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“Te Amo“ singer Rihanna graces the most recent cover of Billboard magazine.   In this issue, Rihanna. LA Reid and Erik Hermansen discuss the singer’s upcoming album LOUD.

L.A. REID :
“This is the truest Rihanna album yet because it sounds the most like her first one,” Reid continues. “[2005 debut single] ‘Pon De Replay,’ that was obviously Rihanna at her purest, with that Caribbean-flavored dance-pop music. After that, she went in many different directions only to find herself right back where she really started. Though I think the songs are much better now. Her growth as a vocalist is really evident.”

RIHANNA :
Rihanna is the first to admit that making a personal connection with her fans hasn’t been her strong suit up to now. “I just felt like there was this big distance with us,” she says. “You know, they love me, they love how I dress and they move to my music, but they don’t really know who I am.”

ON HER STYLE:
”A lot of people dress like Lady Gaga now. I’ve just stepped off into a whole new look and style. The whole shoulder pad thing, and the architectural look, is so sharp-edged and tough. I’m over that. I like floral prints now, which I never liked. Trends are boring. It’s boring to see everyone doing the same thing.”

ON HER DRAKE COLLABORATION:
For her recent collaboration with Drake, a remix of “What’s My Name” that will appear on “Loud” as a bonus track, Rihanna personally presented the track to the Canadian MC. “She played the record to Drake backstage somewhere to try to get him on a verse,” Hermansen says. “She’s calling me up saying, ‘Where are the files?’ That’s one thing you don’t hear often from artists on her level.”
“Drake is the hottest rapper out right now,” Rihanna says, “and we’ve always been trying to work together. He’s the only person I thought could really understand the melody of the song, and the minute he heard it he said, ‘I know exactly what I’m going to do. I love it.’ And he did it like three days later.

Read the full interview here.

Information by way of HelloBeautiful.com