Rihanna’s seventh studio album Unapologetic is now certified 3x Platinum in the U.K. on August 23, 2024.
The album released November 19, 2012 was issued a BritCertified 3x Platinum award for sales and streaming equivalent units surpassing 900,000 in the UK by the British Phonographic Industry as measured by The Official Charts Company.
Rihanna’s Unapologetic blends urban, dubstep R&B with emotional ballads, marking her most confident work since Rated R. The album featured five singles: the heartfelt lead single “Diamonds” (released 26 September 2012), which became her 12th U.S. Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 song. The second single, “Stay” (released 13 December 2012), featuring Mikky Ekko, topped the Canadian charts, reached No. 1 on the U.S. Pop Songs Chart, and hit No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking her 24th top-ten hit. “Pour It Up” (released 8 January 2013), “Right Now” (released 28 May 2013), and “What Now” (released 29 August 2013) were the other singles.
Altogether Unapologetic is the album that saw Rihanna’s evolving sound, other notable collaborations with Eminem, Chris Brown, and her personal depth explored in tracks like “Love Without Tragedy/Mother Mary.”
The producers who contributed to Unapologetic include notable names such as David Guetta, Giorgio Tuinfort, and Terius “The-Dream” Nash, who collaborated on the energetic track “Phresh Out the Runway” (Guetta, Tuinfort, Nash). Benny Blanco and Stargate teamed on”Diamonds”, while Oak, Flippa123, and Pop Wansel produced the hard-hitting “Numb” featuring Eminem. Mike Will Made It provided the beat for “Pour It Up,” and Luney Tunez, Mex, and Manny worked on “Loveeeeeee Song” featuring Future.
Chase & Status and Stargate brought their signature sound to “Jump” (Stargate, Chase & Status), and Guetta, Nash, and Tuinfort collaborated on “Right Now” featuring David Guetta . Parker Ighile and Nathan Cassells contributed to “What Now,” while Elof Loelv, Justin Parker, and Mikky Ekko teamed up for “Stay.”
Nash and Carlos “Los” McKinney crafted “Nobody’s Business” featuring Chris Brown , and the reflective “Love Without Tragedy / Mother Mary” was also produced by Nash and McKinney . Brian Kennedy produced “Get It Over With”, and No I.D. was behind “No Love Allowed.” Labrinth and Stargate worked on “Lost in Paradise”.
In the deluxe edition, Naughty Boy and Stargate produced “Half of Me” , and Benny Blanco was involved in several remixes of “Diamonds,” including the Dave Audé 100 Extended Mix and the Gregor Salto Downtempo Remix.
Globally the album reached #1 on multiple charts, including the Australian Urban Albums, Canadian Albums, Irish Albums, Norwegian Albums, Swiss Albums, UK Albums, UK R&B Albums, US Billboard 200, and US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The album also performed well internationally, securing top 5 positions in Belgium (Flanders), France, Germany, and Austria.
Rihanna’s Unapologetic is 3× Platinum in the US 3 million units as of February 21, 2018. The album went Platinum in Australia [70,000], Austria [20,000], Canada [80,000], Germany [200,000], Italy [50,000], Sweden [40,000], and Switzerland [30,000]. Additionally, it was certified Gold in Belgium [15,000], Brazil [30,000], Colombia, Hungary [3,000], Mexico [30,000], New Zealand [7,500], Poland [60,000], Portugal [7,500], Singapore [10,000], and Spain [20,000]. Globally, Unapologetic has sold 4 million units.
