Following Rihanna's transfixing rendition of Stay at the Grammy Awards – the singer’s latest track from the album Unapologetic – the 24-year-old has officially released the music video for the hit single. The day that the singer released the emotionally-charged video for her new single, a source denied reports that she is engaged to singer Chris Brown. The rumour mill went into overdrive when Rihanna attended the ceremony with a sparkling ring on her engagement finger. Emotional and heartfelt, the pop princess strips down, make-up free, and serves flawless vocals while sitting in a bath tub for her new hit single. Also stripped down was the arrangement of vocals and piano, which were kept simple and melancholic, resulting all in all in a haunting mood and powerful finish which featured Louisiana singer-songwriter Mikky Ekko.
She tweeted about her newest power ballad saying ''This video is everything! Simple but emotional!'' And when discussing the music video with Ryan Seacrest on the Grammy red carpet, the Barbadian beauty stated “It’s a very emotional song and it’s personal, so you just think about…it’s almost like telling a story, and when you tell a story, even to yourself—if you’re saying it out loud and expressing how you feel—it needs to be powerful because it needs to be authentic.”Looking sultry and sad, the song choice as well as the simple set chosen for the video – directed by Sophie Muller – had great success in retaining the authentic feel that Rihanna had decided on, which was achieved by close-up shots and slow filming. One fan wrote in a tweet to Rihanna which she re-tweeted: "Rihanna's Stay video might have looked simple but it's also very touching. It really sends out a deep powerful message as well."
Performing in one of her simplest videos yet, singer Mikky Ekko, who performed Stay with Rihanna at the Grammys, said that the song "speaks to such an intimate side that is so rare and so far removed from what people think of her. She sings in the slow-burning song "Not really sure how to feel about it/ Something in the way you move/ Makes me feel like I can't live without you/ And it takes me all the way/ I want you to stay'' - lyrics which we are led to believe speak of Chris Brown.
And the Unapologetic album does not just feature Rihanna singing about boyfriend Chris Brown. The two have even collaborated together, following-up their Birthday Cake remix with a duet titled Nobody's Business which was released in November.