Rihanna has had a tough road since her highly publicized assault at the hand of her then-boyfriend and fellow pop star Chris Brown on the eve of last year's Grammy Awards. The statuesque Barbadian R&B singer's next album, Rated R, fell short of the success of 2007's Girl Gone Bad — and some reviewers called it a "violent and contrived" attempt to stand up for herself. And despite seemingly endless tabloid coverage of her troubles, the real Robyn Rihanna Fenty remains a bit of a mystery, say critics. What does she reveal in her new album, Loud, the fifth of her career and the second since her breakup with Brown? (Watch Rihanna's "Letterman" performance)
Rihanna's still a soulless enigma: "This album makes you wonder if Rihanna's ever lived anywhere else than behind a microphone," says Chris Richards in The Washington Post. She's a technically gifted singer, but if "American Idol" has taught us anything it's that "being able to sing a song like you've lived it" — not just in perfect pitch — is what matters most. You don't get that feeling on this "impenetrable" and "largely forgettable" album.
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