¡viva la graham!

Here is the clip for “Rude Boy,” the new Rihanna single which I remarked on gleefully just weeks ago. My thoughts upon seeing the final product:

1. It is much more colorful and playful than her recent videos — though the director is careful to remind viewers about the singer’s new rough-and-tumble attitude. Note the close-up of the clenched teeth.

2. For the most part, the visuals do not match up with the dirty words coming out of that vixen mouth. Though my favorite part might be when she takes a peek inside an attractive gent’s trousers, perhaps in order to answer the question, “Is you big enough?”

3. She does, however, do all sorts of “rude” things with wild animals (dead and stuffed, I assume), such as simulated anal sex with a lion! Normally I don’t subscribe to such unspeakable fetishes, but somehow in this context it comes off as amusing and not sexually disturbed. Fascinating.

4. This very sexy yet approachable clip will only increase the song’s chances at prolonged chart domination. Mark my words.

Although Rihanna emerged empowered after personal turmoil in 2009, she hasn’t quite ruled the airwaves the way she did the year before. Certainly her latest disc, Rated R, has been a success — it debuted at No. 1 and has already spawned 2 top 10 hits — but “Russian Roulette” and “Hard” haven’t really been as ubiquitous as “Umbrella” or “Please Don’t Stop the Music.”

This will change with the release of new single “Rude Boy,” in which the suddenly-edgy hip-pop star unleashes her inner sex kitten. Case in point: the cover art you see above. But get a load of the song’s steamy lyrics:

“I like the way you touch me there / I like the way you pull my hair / Baby, if I don’t feel it I ain’t faking, no no / I like when you tell me kiss it here / I like when you tell me move it there / So giddy up, time to get it up”

And that’s just the bridge! Beyond the stimulating content, the track boasts a sick beat and seriously sexy synths… so without further foreplay, here’s the raunch-fest in its entirety. Hope you love it as much as I do. And if not, get over it, because this one is going to be HUGE. Pun intended.

Rihanna – “Rude Boy”