NEW ALBUM + BACK COVER ARTWORK : rihanna - anti

WELL! October 8th. Remember the date. Today was the day Rihanna let #R8 go and announced... 'Anti' and began the new era of Robyn Rihanna "The Artist" Fenty. Along with the title announcement, Ms. Fenty also unveiled the cover art for her next release at the MAMA gallery in downtown Los Angeles - and it's a real doozy! Dive in to the visuals (front AND back cover!!) below and then we'll go into the bits 'n' pieces of it all:

Goodness. Something tells me this isn't going to be 'LOUD 2'.

 Painted by Israeli-born Roy Nachum (in his signature style, lots of black and white imagery, with mirrored/blurred elements), he also created the artworks for 'FourFiveSeconds' and 'Bitch Better Have My Money'. It features a young Rihanna on her first day of daycare and has a poem written by Chloe Mitchell in braille laid overtop. “The whole idea behind the braille is people who have sight are sometimes the people who are blindest,” explained Riri. It has been stated that the braille will appear physically on the album artwork, which is exciting - five poems of Chloe Mitchell will be overlaid on images throughout the artwork.

Here's a video of Nachum painting the cover:

Painting the cover of Rihanna's 8th studio album "Anti" @BadGalRiri #R8 #RihxRoy #Rihanna #OfficialAlbumArtCover

A video posted by Roy Nachum / Artist (@roynachum) on Oct 7, 2015 at 8:51pm PDT

Check out some more images and a video from the artwork announcement:

     

NEW ALBUM & SINGLE ARTWORK : shakira - shakira & can't remember to forget you (ft. rihanna)

Hmm.. pretty bland affair from Shak's latest release. Hoping the music props this one on - a flash of bra is not enough sass for me unfortunately.

And the artwork for the Rihanna featured single:

NEW SINGLE ARTWORK : rihanna - what now

NEW REMIX SINGLE ARTWORK : rihanna - pour it up (remix) (ft. young jeezy, rick ross, juicy j & t.i.)

Is it just me that though Ri missed a beat when she didn't have this remix as an all-female event? 

NEWS : rihanna recreates all her album artwork for 'complex' magazine

As well as revealing her new single artworks, this week saw Rihanna grace the cover of 'Complex' magazine. The shoot took her on a trip down memory lane as she shot 7 different covers, each one channeling one of her 7 album's artworks - whether through pose or styling. Tuck in below as we take a walk down memory lane:

'Music Of The Sun'

'A Girl Like Me'

'Good Girl Gone Bad'

'Rated R'

'LOUD'

'Talk That Talk'

Also have a look at the behind the scenes video below, which shows Rihanna getting into the character of each era and generally rolling around half naked taking selfies....

! updated ! NEW SINGLE ARTWORK : rihanna - pour it up & stay (ft. mikky ekko)

Riri took to her Instagram today to unveil the artworks for Double-A side singles 'Pour It Up'...

...and 'Stay'.

Actually really liking the lo-fi look to 'Stay's cover (reminding me of Sky Ferreira's latest trippy videos)... 'Pour It Up' on the other hand looks a hot-MS Paint-mess! She should've kept with her original look for it.

NEW SINGLE ARTWORK : rihanna - pour it up

UPDATE : She's updated the artwork, see it over here.

Said to be soon released alongside other album track 'Stay' - as 'Unapologetic's next releases - Ri revealed the new artwork (and a bit of skin) on Twitter yesterday.

NEW REMIX SINGLE ARTWORK : rihanna - diamonds (remix) (ft. kanye west)

NEW REMIX SINGLE ARTWORK : rihanna - diamonds (ft. flo rida)

Flo Rida gets creative with the artwork for his remix of Riri's single 'Diamonds' - mashing up the cover she shot for Vogue US and covering it in his own diamonds...

NEW LIMITED EDITION ARTWORK : rihanna - unapologetic (diamonds deluxe edition box & diamonds executive platinum box)

Riri has announced the deluxe edition box sets for the Unapologetic era (confirming the names I had speculated at) - say hello to the 'Unapologetic (Diamonds Deluxe Edition Box)' & 'Unapologetic (Diamonds Executive Platinum Box)'!! Dive in below to see the contents and my thoughts...

