Good Girl Gone Bad Live - Background and Release

Background and Release

Following the release of her two studio albums Music of the Sun (2005) and A Girl like Me (2006), in late 2006 Rihanna started working with songwriters and producers on her third studio album. She worked with some of the producers who were involved on her previous albums including Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken, Ne-Yo, J.R. Rotem, Sean Garrett and Norwegian duo Stargate. Rihanna also collaborated with new music producers on the album such as Timbaland and will.i.am. Most of the album tracks were recorded in Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California, parallel to the recording sessions of her second studio album, A Girl like Me. Rihanna began working on the album in late 2006 and was almost finished recording in late February 2007. On June 4, 2007 she released the album under the name Good Girl Gone Bad. During an interview with MTV News, Rihanna explained the meaning and reasoning behind the album's title:

We figured Good Girl Gone Bad was the perfect title because it showed people I'm my own now. Not doing what anyone wants me to do. I'm not the innocent Rihanna anymore. I'm taking a lot more risks and chances. I felt when I cut my hair, it shows people I'm not trying to look or be anybody else. The album is very edgy. We have some urban records, some really pop records."

Upon its release, Good Girl Gone Bad received generally positive reviews from most music critics and earned Rihanna a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for the lead single "Umbrella". It became a huge commercial success and spawned eight singles that attained chart success. To further promote the album, Rihanna embarked on her first worldwide and second overall tour entitled Good Girl Gone Bad Tour (2007—09). During the tour, Rihanna performed in Europe, North America, Oceania, Asia and Africa in a total of 80 concert shows. Good Girl Gone Bad Live was filmed at the Manchester Arena show in Manchester, United Kingdom; the show was part of the Good Girl Gone Bad Tour and held on December 6, 2007. The Good Girl Gone Bad Live DVD was released on June 9 and June 13, 2008 in the United Kingdom and Germany through Mercury Records and Universal Music respectively. It was digitally released via iTunes on June 16, 2008 in several countries including Australia, Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, the Republic of Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom. Universal Music Canada and Def Jam Recordings released the DVD of the concert in Canada and the United States on November 4, 2008. A Blu-ray format of Good Girl Gone Bad Live was released in France on November 24, 2008. In late 2009, the same Blu-ray was also released in the United States and Germany.