Rihanna's Songwriter Uncovers Hidden Pattern in ‘SOS’ Verse After Nearly 20 Years

A songwriter for Rihanna’s SOS has revealed a hidden pattern in the song that has remained unnoticed for nearly 20 years. In a recent Behind the Wall interview, Evan ‘Kidd’ Bogart—who co-wrote the song's lyrics with Edward Cobb and Jonathan Rotem—shared new insights about the 2006 hit. Bogart, who penned the entire second verse, revealed that it’s actually a tribute to 1980s song titles.

Bogart said: “When I wrote it, I had no idea what I was doing. The whole second verse of that song is ’80 song titles strung together as sentences because I thought it would be clever… they’re all Number One songs from the ’80s.”

Image Courtesy: Variety

Bogart then broke down part of the verse, highlighting references to 1980s hits like A-Ha's ‘Take On Me,’ Cutting Crew's ‘(I Just) Died in Your Arms Tonight,’ Tears For Fears' ‘Head Over Heels,’ Kim Wilde's ‘You Keep Me Hangin' On,’ and Michael Jackson's ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’. When asked if anyone had picked up on this pattern in the 18 years since SOS was released, Bogart responded, "No one does..."

Rihanna has not released a full album since 2016's ‘Anti’. Her most recent track was ‘Lift Me Up’ in 2022, featured on the ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ soundtrack, marking her first lead single since Anti.

In July, Rihanna messaged GloRilla via DM, inquiring about her new music. “I know dis wild hypocritical, but when the album drop?”.

Rihanna recently shared updates about her highly anticipated R9 album. In April, she mentioned having material that she believed could be turned into "hits." She also told Extra that the album would showcase "the evolution" of her sound.

In July, Rihanna addressed the delay of her ninth album, revealing that she was "starting over" and "rediscovering" the direction she wanted R9 to take.

--Silviya.Y