Critical Reception
"Umbrella" received universal acclaim from music critics. Andy Kellman of Allmusic commented: "'Umbrella' is to date, delivering mammoth of spacious drums, a towering backdrop during the chorus, and vocals that are somehow totally convincing without sounding all that impassioned — an ideal spot between trying too hard and boredom, like she might've been on her 20th take." Alex Macpherson of British newspaper The Guardian, "Umbrella" is "evidence" that Rihanna's "strict work ethic is paying off", adding that she "delivers an impassioned declaration of us-against-the-world devotion". Tom Breihan of Pitchfork Media, though he complimented the production, dismissed Rihanna's voice which "takes on an unpleasant icepick edge when she tries to fill the space between the slow-tempo beats", adding that the song is "uncompelling as event-pop, particularly because of the disconnect between Rihanna's cold, clinical delivery and the comforting warmth of the lyrics". Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine wrote "That the song is just plain good, regardless of genre, proves that Jay and Rihanna, who's already scored hits across several formats with a string of singles that couldn't be more different from each other, are dedicated to producing quality hits—however frivolous they may be." Quentin B. Huff of PopMatters.com said that "“Umbrella” is a monster, so much so that I’ll even confess to spending a portion of a rainy afternoon practicing the hook." Jonah Weiner of Blender magazine called the song the album’s highlight and stated that it "would be far less engrossing if it wasn’t for the way Rihanna disassembles its ungainly title into 11 hypnotic, tongue-flicking syllables". The New York Times's Kelefa Sanneh described the song as "a space-age hip-hop song".
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