Why We Love Rihanna (And Also, How to Sing Her Song, “Stay”)

Let’s talk about some @badgirlriri, shall we? While he Super Bowl halftime performance drew some mixed reviews, (not quite sure how many people could perform pregnant, suspended 150 feet in the air, on the largest stage in the country,…) we were inspired to theme this week’s Music Minute Monday after the Island Queen.

Her hugely popular duet from 2013, “Stay,” comes across as a deceptively simple song. However, it’s a fantastic display of using vocal dynamics to really paint the emotion of the song.

First, what are vocal dynamics?

Vocal dynamics are the ability to control the volume and timber of your voice. The utilization of this allows a singer to portray emotion without actually telling people what the emotion is.

For example, in “Stay” the song starts off with Rihanna in her chest voice at a conversational tone but each phrase tapers off and then the pinnacle of the verse “I threw my hands in the air” she crescendos and decrescendos creating a sense of frustration. Then when she sings “he said, if you dare come a little closer” she goes in to a pianissimo volume representing whispering.

Just in the first verse alone you can see how the use of dynamics immediately elevates an otherwise simple song.

If you’re someone who learns by imitation, let’s approach dynamics in a different way. Imagine a cello for a moment. Think about how when a cello has to hold out a note for an extended period of time, the volume rises and falls in a smooth pattern (also known as “Legato”). Try humming a note all while raising & lowering the volume without changing the actual note that you’re singing as though you are the cello. That’s dynamic singing!

Circling back to Rihanna, listen to the bridge of “Stay.” When they start to sing “Funny you’re the broken one but I’m the only one who needed saving” they slowly but steadily increase the volume of their voices until the last word “saving” and “caving” to evoke a sense of rise & fall giving you the feeling of the sadness of the song.

Dynamic singing can make or break a song and with 14 number one hits, there’s no denying Rihanna’s pure vocal talent and mastery of technique!