Rihanna Releases New Song “Four Five Seconds” With Paul McCartney and Kanye West

Jan 29, 2015 03:14 PM EST

Rihanna has entered into the music scene, almost completely by surprise with a song known as "Four Five Seconds".  Not only is Kanye West singing with her, but the legendary Paul McCartney. 

According to Forbes, there were rumors that Rihanna would return to music, but the team of her with Paul McCartney as well as superstar Kanye West took the world almost completely by surprise.  The way it was announced was also a shocker as she tweeted "FIRST GLIMPSE AT MY NEW MUSIC!!!" Rihanna then directed followers to her website, featuring a link to purchase the song on the iTunes Store. 

The song has sold about 53,000 downloads in its first two days of sale, which is good for No. 19 on the Digital Songs chart, according to Billboard.  Speaking of Billboard, "Four Five Seconds" enters in at number 54, and launches on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at number 12.  Fans have sent more than 614,000 tweets about Rihanna and her new track.  It sounds like Rihanna is now working on another new hit album, but there has been no official announcement as of yet. 

The song itself could be considered a different style than what Rihanna and Kanye usually perform, but the simple guitar track works well for Paul McCartney.  Kanye has a guest verse that he sings, even though he is more famous for his rap music. 

The song did have some warning as Kanye did tease the song with Rihanna on January 21st (3 days before the song's release) at the iHeartMedia Music Summit, according to Hollywood Life.  Kanye has his own collaboration with Paul McCartney called "Only One".  This song debuted and peaked at No. 35 on Billboard's Top 100, and it will appear on Kanye's new album.  West and Rihanna have collaborated before, and it really only makes sense that all three of them would get together if just two of them collaborated. 

It is interesting to see Paul McCartney is still doing music at age 72.  Even though his music is a different style from both Rihanna and Kanye, he has proven himself quite versatile.  He has even contributed to the soundtrack for the video game Destiny.  McCartney has worked with other artists in the eighties before such as Stevie Wonder with "Ebony and Ivory" and a few duets with Michael Jackson.  He has had 45 Billboard hits, and this doesn't include any of his time with the legendary Beatles.  He has had 116 Billboard hits combined with his work with the Beatles and Wings, and his first entry, "I Want to Hold Your Hand", debuted 51 years ago.

Rihanna is no stranger to hits herself, and this is her 47th Billboard visit, topping McCartney's solo and Wings career by two.  Kanye still has more than both of them at 64 Billboard visits.