The 'Unapologetic (Diamonds Deluxe Edition Box)' is set to include:

- Deluxe CD version of the album, with a 28-page photo and art booklet (of Michael Muller and Melissa T. Forde's photography) and a 20 minute DVD of never before seen footage of her 'Loud' Tour performance at the O2 Arena in London

- A fan mosaic poster (which you can add your image to at rihanna7.com) featuring a new image from the 'Unapologetic' photoshoot

- A unisex t-shirt featuring another new image from the photoshoot

- 7 laptop stickers featuring the album art, the 'Diamonds' single cover and other designed images by Mario Hugo

- A limited edition, genuine, conflict-free diamond bracelet in celebration of the single 'Diamonds'. The bracelet will feature a black leather band with a brass disc and 1pt diamond packaged in a R logo card and plastic case

(Retailing at $79)

The 'Unapologetic (Diamonds Executive Platinum Box)' set packaged as a "collar box with trap doors" (!) will include:

- Deluxe CD version of the album

- Fan mosaic poster

- Unisex t-shirt

- Special edition collectible coloured 'Diamonds (Remixes)' vinyl

- 2GB credit card style USB Flash Memory Drive, featuring the 'Unapologetic' artwork

- 7 Art print lithographs (12x15) featuring more unseen images from the album art photoshoot, bound together with an R logo band

- 3 device adhesives of the album artwork, for use on iPhone, Blackberry or other smartphone cases

- 7 laptop stickers featuring the album art, the 'Diamonds' single cover and other designed images by Mario Hugo

- A handwritten personal note from Riri, measuring 11x17

- A Rihanna 3D experience found only in this box set - a custom made white View Master (with silver detail) including a vintage reel of 3D images showing Rihanna's style transformation

- 40-page custom Rihanna notebook with handwritten notes and lyrics

-Plus, all boxsets will be individually numbered also

(Retailing at $250)

PHEW! Now that is a Navy overload, if there ever was one!! Where to begin... oh yeah, the price of the 'Diamonds Executive Platinum Box' - ouch! But, the collector (or should I say the Deluxe Edition Junkie/Graphic Design Addict... DEJ or GDJ for short) in me is already formulating what to sell in order to make sure this is sat under my tree for Christmas. Another annoyance is that the diamond bracelet isn't included in the more expensive set - I would gladly trade in the smartphone and laptop stickers - but hey hum. Also, the sets will be released December 11th...a month after the album, so the fans who spend more will have to wait for their copies of the album :/ I really don't know why artists haven't cottoned onto Britney's idea of giving the download of the album to these fans on release day...

Now onto the positives...IT'S A NEW LIMITED EDITION BOX SET TO DROOL/SPECULATE AND GET EXCITED FOR! The 'Talk That Talk (Navy Officer's Chest)' really did not disappoint, so I have every faith that this will be well designed and packaged. There is also a lot of focus on "handwritten" elements, but I'm assuming it'll be a scribbled "R" - like the Navy membership card within the Officer's Chest - but it's all fun and novelty. Also, who is like shaking and crying over the "with trapdoors" description in the packaging!! It's going to be epic!

BRING ON 'UNAPOLOGETIC'!

UPDATE: To give you an idea of what the fan mosaic will look like, take a peak below:

NEWS : rihanna is set to officially announce 'unapologetic's boxsets!

Have you checked out rihanna7.com, yet? No? WELL GET OVER THERE THEN! Shoot...calling yourself part of the Navy...

Anywho! While over there you'll see that Rih is embarking on a new social media voyage (a la the unveiling of the 'Talk That Talk' era on Facebook) - this time it has it's own website, where it states that from following certain tasks fans can win "exclusive content and prizes!". Completing the first step unveiled the chance to upload an image to a fan-mosaic poster (like in Gaga's 'Born This Way (Collector's Edition)') - in the box used to upload your image, it also included this:

"Diamonds Executive Platinum or Diamonds box sets"!!

That's right - 'Unapologetic' is set to be unleashed in two limited edition box sets :D After you'd uploaded your image, you were then told to go to rihannanow.com, to pre-order your "fan-only" box set...though they haven't been added to the 'Shop' section of her website yet - so she will surely be officially announcing these awesome sounding limited edition releases soon!

Stay tuned on simonsez-CD to hear the details first...

