There’s a lot of anticipation building for Rihanna’s new album, “Rated R”, which comes out on 11/23. This morning, the album’s first single, “Russian Roulette”, was premiered. It’s a mysterious sounding ballad that was written by Ne-Yo. Due to the media exposure Ri-Ri’s received (good and bad) over the past year, it’s sure to be a big hit…

…I just don’t know if it’s a good first single, though. Rihanna’s pretty much made her name as someone who performs dance music, so leading off with a ballad is pretty risky. Also, the song doesn’t really go anywhere. Rihanna’s singing is impressive, but the song itself is…kinda boring (a rarity for Ne-Yo, who is the best young pop/R&B singer-songwriter out there). Her upcoming album boasts an interesting group of collaborators (from Justin Timberlake to Tyson Ritter of the All-American Rejects). I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if it gets better.

If this gets taken down from Youtube, you can check the song out here.