‘SOS’ is one of Rihanna’s earliest hits, but it’s not even counted among her biggest commercial achievements, more than 15 years later. Rihanna’s incredible portfolio of hits has diluted the impact of what was the Barbadian’s first single to reach number 1 in the United States. Of course, it’s one of their best songs.
‘SOS’ stood out for its sample of ‘Tainted Love’ by Soft Cell, but its main author, E. Kidd Bogart, creator of other hits such as ‘Halo’ by Beyoncé, has revealed a detail about the song that has gone unnoticed by all these years. And that is visible to everyone.
In an interview with Daniel Wall, Bogart has revealed that the second verse of ‘SOS’ is written “spinning 80s song titles” to “compose phrases.” Bogart found this composition idea “super ingenious”… so much so that no one has noticed it until now.
The second verse of ‘SOS’ goes “Take on me (uh-huh), 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 hanging on, the way you make me feel. This verse alone includes quotes from ‘Take on Me’ by A-HA, ‘(I Just) Died in Your Arms’ by Cutting Crew, ‘I Melt with You’ by Modern English, ‘Head Over Heels’ by Tears for Fears, ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On’ by Kim Wilde (a Supremes cover) and ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ by Michael Jackson.
E. Kidd Bogart explains that all the titles chosen to form the second verse of ‘SOS’ belong to songs that reached number 1… like ‘Tainted Love’ and then ‘SOS’. However, neither ‘I Melt with You’ nor ‘Head Over Heels’ were ever number 1 in any market, although they are still considered 80s pop classics. Some of these hits were number 1 in the United States and others in the United Kingdom. .