NEW ALBUM ARTWORK : rihanna - unapologetic

So from an artwork that made me nearly throw my Mac out of the window... to something a lil' better :) Riri has unveiled the cover for her seventh release (originally said to be called 'Seven'...then when she posted it on twitter she used the hashtag #SideEffects - one of the phrases scrawled on the cover -...which got removed and now it is being spoken of as 'Unapologetic'...get it together team Fenty!). Anywho, I like it!! Kind of looks like a cover of 'Hunger' magazine, but I can live with it and it craps on anything Nicki is unveiling...

NEW SINGLE & LOGO ARTWORK : rihanna - diamonds

"That Rihanna reign just won't let up."

Onto the next album it is then! Riri has unveiled the artwork for new single 'Diamonds' and I love it!! It's like someone took one of her Instagram photos of her smoking a fat blunt and scrawled across it. It's ghetto fab and your fave could never.

p.s. Seriously being serious, I actually do love it - hoping the album artwork has such strong visuals throughout it all. But, I'm hoping the black 'n' white isn't done to death, this needs to feel different from 'Talk That Talk's artwork.

Check out a HQ version of that new take on the "R" logo - love that she's keeping that on as a moniker <3

NEW REMIX SINGLE ARTWORK : rihanna - cockiness (love it) (ft. a$ap rocky)

NEW REMIX EP ARTWORK : rihanna - where have you been (remixes)

NEW SINGLE ARTWORK : rihanna - where have you been

annnd here is the official 'where have you been' artwork... i knew it would be surfacing this week! loving all that arabian nights look, dark eye shadow, that newspaper "r" logo still gets me going...not overly happy about how garish the "where have you been" looks and i'm not even sure if she's used that exact weight of type before in this era, but it's nothing too disastrous!

p.s. still not completely sure why the song's title doesn't have a question mark...

NEW SINGLE ARTWORK : rihanna - where have you been (?)

UPDATE : fanmade-ahoy, navy! lower those cannons... the official cover has been unveiled click here!

i've seen this artwork pop up here and there, linked with a lot of the single's official remixes...but obviously it is the image from the deluxe edition of 'talk that talk'...will update when i know for sure :)

! updated ! NEW LIMITED EDITION ARTWORK : rihanna - talk that talk (the rihanna navy box & navy officer's chest) (collectible charms pin)

so the other day i posted my cover-to-cover review of riri's 'talk that talk (navy officer's chest)' set and one beady eyed reader noticed that the charms pin (see above) i had in my version of the edition, differed to their own (see below). it appears that the "R" logo charm is on all the pins, but the ones either side differ (a bleeding heart, a skull and crossbones, a navy anchor and a revolver). which led me to think, how many other charms are there? (the collector in me is raging haha!) has anyone else out there got a copy of the package, do they have any other kind of charms? get in touch, simonsez would LOVE to know :)

(thanks to Emmily!)

another reader has sent in a picture of their navy chest's charms, showing that you could receive a lock or a rose charm!

(thanks to @ssRIHmix)

LIMITED EDITION : rihanna - talk that talk (navy officer's chest)

so i asked the faithful readers of simonsez-CD to vote for which LIMITED EDITION piece they'd like to be reviewed next and the winner was....rihanna's 'talk that talk (navy officer's chest)'! so let's dive into the sea of navy goodness...

so, the back story! this delightful piece was released as a strictly limited edition run (only 500 being made), along side the less opulent 'rihanna navy box' (also only 500 copies), to celebrate the release of riri's 6th album. not only were the pieces visually based around the original 'talk that talk' artwork and logo, but also inspired by the idea of 'the rihanna navy', the loyal fans of the bajan beauty. take a look at the outcome below:

the chest is truly a thing of beauty, the feel of it is pure quality and feels so solidly made.

the first (of mannnny) navy logos throughout the edition...

the details are delightful :)

each one is individually numbered...

and herrre we go...everything has it's place and is so well packaged and protected :)

even more purdy details, the hinge and tabs are made of ribbon.

the piece includes the deluxe edition of the album...

click "Read More" to see the rest of the review and my score for this piece! :)

NEW SINGLE ARTWORK : rihanna - talk that talk (ft. jay-z)

riri just tweeted her latest single cover, i'm glad it's keeping in check with the rest of her visuals :) there were murmurs that kanye was going to be featured on the single mix...but with the absence of his name, i'm assuming that was a no go :(

p.s. look out for my full cover-to-cover post on the 'talk that talk (navy officer's chest)' :D:D...coming soon...