Kiss It Better
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"Kiss It Better" is a song by Barbadian singer
Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...
from her eighth studio album, '' Anti'' (2016). It was written and produced by
Jeff Bhasker Jeffrey Nath Bhasker (born March 4, 1974) is an American record producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles. He won the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year in 2016 and was nominated for the award in 2013. Bhasker cam ...
and Glass John, with additional writing by Teddy Sinclair and Rihanna. The song was serviced to radio stations in the United States on March 30, 2016, together with "
Needed Me "Needed Me" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna from her eighth studio album, '' Anti'' (2016). It was written by Rihanna, Brittany Hazard, Charles Hinshaw, Derrus Rachel, the producer DJ Mustard, and the co-producers Twice as Nice and Fra ...
". "Kiss It Better" is a
synth-rock Electronic rock (also known as electro rock and synth rock) is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s when rock b ...
and R&B
ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...
, which features influences from the
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and
1990s File:1990s decade montage.png, From top left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope orbits the Earth after it was launched in 1990; American jets fly over burning oil fields in the 1991 Gulf War; the Oslo Accords on 13 September 1993; the World ...
-music ballads. The song's lyrics focus on a destructive relationship that the singer finds irresistible. It also deals with themes of mending broken fences and getting back together with a lover. The single received critical acclaim, with critics praising its 1980s style ballad, lyrics, and Rihanna's vocals. It received a
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
nomination for Best R&B Song at the 59th ceremony. "Kiss It Better" peaked at number 62 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and was certified 3× Platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA). It also reached number four on the South African radio chart. The song's music video was directed by fashion photographer Craig McDean and premiered on March 31, 2016. The video was inspired by
dada Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...
ism and
surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...
, and depicts Rihanna against a dark background. The song was included on the
Anti World Tour The Anti World Tour (stylized as ANTI World Tour) was the seventh concert tour by Barbadian singer Rihanna, in support of her eighth studio album, ''Anti (album), Anti'' (2016). The tour was announced on November 15, 2015 and began on March 12, ...
setlist as the closing song. In January 2021, the song gained notoriety again on radio and
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with the release of rapper
Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper. He began recording as a member of Hip-hop, hip hop group D.I.T.C., Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.) in 1992, and pursued a sol ...
's single "Sunshine (The Light)" featuring
DJ Khaled Khaled Mohammed Khaled (; born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ and record producer. Originally a Miami-based radio personality, Khaled has since become known for enlisting high-profile music industry ar ...
and
Amorphous In condensed matter physics and materials science, an amorphous solid (or non-crystalline solid) is a solid that lacks the long-range order that is a characteristic of a crystal. The terms "glass" and "glassy solid" are sometimes used synonymousl ...
. The song heavily samples the first verse of "Kiss It Better" as its chorus, using Rihanna's vocals.


Background and release

On December 8, 2014, "Kiss It Better" was registered through
Harry Fox Agency The Harry Fox Agency (HFA) is a provider of rights management and collector and distributor of mechanical license fees on behalf of music publishers in the United States. HFA has over 48,000 music publishing clients and issues the largest number ...
, an agency "who handles publishing rights for physical and digital music formats." The same day, Australian FM radio station
2Day FM 2Day FM (call sign 2DAY) is a commercial FM radio station broadcasting in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on a frequency of 104.1 MHz, and is part of Southern Cross Austereo's Hit Network. History 1980s 2Day FM was one of three radio st ...
and other websites reported that the song was allegedly going to be released as the
lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...
of her then-upcoming eight studio album. A day later, Rihanna teased a snippet of the track on her
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account, featuring Extreme's guitarist
Nuno Bettencourt Nuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt (born September 20, 1966) is a Portuguese-American guitarist. He became known as the lead guitarist of the Boston rock band Extreme. Bettencourt has recorded a solo album and has founded rock bands including ...
working on a solo electric melody. On July 7, 2015, English singer Teddy Sinclair confirmed she was one of the songwriters of the song. On December 27, 2015, Glass John, who also co-wrote and co-produced the song, via
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
expressed his dissatisfaction about the delay of the song's release and its parent album. He eventually leaked a minute-long demo of the song and also described it as "the best damn song." Through her Twitter account, Rihanna confirmed that "Kiss It Better" alongside "Needed Me" were going to be released as the follow-up singles from '' Anti'' (2016) and impacted radio on March 30, 2016. She also revealed the artwork for both singles, with "Kiss It Better" having a close-up of Rihanna's face.


