Rihanna and Maroon 5 have joined forces on a remix of “If I Never See Your Face Again,” the lead single from the latter’s 2007 effort, “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long.” The track is set to appear in June on re-releases of both artists’ most recent albums, Billboard.com has learned.
Def Jam confirmed that the reissue of Rihanna’s “Good Girl Gone Bad” will reach stores on June 17, while Maroon 5’s set will be released in late June, according to A&M/Octone president James Diener.
“Maroon 5 is a big fan of Rihanna; they have seen her at shows, their paths have crossed and they are buddies,” Diener told Billboard.com about the joint effort. “Adam thought it would be amazing to make the song into a ‘battle of the sexes’-style duet, and she was the first person they thought of.
“The re-release is an opportunity for them to give existing fans more material and new fans that don’t have the record a value-added piece,” adds Diener. “The bonus content keeps fans enthused.”
A video for “If I Never See Your Face Again” was filmed on Wednesday (April 25) in Los Angeles by director Anthony Mandler (Snoop Dogg, Spice Girls) and features an ultra-glamorous theme.
The collaboration with Maroon 5 marks the only duet on Rihanna’s album and the second duet in a video for the artist.
As previously reported, Rihanna’s revamped set will feature the Ne-Yo-assisted lead single “Take A Bow,” produced by Stargate.
The original “Good Girl Gone Bad” set reached No. 2 on The Billboard 200 and No. 3 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums following its initial release on June 5, 2007. To date, the album has sold 1.2 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The album’s first single, “Umbrella,” topped both the Pop 100 and Hot 100.
Meanwhile, “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long,” originally released on May 22, 2007, held the penthouse position on The Billboard 200 and Top Digital Albums. The set has sold 1.8 million copies to date.
The Rihanna-assisted remix will be the first single of the Maroon 5 re-release and will be available on iTunes the first week of May. It will be serviced to radio the second week of the same month.
Additional reporting by Cortney Harding
