Rihanna’s ‘Work’ hits billion mark - Richie Stephens feels ‘blessed’

New York:

Earlier this week, news broke that Rihanna’s 2017 hit single, Work, which samples Jamaican crooner Richie Stephens’ Sail Away ‘riddim’, had been viewed over one billion times on YouTube. Production credits for Work, which features Canadian rapper Drake, include Jamaicans Matthew ‘Boi-1da’ Samuels, Sevn Thomas (whose parents are Jamaicans), and Jahron ‘Partynextdoor’ Brathwaite (who has a Jamaican mother).

“To be involved with a song that has reached one billion views is a great achievement and a blessing,” Stephens told The Gleaner.

“The song has done extremely well. It has taken my name across the globe, and a lot of people reached out to me in different ways to say congrats. Big up Jamaica!” he said.

Stephens has won multiple awards for Work, including a pop award at the ASCAP Pop Music Awards in Hollywood in 2017 and an R&B award at the 30th annual ASCAP Rhythm & Soul (R&B) Music Awards in Beverly Hills, CA. He also collected Song of the Year and Digital Sales of the Year from ASCAP for his contribution to the single, which was among the top ASCAP songs on the 2016 year-end charts.

Rihanna has had multiple songs that have been viewed millions of times. In fact, Diamonds and Love the Way You Lie with Eminem have been viewed over two billion times. Jamaican dancehall superstar Sean Paul has also hit the two billion mark with his combination single, Rockabye, with Clean Bandit and Anne-Marie.

The first video to reach one billion views online was Gangnam Style in 2012. Since then, about 180 videos have surpassed the billion mark. The top five songs viewed on YouTube, according to data gleaned earlier this year are Despacito, Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee – 5.85 billion; Shape of You, Ed Sheeran – 3.99 billion; See You Again, Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth – 3.94 billion; Uptown Funk, Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars – 3.41 billion; and Gangnam Style, Psy – 3.26 billion.

Anthony Turner