Composition and lyrical interpretation

"Kiss It Better" was written and produced by
Jeff Bhasker Jeffrey Nath Bhasker (born March 4, 1974) is an American record producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles. He won the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year in 2016 and was nominated for the award in 2013. Bhasker cam ...
and Glass John, while Sinclair and Rihanna provided additional writing. The song was recorded at the Jungle City Studios in New York City. American producer Kuk Harrell provided the vocal recording and vocal production of the song. Blake Mares was responsible for additional recording, while Brendan Morawski was the recording assistant. The mixing of the single was done by Manny Marroquin at the Larrabee Studios in
North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood and district in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, El Portal Theater, several art galleries, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Th ...
; Chris Galland and Ike Schultz served as the mixing assistants. Bettencourt played the guitar and Chris Gehringer mastered it at the Sterling Sound Studios in New York City. "Kiss It Better" is a
synth-rock Electronic rock (also known as electro rock and synth rock) is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s when rock b ...
and " electro-charged R&B"
power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Balla ...
that lasts 4 minutes and 13 seconds. It is written in the key of
F major F major is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat.Music Theory'. (1950). United States: Standards and Curriculum Division, Training, Bureau of Naval Personnel. 28. Its relati ...
with an andante moderato
tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
of 95 beats per minute. It features "deep snaking synths", "gleaming" electric guitar riffs and drums, that were influenced by 1980s and 1990s power ballads. Lyrically, the song focus on a destructive relationship that the singer knows is wrong for her, but one she finds irresistible, which can be seen in the lines, "Who cares when it feels like crack?." In the chorus, she "hauntingly asks over and over, 'What are you willing to do? / Oh, tell me what you’re willing to do,'" in which she responds, "Kiss it, kiss it better, baby." During the song, she seeks reconciliation from a lover, and "relies on exto smooth over a conflict," singing: "Mmm, do what you gotta do, keep me up all night." Julianne Shepherd of ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' and Adam R. Holz of
Plugged In (publication) Focus on the Family (FOTF or FotF) is an American Evangelical Protestant organization founded in 1977 in Southern California by James Dobson, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The group is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizati ...
also noted that the song has themes of sex. Patrick Ryan of ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'' noted that her "sultry, towering vocals call to mind past hits ' Take a Bow' and '
Cheers (Drink to That) "Cheers (Drink to That)" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna, from her fifth studio album, ''Loud (Rihanna album), Loud'' (2010). The song impacted American Contemporary hit radio, mainstream and Rhythmic contemporary, rhythmic radio o ...
'. ''Billboard'' Shepherd and ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' Brittany Spanos found similarities between "Kiss It Better" and
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
's " Purple Rain", with Bianca Gracie of Idolator agreeing, adding that it also resembles
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's " Red Light Special".


Critical reception

"Kiss It Better" was highly acclaimed by music critics. Brittany Spanos of ''Rolling Stone'' called it "the album's most direct pop moment by far," describing it as a "shimmering,
funky Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the mi ...
" track. Jordan Bassett of ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' agreed, calling it "the album’s best and most full-bodied track, replete with snaking synths and two swooning, overlapping vocal refrains."
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
's
Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...
and USA Today's Patrick Ryan both agreed that the song was an album highlight, with Ryan adding that it was "perhaps Rihanna's best shot at scaling the pop charts with Anti and praised the "effectively catchy" hook. Chris Gerard of
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
defined it as "a moment of classic Rihanna—edgy, soulful and confident, complimenting the "sinuous melody" and the "terrific vocal arrangement." ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
'' editors Safy-Hallan Farah and Eve Barlow named it "a highlight" and "as triumphant a Prince jam as it gets" respectively. Zach Bernstein of Pretty Much Amazing observed that the song is "one of ANTI’s best offerings and a pure shot of old-school Rihanna—a stuttering, hypnotic beat, by a hard-rock guitar riff and an innuendo about as subtle as a sledgehammer." Corbin Reiff of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' was very positive with the "gorgeous array of ’80s power rock electric guitar lines," with Bianca Gracie of Idolator sharing the same sentiment, writing that "th heartbreaking electric guitar riff alone deserves a couple of future nominations," and labelled it "one of the strongest tracks off ANTI" and "all-around beautifully intimate." Jeff Benjamin of '' Fuse'' also commended the "mesmerizing electric guitar riff." For
Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis (born 13 September 1971) is an English journalist. He is the head Rock music, rock and pop music critic for ''The Guardian'', and a regular contributor for ''GQ''. In addition to his music journalism for the paper, he has written ...
, a writer of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', "Kiss It Better" is the "closest it comes to the stuff that
Stargate ''Stargate'' is a military science fiction media franchise owned by Amazon MGM Studios. It is based on Stargate (film), the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin; production company StudioCanal owns the ...
or Sia Furler have sold her in the past," due to the "ineffaceable chorus." Jon Caramanica of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' considered it "an ostentatious sex jam" and "one of several songs on 'Anti' on which Rihanna's singing takes center stage." In a positive note, Nolan Feeney of ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' went on to call it a "stellar slow-jam
hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
opens with a guitar solo straight out of the ‘80s, but if today’s high school seniors are smart, they'll put this on their prom playlists." Jessica McKinney of ''
Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...
'' appreciated the track due to "the rock-inspired vibe ndthe desperation in her voice that makes the song feel so heavy and ultimately enjoyable." Claire Lobenfeld of ''
Fact A fact is a truth, true data, datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance. Standard reference works are often used to Fact-checking, check facts. Science, Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful observation or measurement by ...
'' defended the song for being "one of many examples of how Rihanna has refined her ability to do romantic despondency with confident precision. Instead of washing those feelings in huge productions, everything is stripped down to its emotional core." "Kiss It Better" received a nomination for Best R&B Song at the
59th Annual Grammy Awards The 59th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 12, 2017. The CBS network broadcast the show live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year ...
. '' Paste'' considered it the thirteenth-best song on their "50 Best Songs of 2016" list. ''Billboard'' named the single the second best on their list Best R&B Songs of 2016, while later placing it at number 51 on their "100 Best Pop Songs of 2016" list. In the annual ''
Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...
s
Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...
mass critics poll of the year's best in music in 2016, "Kiss It Better" was ranked at number 29, tied with
Maren Morris Maren Larae Morris (born April 10, 1990) is an American singer-songwriter. Rooted in the country genre, her music blends in elements of pop and R&B. Her accolades include a Grammy Award, an American Music Award, five Country Music Associatio ...
' " My Church" and
The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (; born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is best known for adding Pop music, pop, electronic music, electronic and hip-hop stylings ...
's " Starboy".


