As can be seen from the album jackets, there are a couple of things that Rihanna has improved since her debut album "Music of the Sun". One of these things is that she has expanded her range from reggae/dancehall and lovers' rock to include pop and R&B.

Hit single "S.O.S." is an extremely catchy track, deservedly getting lots of radio play, and the best track to set the tone for the rest of the album. Second single "Unfaithful" is the opposite - a slow pop ballad with a lot of piano in the background, similar to another track, "A Million Miles Away". "We Ride" is another slow song, but more on the R&B side, as is the sad "Final Goodbye", "P.S. (I'm still Not Over You)" and "A Girl Like Me", with its Spanish guitar backing.

Reggae tracks include "Kisses Don't Lie" (a lover's rock beat); "Dem Haters" (again a slow beat); "Break It Off" (an energetic dancehall track with red hot Sean Paul - great track); "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (slow jam, not the Queen song); "Selfish Girl" (another slow one); and a remix of "If It's Lovin' That You Want" from the first album.

A reasonably good follow up to "Music of the Sun", but too heavy on the ballads which I don't think are her strongest area. A few more of her trademark Dancehall tracks would have made this a much better album.

Amanda Richards, April 25, 2006

Rihanna's Sophomore CD, A Girl Like Me, proves her as more of a talented Artist than we thought she was with her first CD, Music of the Sun. On this new set Rihanna showcases more mellow vocals, reminiscent of her Idol Beyonce Knowles, but miles away from her vocally, but still very impressive, Overal this album gets a 9/10 from me, so heres a review of all the songs.

1. SOS (10/10)- First single from the abum, nice pop beat and flavor to it. This song is doing very god on the charts, one of the outstanding songs on the album.

2. Kisses Don't Lie (7/10)- This song has great vocals, but the Rock type feel just doesnt grab my attention, like the other ones, so this is not a favorite of mine.

3. Unfaithful (8.5/10)- Her 2nd single written by Ne-Yo, has a nice pop ballad feel to it. Not Outstanding, but it does have great lyrics and delivers a good vocal performance, not my favorite on the album though.

4. We Ride (10/10)- THIS IS IT!!!!!1 ONE OF THE BEST SONGS ON THE ALBUM...COMPLETELY OUTSTANDING!!!!!! IT SOUNDS LIKE A BRIAN MICHAEL COX PRODUCTION, THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN HER NEXT SINGLE, IT HAS A STRAIGHT RADIO FRIENDLY R&B/POP MIXTURE. DEFINITELY ONE OF MY FAVORITES.

5. Dem Haters (9/10)- I like this song alot! it has a great reggae beat to it, and she delivers good lyrics in it about her haters and people who said she wasnt gon make it.

6. Final Goodbye (8/10)- Nice mellow ballad...very deep lyrics, didnt grab my attention at first, but as I begin to listen, it grew on me.

7. Break It Off (9/10)- Nice reggae club song, could be a great dance track for those who like to reggae dance.....Rihanna's vocals on here are sooooooo good also. I love this girls voice for some reason

8. Crazy Thing Called Love (6/10)- I dont really like this song. Its nice to listen to cause of the vocals, but it seem like it has the same beat as "Dem Haters", but slowed down a little bit.

9. Selfish Girl (5/10)- I like Reggae and all, but this has another one of those same beats like "Dem Haters" and "Crazy thing called Love", she could have switched up the beats..this has to be my least favorite song..never the less still good vocals though, the reggae beat im just not feeling.

10. P.S. (Im still not over you) (100/10)- THIS IS THE BEST SONG ON THE ALBUM!!!!!! MY FAVORITE OF THEM ALL! GREAT LYRICS! VERY CATCHY! THIS SHOULD DEFINITELY BE A SINGLE! IT IS GREAT PURE R&B! I LOVEEEEEEEE THIS SONG! VERY EMOTIONAL IF U LISTEN CLOSELY TO THE LYRICS.

11. A Girl Like Me (9/10)- This is a cool nice laid back song, i can listen to this alot. nothin much to say about it, cause of the title, and im a guy, but never the less a cool mellow r&B song with great lyrics.

12. Million Miles Away (6/10)- Another one of my least favorites from the album, it sounds too much like "Now I Know" from her last album, and thats what makes it not catch my attention, seems like it outta be a remix to that song or somethin.

Overall This CD Gets a:

95- For Vocals

80- For Beats

90- For Production and Arrangement

This CD Provides Alot of Different Genre Flavor, Its a mixture between Pop/Rock/R&B, with mostly R&B, ill say give it a try....you wont be dissapointed at ALL!

