"Ra" (stylized in all caps) is a song recorded by Romanian singer

Inna Elena Alexandra Apostoleanu (born 16 October 1986), known professionally as Inna (stylized in all caps), is a Romanian singer. Born in Mangalia and raised in Neptun, Romania, Neptun, she studied political science at Ovidius University before ...

, digitally released on 27 September 2018 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 ...

from her sixth studio album, '' Yo'' (2019), by

Global Records Global Records is a Romanian independent record label founded in 2008 by Ștefan Lucian. History Global Records's first signed artist was Inna in 2008, whose career has been spanning over 10 years. She has released a series of international ...

. It was entirely written in Spanish by Cristina Maria Chiluiza and Inna, while Sebastian Barac, Marcel Botezan and

David Ciente David Ciente (born 9 July 1989) is a Romanian composer and producer. In 2012 and 2013, he attempted to represent Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest with his band Electric Fence, finishing in second place on both occasions. Having signed a r ...

handled the production. A

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 ...

, the song lyrically features a

female empowerment Women's empowerment (or female empowerment) may be defined in several method, including accepting women's viewpoints, making an effort to seek them and raising the status of women through education, awareness, literacy, equal status in society, ...

message about leaving a toxic relationship and gaining confidence. Its sound differs significantly and acts as a departure from Inna's previous,

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-oriented releases. "Ra" was met with generally positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

upon its release, with a number of them pointing out its catchiness. For promotion, an accompanying, minimalistic music video was uploaded onto the singer's

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channel simultaneously with the digital release of the song. Filmed by Bogdan Păun, it portrays Inna and five other women posing together or individually in front of a planter wall. Inna further supported the song with live performances at the 2018

Telehit Awards Telehit Awards (Spanish: ''Premios Telehit'') is a Mexican award that recognizes the greatest music events in Mexico, and broadcast by Telehit channel. 2008 List of winners: *Most Important Latin Artist in the World: Shakira *Best Mexican Perfo ...

and on television program ''

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'' in Mexico in November 2018. It peaked at number 71 on Romania's

Airplay 100 Multiple record charts have been inaugurated in Romania since the 1990s. The Romanian Top 100 was the country's national chart until 2012. Founded in 1995, it was a ranking based on the compilation of charts submitted by local Romanian radio stat ...

ranking.

Background and composition

On 16 October 2018, Inna released a video on her

channel in which she teased her upcoming sixth studio album '' Yo'' by briefly elaborating on its creation; in the description of the clip, Inna announced that the first single from the record would be released on 2 November 2018. She eventually confirmed the aforementioned during a

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

post and revealed the single's name to be "Ra". Leaked beforehand, "Ra" was digitally made available on the announced date by

Roc Nation Roc Nation is an American entertainment company founded by Jay-Z in 2008. Headquartered in New York City, the company is a successor to his previous Roc-A-Fella Records label, with additional offices in Los Angeles and London. It serves as a re ...

internationally, with the title stylized in caps for the international release, but released on 27 September 2018 by

in Romania. Two remixes were also released for purchase. Written entirely in Spanish by Cristina Maria Chiluiza and Inna, "Ra" lyrically features a

message about leaving a toxic relationship and gaining confidence. This is a topic that Inna rarely addressed in her previous work. The track's title alludes to the

ancient Egyptian Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

deity of the sun Ra, symbolizing "the light and the truth". The song was produced and engineered by Sebastian Barac, Marcel Botezan and

, while Max Kissaru mixed and

mastered Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source from which all copies will be ...

it. Musically, "Ra" is a

, and a departure from Inna's

sound, a "whole new era" according to Jonathan Currinn from website CelebMix. Mike Wass, writing for

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolator or Idolater may also refer to: * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), a 2005 album by Blood Stain Child * ''Idolator'', a 1986 album by Ole Evenrud * "Idolater", a ...

, noted that it "represents an important step in the '

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' hitmaker's journey from

Hi-NRG Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by its fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the four-on-the-flo ...

club queen to a more mature, well-rounded artist". In the song's

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeated in poetry or in music">poetry.html" ;"title="Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeat ...

, Inna repeats the phrase "Yo mejor me voy" (I better go).

Reception

Upon its release, "Ra" received mostly positive reviews from

. Currinn of CelebMix opined that it "feels more like an album track rather than an actual single", and suggested it to have been released as a

promotional single A promotional recording, promo, or plug copy is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as mu ...

from ''Yo''. He further acknowledged that "Ra" is "a grower of a song and one that will get stuck in one's head, over time", and also praised the track's touching message, the songwriting and Inna's vocal delivery. Idolator's Wass noted the catchiness of "Ra", naming it an "anthem" and a "hypnotic bop". ''

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 ...

'' included "Ra" in their Best Music Picks Of the Week list for the week ending 4 November 2018. Commercially, the song peaked at number 71 on Romania's

for the week ending 2 December 2018.

Promotion and other usage

Inna teased the accompanying music video for "Ra" with two previews posted to her YouTube channel on 31 October and 1 November 2018, respectively. The visual was ultimately premiered simultaneously with the single's release on YouTube; ''Note: Open description for credits.'' it features Inna—wearing a black bra and top by

Luisa Via Roma Luisaviaroma, also known as LVR, is a luxury retailer that offers high-end fashion, home decor, and lifestyle products. It was founded in 1929 by the family of Andrea Panconesi. References Retail companies of Italy Italian brands {{ ...

—and five fellow women—sporting orange bras—variating from posing together to individually posing in front of a planter wall. NGM Creative's Bogdan Păun directed the clip, while Alexandru Mureșan was hired as the

director of photography The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

and Loops Production as the producers. Andra Manea was credited as the

make-up artist A make-up artist, also called a makeup artist, and often shortened to MUA, is an artist whose medium is the human body, applying makeup and Prosthetic makeup, prosthetics on others for theatre, television, film, fashion, magazines and other simil ...

, Sorin Stratulat as the hair stylist, and RD Styling as the clothes procurers. A video showing the making of "Ra" was released online on 27 November 2018. ''Billboard'' noticed the connection between the song's lyrics and the video, as Inna "stands strong in the visual. It reaffirms the importance of having a voice, especially as a woman". Currinn of CelebMix likened the music video's message to that of Inna's track " No Help" (2018), while Idolator saw it as "striking" and "

minimalist In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...

". For further promotion of "Ra", Inna delivered a live performance of the song at the 2018

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

on 7 November, and performed it on Mexican television daily morning program ''

'' on 8 November 2018, among other endeavours in Mexico. On 2 December 2018, Romanian band Noaptea Târziu released a

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of "Ra" titled "Am ghinion" ("I have bad luck").

Track listing

*Digital download #"Ra" – 2:55

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

. *Inna – lead vocals, songwriter * Sebastian Barac – producer, engineer * Marcel Botezan – producer, engineer *Cristina Maria Chiluiza – songwriter *

– producer, engineer *Max Kissaru – mixing and mastering

Charts

Release history

References

{{Inna 2010s ballads 2018 songs 2018 singles Inna songs Roc Nation singles Songs with feminist themes Songs written by Inna Songs in Spanish Egyptian mythology in music