Commercial performance

In the United States, "Kiss It Better" debuted at number eighty on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, following the release of the song's music video. Its debut was driven primarily by streaming (73 percent of its chart points), which saw a 31 percent to 4.8 million U.S. streams. It also opened at number thirty-six on the US
Pop Songs Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the U ...
, marking Rihanna's record-extending 43rd entry. It eventually peaked at number sixty-two on the Billboard Hot 100. Though it was the promotional focus at pop radio, "Kiss It Better" reached as far as number twenty-four on the Pop Songs chart, leading
Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...
to release "Needed Me" - an initially "urban radio priority" - to pop radio as well, due to its success. As of January 2021, "Kiss It Better" has accumulated over one 360 million and 313,000 downloads in the United States. Although the single did not manage to chart on the New Zealand chart, it did manage to chart at number three on the New Zealand Heatseekers chart, which comprises that week's fastest-rising titles outside the Top 40 Singles Chart. In Australia, the song only spent one week inside the
ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...
, reaching number forty-eight. In the United Kingdom, the song fared better, spending 13 weeks inside the UK Singles Chart; it debuted at number fifty-one on the chart dated April 14, 2016, after the music video's release. A week later, the song descended to number sixty, before moving to number fifty-seven. After two weeks fluctuating on the charts, the song managed to move to number forty-six, which became its peak position. It later remained seven further weeks on the chart.


