Posted by Katherine St Asaph on 01/11/2012 at 10:49 AM News

The Popdust Files: rihanna, talk that talk, upcoming singles

“I’m flying out to Pisa / just to get some pizza.” Remember that line from Rihanna’s album? Keep remembering it, because the track, Jay-Z-assisted “Talk That Talk,” is now going to be a single. Oh no.

That’s the mildest possible “oh no” we could’ve typed, mind you. “Talk That Talk” sounds enough like fellow third-single “Rude Boy” (a much, much bigger hit than anything else on the album), and quality aside, its Jay-Z verse won’t hurt; hasn’t in the past, and it certainly won’t during Jay’s lateish-career peak. It’s not the obvious single, but it’s an obvious single. Def Jam could prove us wrong, but the future Talk That Talk singles seem fairly obvious and straightforward: “Talk That Talk,” “Where Have You Been,” and one or more of the following: “Roc Me Out,” “Watch ‘N’ Learn,” “Drunk On Love” (if Rihanna’s team
wants to ignore her track record lately with ballads or near-ballads.)

That said, we still more or less agree with The Prophet Blog:

“Where Have You Been” is clearly the rabbit in Rihanna’s hat and the tune that many want released ASAP, but it’s a tricky call. “Where Have You Been” is the surefire hit that’s saved for the end of the album cycle when the momentum has slowed and needs a jolt, but at the same time, with “You Da One” underperforming, it’s risky to release another non-dancey midtempo single like “Talk That Talk” straight away.

…

Whoever did get the final say on the matter better make sure that Rihanna whips out a good video for “Talk That Talk”, because another “You Da One” isn’t gon’ cut it for this song.

Indeed. But hey–even if there isn’t one, it’s 2012, meaning that Talk That Talk‘s probably going to spit out seven singles to radio like a broken slot machine, and there’ll probably be an album more by 2013.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8FarCnm1mE