Rihanna's 'Only Girl (In the World)' video: Finally, fun RiRi returns!

Rihanna has made it through the rain. Or, at least that’s what her flouncy, candy-colored video for her latest, delicious and dancey single Only Girl (In The World) seems to suggest. After a year of dropping dark videos for heavy songs like “Hard” and “Russian Roulette”—clips so brutal they could have made a Kremlin guard rethink his steely gaze—RiRi seems downright elated and happy to be living life in Only Girl. There is little storyline for the video, but it near-perfectly mimics the care-free lyrics to the song, which suggest that, for one person, she is the “only girl in the world.” In fact, there’s not a backup dancer in sight! Not one other living soul appears in the clip, making it as if Rihanna is speaking directly to you, the viewer, and she is your one and only amid swallowing rolling, beautiful, swallowing landscapes. It’s an effect that makes you focus squarely on RiRi, who’s ensconsced in flirty outfits and sporting that fire-red ‘do she wore to the VMAs last month.

Rihanna recently spoke to JustJared.com about the video and explained the concept a bit more. “It’s really, really beautifully shot in these crazy, crazy, crazy places,” the 22-year-old said. “We shot landscapes that we found a couple hours outside of L.A. It looks so unreal. It looks fake, like something out of a postcard with the beautiful hills… We had a lot of sunshine those couple of days, so it really worked with the whole essence of the video. But really, the video just shows this big landscape and the only person there is me.”

The single comes from her upcoming studio album LOUD!, which hit stores worldwide on November 12. Until then embrace the beauty of Only Girl (In the World) here:

Are you happy that, after a hard couple years, RiRi is back to her sultry, club-anthem-making ways?

Tanner on Twitter: @EWTanStransky

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