SOS (Rihanna Song)
"SOS" is a song by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna from her second studio album, A Girl like Me (2006). It was written by J. R. Rotem, Evan "Kidd" Bogart and Ed Cobb, with production helmed by Rotem. It was released on February 14, 2006, as the lead single from the album. "SOS" is a dance-pop and R&B song with elements of dance music, and contains a compositional sample of "Tainted Love", a song written by Ed Cobb in 1965 and popularised by Soft Cell. Critical reception of "SOS" was positive, with the majority of music critics praising the inclusion of the "Tainted Love" sample. Some critics compared "SOS" to Rihanna's debut single, "Pon de Replay" (Music of the Sun, 2005).
"SOS" became a commercial success. In the United States, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for three consecutive weeks, becoming Rihanna's first number one single on the chart. "SOS" peaked at number one on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart and Pop Songs chart. "SOS" was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of over 1,000,000 copies. The song was also successful in Europe as well as Australia, where it spent eight consecutive weeks at number one.
Three music videos were shot for "SOS"; aside from the official music video, directed by Chris Applebaum, promotional campaign videos were shot for lingerie brand Agent Provocateur and Nike. "SOS" was performed live at the 2006 MTV EMA awards in Copenhagen, Denmark. "SOS" was included on the set list of the Good Girl Gone Bad Tour (2007–09) and the Last Girl on Earth Tour (2010–11), which saw Rihanna perform a rock-inspired version of the song. The Chipettes covered the song for the 2011 film Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked and its soundtrack.
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