Celebrity Watch: Rihanna Dishes On New Album Loud, Acting In 'Battleship'

'I didn't want the generic pop record that Ke$ha or Lady Gaga or Katy Perry could just do,' singer tells BBC Radio.
By James Dinh

Rihanna
Photo: MTV News

With the release of her new album, Loud, Rihanna is focused on distinguishing herself from her fellow pop star peers. In an interview with the BBC's Radio 1, the singer dished on an array of topics, including the LP, collaborations and how pursuing her feature-film debut, "Battleship," peaked her sudden interest in acting.

"I can't believe it's the fifth album already," she gushed to host Scott Mills. "That's insane to think about. ... I've never been this excited about anything I've done creatively, and this is just the perfect Rihanna album: Every song is tailored to me."

During the making of the album, the singer had a particular agenda in mind: "I wanted songs that were all Rihanna songs, that nobody else could do. I didn't want the generic pop record that Ke$ha or Lady Gaga or Katy Perry could just do and it'll work. I wanted a song, or songs, that were Rihanna songs, that only I could do, had that little West Indian vibe to it, had that certain tone, a certain sass and a certain energy."

Noticeably aware of the trends in today's pop scene, Rihanna explained it's easy to croon to a tune that just about anyone else could sing.

"It's really easy to do that because of the whole dance-music movement happening right now," she said. "It's easy to get a dance beat and just throw a song on top of it and call it a hit."

The songstress made her mark on the summer hit "Love The Way You Lie," which was the talk of the town, as Eminem and Rih tackled the struggles of domestic violence in the track and the video. Calling their collaboration "amazing," Rihanna admitted that the Detroit MC intrigued her to no end.

"He's just so mysterious," she said of Em. "It makes you curious as to what's going on in his mind. I feel like I could ask him a million questions in a day."

After finding success with the hip-hop heavyweight, the colorful pop star revealed she is in talks with Katy Perry about a duet.

"Actually, we're talking about it right now," she affirmed. "Something fun, something out of the box. I would love that. I hope so."

Denying claims that she is engaged to boyfriend Matt Kemp, the singer also dished a little bit about Perry and comedian Russell Brand's relationship.

"Actually, he's awesome," she said about Perry's fiancé. "Even before, when she told me about them two, I was just like 'Duh, it makes sense. What took that so long?' They're perfect for each other. Their personalities really, really match. They mend. Russell is definitely more out there than Katy, but Katy's crazy and she's fun and she's funny, and they have a similar sense of humor, and they get along really well."

Last month, the girls hit up Las Vegas for Perry's bachelorette party, which Rihanna revealed included a trip to a club, with female strippers and lap dances.

Despite her continuous schedule, the singer, who has already shot music videos for Loud's first two singles ("Only Girl (In The World)" and "What's My Name?") isn't interested in taking a break.

"You know what? I love making music," she said. "Music is what I do, so I don't feel like there should be a break unless I chose to take a break. There's no such thing as taking a break if you don't want to. I'm here to make music."

Her goal to stand out amongst the pack has also inspired her recent change in hair color.

"I wanted something that was a new look," she said. "Something, again, that wasn't the typical. Black hair is my favorite color on me. I wanted something that was really expressive and vibrant."

During her grueling promo blitz for the album, Rihanna has set aside time to film her first movie, "Battleship," which also stars "True Blood" star Alexander Skarsgård, Taylor Kitsch and model Brooklyn Decker.

"Right now, we have a break from the movie, but I'll be back in November to wrap that up after the album comes out," the singer said. "It's been really, really good so far. Working with Peter Berg is unbelievable. I love doing movies now. It's something I want to do more of. I just want to pick films that are wise for me and roles that I can pull off, nothing that is too big for me."

For those that find the singer's growing interest in acting a surprise, they're not alone, as the 22-year-old revealed that it wasn't until "Battleship" that she found out she was so heavily interested in making films.

In the Hasbro-inspired film, Rihanna will play a knowledgeable weapons officer named Raikes, who she describes as "really intelligent, but really, really bad ass."

Fortunately, the Barbadian singer's early schooling helped her prep for the role.

"I have shot some weapons before, when I was in cadets in school, so having that little background really, really helped when I was doing this film," she explained.

After the much-talked-about Britney Spears episode of "Glee," Rihanna told the radio host she would definitely participate in an episode of the hit Fox show. "That will be fun," she said.

Which of Rihanna's projects are you most excited for? Sound off in the comments below!

Check out everything we've got on "Battleship."

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