WATCH: Rihanna writhes around dramatically as she channels 'demented' woman in intense video for What Now
By Louise Saunders and Fay Strang
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She revealed in a behind-the-scenes video that she was going for a 'demented' vibe for her latest video, What Now.
And judging by the finished product, which debuted on Friday, Rihanna has more than achieved that as she appears disturbed and emotional in the stripped back video.
In keeping with the ballad, which is the sixth single from her album Unapologetic, the 25-year-old writhes around on the floor while appearing to have an emotional break-down.
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Troubled: Rihanna looks like a woman in pain in her new video for What Now, which she debuted on Friday
The video, which was shot in Phuket, Thailand and was directed by Darren Craig, Jeff Nicholas and Jonathan Craven of The Uprising Creative, is far simpler than the Bajan's singer previous offerings.
And in comparison to her last video for Pour It Up, the video is mild as Rihanna remains fully dressed throughout.
Juxtaposing two different looks, the Diamonds hitmaker is dressed in a simple nude gown and cruifix necklance before later channelling full-on gothic glamour as she vamps things up in a full-length black gown.
Dramatic: The singer appears like a woman possessed in the video for the sixth single from her album
In pain: Rihanna puts on a distressed performance in the video which is more stripped back than usual
Showcasing
a super-short fringe and an undercut in her raven locks, the music
superstar seemed to be utterly possessed as she grimaced at the camera
while smoking away on the cigarette.
She sings: 'There's no one to call ‘cause I'm just playing games with them all. The more I swear I'm happy, the more that I'm feeling alone
'Cause I spend every hour just going through the motions, I can't even get the emotions to come out dry as a bone but I just wanna shout.'
Silhouette: Rihanna danced with her image projected on to her creating a spooky effect
Upset: The singer appears sat in the corner in one of the shots, looking upset and emotional
While at one moment the singer is swaying with her image projected on her body, the next she is sat in the corner of the room, looking utterly distressed.
Increasingly she becomes more and more emotional as the song reaches its climax before there is a flash of lightening.
Shots of Rihanna withering about are then interspersed with a black and white images of a road, trees, clouds, a burning cross, lions fighting and various other scenes.
Devastated: Rihanna puts her head in her hands as she despairs
Different look: The singer has a mullet and channels a goth wearing dark eye-liner and a choker necklace
Speaking in a behind-the-scenes documentary ahead of the video's release, she said: 'Today we're shooting the music video for my latest single from my latest album, Unapologetic. The song is What Now.
'It's going to be kind of eerie, very creepy. Everybody is probably expecting a narrative video and a love story of some sort, and something really soft and pretty. It is kind of soft but it's really a little demented.'
And while the video was initially
supposed to be shot over a two-day period, Rihanna was feeling so
'hyper' that she decided to plow through and complete the task in a
gruelling 22 hours.
Sneak peek: Rihanna has allowed fans a special glimpse into her vision thanks to a behind-the-scenes documentary shot while she was on location for her latest video, What Now
'Demented' vibe: Shot in Phuket, Thailand, the video was directed by Darren Craig, Jeff Nicholas and Jonathan Craven of The Uprising Creative
Crazed: The 25-year-old singer admitted she was going for a 'demented' vibe when it came to her latest video
Spook-tacular: Rihanna admitted she was going for an 'eerie' and 'very creepy' vibe with her video
Hard at work: Rihanna said she thought her fans would expect a soft 'love story' from her latest offering
Creepy: Rihanna was dressed in a simple nude gown and crucifix necklace as she writhed around on the floor dramatically
Hide and seek: Clothing designer Adam Selman explained the shoot nearly ran into a spot of bother when the cream dress he'd created for the video went missing while en route to Thailand
When the cameraman joked that they were on day two of the shoot, a visibly shattered Ri-Ri responded: 'It's still day one. I mean it's hyper, it's extended. Why go home when you can come here and keep shooting?'
Rihanna's entourage seemed particularly pleased with her choice of shoot location.
Stylist Mel Ottenberg explained: 'This time is crazy because I've been on tour with Ri, and I've never really been on tour before.
'It looks fantastic and the real difference is that we're in Thailand, which is amazing.
Smoking hot: Rihanna showcased a super-short fringe and an undercut in her raven locks as she smoked away
Mean machine: The music superstar seemed to be utterly possessed as she grimaced at the camera
A friend in need: Rihanna was surrounded by key members of her entourage as she got to work on set
'We're shooting in a warehouse and she's kind of performing an exorcism-type thing. It's 7am, which is kind of regular for us on a video shoot.'
Meanwhile, clothing designer Adam Selman explained the shoot nearly ran into a spot of bother when the cream dress he'd created for the video went missing while en route to Thailand.
He said: 'The two looks we came up with were actually really last-minute. The first dress in the white room is a dress I made for a shoot that never got used and it got lost in the mail for like a month, and then it turned up.'
What Now was released on September 17.
Unique look: Rihanna explained she was channelling a 'red carpet goth' look throughout the quirky video
Sleepy head: Towards the end of the 22-hour shoot, Rihanna started to look a little tired as a result of the gruelling filming process
Dream destination: Rihanna's crew seemed pleased with her choice of location for the video as they chatted away to the camera
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kelwerd, Igloo, Canada, 14 minutes ago
It's like the video from The Ring. Am I going to die in 7 days? Thanks a lot Rihanna.