Rihanna is back with her second album in less than a year which is pretty much unheard of in today's industry. Her first album Music of The Sun displayed a lot of potential with songs such as Pon de Replay, You Don't Love Me, The Last Time, and Willing To Wait. Contrary to popular belief, Rihanna really shined on the ballads and midtempos rather than the uptempo tracks. Recognizing this fact, the second album leans heavily on the ballads and midtempos and it really works. Some people don't like Rihanna's voice and compare her to Beyonce ( 0which it seems like everyone that comes out female is somehow a Beyonce clone in some way shape or form)...I don't believe any of that; she doesn't sound like Beyonce and she doesn't make songs like Beyonce. People need to get over it.

Back to the album, A Girl Like Me is a good listen and manages to give a good mix of slow jams (Unfaithful, PS Im Still Not Over You, Million Miles Away, Title song), dance tunes (Break It Off, SOS, If it's Lovin), and grooves (We Ride, Dem Haters, Crazy Thing). I really like the songwriting on this album too especially Unfaithful. The album is just the right length at 13 tracks and enough gems throughout to keep you interested. I would say that this album is a bit of a mood album meaning I can't just sit and listen to it but it's still a good effort especially coming from Rihanna. This album is a step up from her debut album and if she keeps progressing she'll soon be a real force to reckon with. 3.5 stars.

This album is way better than the previous one (Music of The Sun), it has the blend of pop, r&b, rock and hip-hop. I've always been a fan of Rihanna and its nice to see a artists (including Ciara) who don't have to curse or sing about sex in every song.

1- SOS - The lead single that peaked at #1 in many many countries. It was originally supposed to be recorded by Christina Milian but she wouldn't (maybe to poppy for her?). It has the music from Tainted Love with it, it's a great pop song to dance too. 10/10

2- Kisses Don't Lie - I hope that this is single #3. It's a blend of pop and rock and is very catchy. It's a nice fun loving summer track. It's about a girl who is "caught between yes and no" because kisses don't lie! 10/10

3- Unfaithful - The 2nd single. It's a ballad and I believe the song should sell well. It's about a girl who is cheating on her fella and doesn't wanna do it anymore because it's killing him, and she doesn't wanna be a "murderer". The song shows another side of Rihanna. 9.5/10

4- We Ride - Another potential single. Very much mainstream r&b. About a guy who doesn't fell the same way about a girl and she is trying to accept the fact that they both "ride" and nothing more will become of it. 9.5/10

5- Dem Haters - This song is a good collaboration between Rihanna and Dwane Husbands (who?). A lot of artists these days sing about people who hate them and how they don't care, but this track is more sophisticated and fun. Very much pop. 7/10

6- Final Goodbye - I didn't like this song at all at first, but it does grow on you. The song is about a girl finally telling a guy how she honestly feels for the first time before they part ways. 7/10

7- Break It Off (With Sean Paul) - This is a great club track, I think it's going to be a single (or is has been released?). It's more of a Sean Paul track, oppose to Rihanna, she has more of a feature bit. Great to dance too...7/10

8- Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Rihanna goes back to her island roots with this track. I'd call it more of a filler track as the song doesn't build up to anything, maybe a track that was left off the previous album? 3/10

9- Selfish Girl - Another island track, sounds familiar to the previous song, a filler track. 3/10

10- PS (I'm Still Not Over You) - A ballad, it's not the best song but it's not all that bad. I would say it is one of the weaker ones but still its bearable. Rihanna sings about a previous love that she still has strong feelings for. 5/10

11- A Girl Like Me - I love this track! At first I thought it was very bland but its cool. Rihanna sounds a lil like Beyonce here, and I love the way she holds "Inside" during the last Bridge before the Chorus. Very classy, popish song. 8/10

12- A Million Miles Away - It was very ironic because when I bought this album I could so relate to this track. Many of us have been in relationships were you drift away from each other and you cant understand what went wrong and how it happened. Well that's the feeling that Rihanna is singing in this track. Great way to close the album. 9/10

13- If It's Lovin That You Want (Part II) - I never really liked this song to begin with hence not liking this remix version. 4/10

14- Pon De Replay (Remix) - Very bass remix, its alright but its more about instruments than vocals here. 6/10

Overall I'd recommend this album highly. Its one of the best pop albums Ive heard in a while.

Best tracks:

SOS

Kisses Don't Lie

Unfaithful

We Ride

the cd gets five stars i like it...however for the reviewer that said that there is no such thing called barbadian...you are wrong... people from barbados are called barbadians.."Bajan" is just slang and it is not the formal word amazon is right rihanna is a Barbadian but you can also called her a "bajan".

no offence to the reviewer i just needed to clear that up