Jackson.
Fittingly, the song’s beat also samples Soft Cell’s 1981 hit “Tainted Love.”
Although fans have been singing the song for nearly two decades, most never made the connection behind the lyrics.
“I had no idea about this Rihanna ‘SOS’ song. This is clever. I love creatives,” one person wrote on social media, while another said: “wait that’s actually really clever.”
Another fan added: “That is to be a genius, there is nothing to discover in art, that is to know how to manipulate the tools well.”
Countless hit songs and successful business ventures later, billionaire Rihanna is loving her motherhood era as she grows and learns with her two sons, RZA and Riot, who she shares with boyfriend A$AP Rocky.
Last week, the superstar hit the red carpet for the launch of her Savage X Fenty line in Nordstrom, and spoke to Access Hollywood‘s Scott Evans about her journey as a mom.
“It’s fun, I literally, I enjoy it so much,” Rih gushed. “I am just looking at them and living through them and I’m amazed by every new discovery of theirs, even their boundaries. They’re teaching me how to be their mom as much as I’m teaching them how to be in this world and guide them as best as I can.”
As for RZA becoming a big brother, he’s enjoying it just as much too.
“The second that his baby brother cries, he’s there,” she added. “He’s running down, he’s actually crying too. He’s worried. He loves him! It’s just hard to share toys and pacifiers.”
