Rihanna & Chris Brown’s Remix Collaborations: Review Revue

Like it or not, onetime couple Rihanna and Chris Brown appear to have been not-so-secretly traveling down the road to reconciliation behind the scenes, and have now unveiled remixes of their respective songs “Birthday Cake” and “Turn Up The Music” that feature each other. Naturally, the Internet had plenty to say about these controversial collaborations, given the pair’s violent past. Head below for a roundup of reviews. :: The Los Angeles Times‘ Pop & Hiss blog notes the following: “As a message to any thinking person who’s been following their case, it’s very confusing. Is this a true sign of romantic reunion or simply two pop stars who are willing to milk their domestic abuse past for more fame and/or notoriety?”

:: Entertainment Weekly‘s Music Mix quips, “Most people blow out a few candles on their birthdays, but Rihanna, who turns 24 today, seems determined to start a full-on fire.”

:: PopJustice sees no reason to spend time on the matter: “Rihanna and Changed Man Chris Brown have collaborated on two songs and that’s the last we’re going to say about this whole depressing moment in pop.”

:: The Prophet Blog is genuinely disappointed: “Rihanna’s spent the past few days laughing and joking on Twitter, rubbing the collaboration in everybody’s faces and sending out cryptic tweets like it’s all a game. It shows a lack of respect for her fans, and everybody who has looked up to her. Chris Brown has acted like a rude, ill-mannered, violent, homophobic brat since the assault took place, yet that hasn’t stopped Rihanna from turning the whole situation into a joke.”

:: The Telegraph is repulsed by the collaboration: “It’s ballsy and defiant, a ‘this is us and it’s OK’ standpoint. References to ‘killing it’ and ‘heart attacks’ don’t help matters, and nor does Rihanna saying ‘remember how you did it’. Most of us won’t be able to forget how he ‘did it’ and – unless you’re an imbecile – it’ll be hard to wave your hands in the air in the clubs to ‘Birthday Cake’.”

:: The New York Daily News offers this: “Maybe Brown can give some hater-thwarting advice to his ex, who got her own onslaught of criticism after tweeting about the pair’s collaborations Monday.”

:: Before posting the police report following Brown’s 2009 assault on Rihanna, The Superficial states this: “When word got out last week that Chris Brown would appear on a remix of Rihanna‘s ‘Birthday Cake,’ obviously there were some strong reactions, although some were tempered by the fact this could all just be hype and/or there’s a good chance Chris Brown only sings a quick couple second hook. Turns out it’s way worse than that because not only did they release two tracks, Chris Brown sings about how bad he wants to fuck Rihanna… So here’s just a quick reminder of who exactly Rihanna’s singing about make-up banging because her label convinced her it would sell more albums.”

:: The Irish Times penned a piece called “The Problem With Chris Brown”. Here’s a bit of it: “Thankfully, some people don’t think that what the world needs now is a comeback from a thug who thinks hitting his defenceless girlfriend is a classy thing to do and has yet to show any inkling about why this is wrong. From Laura Snapes’ brilliant post for the NME to Billboard’s unprecedented open letters to both Brown and Rihanna, a lot of people are quite excercised about what’s happening.”

:: Finally, E! Online sums it up by pointing out the real critics in this case will be ultimately the pair’s fans: “While the pair seem pleased with the work, the question is whether fans are willing to overlook the memory of Brown’s 2009 assault against the singer—which at least some people seem not inclined to do—and listen to the music.”

What do you think of Rihanna and Chris Brown’s collaborations on each other’s songs? Let us know below, or by following us on Twitter and Facebook.