Songwriter Reveals One of Rihanna's No. 1 Hits Features Many '80s Song Titles Hidden in Its Lyrics

Mar. 15, 2025

You probably knowRihanna’s “SOS,” but did you catch the hidden-in-plain-sight references in its second verse?

In an Oct. 11 interview onDaniel Wall’sBehind the Wallpodcast, hit songwriter Evan “Kidd” Bogart spoke about writing the lyrics of RiRi’s 2006 single and first No. 1 hit on theBillboardHot 100, revealing several well-known ’80s song titles make up part of its second verse.

Rihanna in July 2005.Kevin Winter/Getty

Kevin Winter/Getty

“When I wrote it I had no idea what I was doing,” said Bogart, 46, on the podcast. “The whole second verse of that song is ‘80s song titles strung together as sentences because I thought it would be clever.”

Rihanna, 36, sings on the second verse, “Take on me (a-ha), you know inside you feel it right / Take me on, I could just die up in your arms tonight / I melt with you, you got me head over heels / Boy, you keep me hangin' on, the way you make me feel.”

Bogart claimed “no one” realizes the references upon listening to “SOS,” which also features a sample of another ’80s track: Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love.” [Ed Cobb, who wrote “Tainted Love,” has a writing credit on “SOS."]

Rihanna.Peter Kramer/Getty

Peter Kramer/Getty

Released as the first single off Rihanna’s second album,A Girl Like Me, “SOS” reached No. 1 on theBillboardHot 100. Other hits from the project include “Unfaithful” and “Break It Off” with Sean Paul.

source: people.com