Music video

The accompanying
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
for "Kiss It Better" was directed by British fashion photographer Craig McDean and premiered on March 31, 2016. It was shot in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
over a "very long night". A teaser for the video was released a day earlier on March 30 via Rihanna's
Vevo Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...
account on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
. Keeley Gould and Ciara Pardo served producers for the visual which was shot entirely in
black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...
. In an interview with ''
The Fader ''The Fader'' is a magazine established in 1999 as an outlet for Cornerstone Agency, a marketing and public relations firm established by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. History and work It is owned by T ...
'', McDean explained that the inspiration for the video was based on ideas which were inspired by
dada Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...
ism and
surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...
, "It all comes from you as a person, your inner inspiration and ideas you've had inside for a lifetime." Jessie Katz of ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' described the storyline of the video, it "features the singer intermittently standing, writhing on the ground and floating through space through various stages of undress while she sings to the
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
-esque synth and electric guitar track. In fact, Rihanna is the entire video -- there's no backdrop at all." ''
Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...
''s Eliza Thompson wrote that "the clip shows Rihanna rolling around under sheets while
dice A die (: dice, sometimes also used as ) is a small, throwable object with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. Dice are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, ro ...
roll up and down her body, writhing on the floor in sheer lingerie, and stripping off her oversize business-lady suit." According to McDean the idea to include dice in the video came from him and his creative partner Masha Vasyukova, "Sometimes it's all about combining things that might not make any sense, ikesubconsciousness and dreams. Dice is such a graphic and surrealistic object so it came into play." The video ends with Rihanna walking away slowly into a dark background. Natalie Weiner of ''Billboard'' thought that the video for the song was one of the 11 best videos ever done by Rihanna and described it as a "fitting flex" for the singer and represents that the sexiness she presented in the visual for her 2013 single, "
Pour It Up "Pour It Up" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna from her seventh studio album, '' Unapologetic'' (2012). It was serviced to urban radio stations in the United States on January 8, 2013, as the second US single, and third overall single from ...
" "was just the beginning of her pulse-quickening powers." Laura Bradley of ''
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
'' magazine described the video as a departure for the both videos for "
Work Work may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community ** Manual labour, physical work done by humans ** House work, housework, or homemaking ** Working animal, an ani ...
" with regards to her decision to star alone and shot the video only in black-and-white, reasons which ultimately gave the video a different vibe according to her. Maeve McDermott of ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'' described the video as "somewhat" NSFW regarding the language and the partial nudity and concluded by asking, "but would you expect anything less from a Rihanna video?" ''
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''s Mackenzie Wagoner wrote, " In every instance, however free her nipple, she manages to look empowered, not vulgar—speaking to an obvious body confidence that, especially in the spotlight, can be hard-won." Further, she stated that Rihanna "evolved rule-breaking" and wrote that she is not a "factory-bred"
sex symbol A sex symbol or icon is a person or character widely considered sexually attractive and often synonymous with sexuality. Pam Cook, "The trouble with sex: Diana Dors and the Blonde bombshell phenomenon", In: Bruce Babinigton (ed.), ''British St ...
, but a woman who is fully comfortable with her body image.


Live performances and covers

Rihanna was scheduled to perform "Kiss It Better" at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, however her performance was cancelled last minute per her doctor's order to go on a "vocal rest". The performance was supposed to feature a 1980s talk-show theme where the singer was to be joined by television host
James Corden James Kimberley Corden (born 22 August 1978) is an English comedian, actor, writer, producer, singer, and television host. In the United Kingdom, he is best known for co-writing and starring in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom '' Gavin & S ...
. Rihanna performed "Kiss It Better" at the
Anti World Tour The Anti World Tour (stylized as ANTI World Tour) was the seventh concert tour by Barbadian singer Rihanna, in support of her eighth studio album, ''Anti (album), Anti'' (2016). The tour was announced on November 15, 2015 and began on March 12, ...
as the closing song of each show. American singer Miguel covered the song during his performance at the Spotify House, part of SXSW concerts. Indie rock singer
Father John Misty Joshua Michael Tillman (born May 3, 1981), better known by his stage name Father John Misty, is an American musician. He is known for his satirical lyrics and eccentric performance style. Tillman began his career in Seattle in the early 2000s. O ...
covered "Kiss It Better" during his 2016 tour in support of his studio album, '' I Love You, Honeybear''. According to Jon Blistein he delivered a "faithful, rousing rendition of the track while grinding and dancing around the stage". At her halftime performance for the
Super Bowl LVII Super Bowl LVII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2022 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football Confere ...
, Rihanna did not actually perform "Kiss It Better", but interpolated a snippet of its refrain into "
Rude Boy Rude boy is a subculture that originated from 1960s Jamaican street culture. In the late 1970s, there was a revival in England of the terms ''rude boy'' and ''rude girl'', among other variations like ''rudeboy'' and ''rudebwoy'', being used t ...
".


Track listing


Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Rihanna's official website. ;Locations *Recorded at Jungle City Studios in New York City *Mixed at Larrabee Studios in Universal City, California *Mastering at
Sterling Sound Studios George Marino (April 15, 1947June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He attended ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, New York ;Personnel *Rihanna – vocals, writing *Jeff Bhasker – writing, production *Glass John – writing, additional production * Teddy Sinclair – writing *
Nuno Bettencourt Nuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt (born September 20, 1966) is a Portuguese-American guitarist. He became known as the lead guitarist of the Boston rock band Extreme. Bettencourt has recorded a solo album and has founded rock bands including ...
 – guitar *Marcos Tovar – vocal recording *Kuk Harrell – vocal recording, vocal production *Blake Mares – additional recording *Brendan Morawski – recording assistant *Manny Marroquin – mixing *Chris Galland – mixing assistant *Ike Schultz – mixing assistant *Chris Gehringer – mastering


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Release history


See also

* List of number-one dance singles of 2016 (U.S.)


References


External links

* {{authority control 2016 singles 2016 songs 2010s ballads Black-and-white music videos Rihanna songs Songs written by Jeff Bhasker Songs written by Natalia Keery-Fisher Songs written by Rihanna Pop ballads Contemporary R&B ballads Torch songs Synth rock songs Rock ballads Roc Nation singles