How ‘Beetlejuice’ Inspired Rihanna’s ‘Pon de Replay’
Rihanna‘s “Pon de Replay” is completely different from the campy, Gothic vibes of Beetlejuice. Because the world is full of surprises, Beetlejuice still managed to inspire Rihanna’s first hit. The “We Found Love” singer also took some ideas from a tune Gwen Stefani covered.
Rihanna’s ‘Pon de Replay’ was inspired by a Jamaican song in ‘Beetlejuice’
“Pon de Replay” was co-written by Alisha “M’Jestie” Brooks. During a 2020 interview with Vulture, Brooks explained how a famous musical sequence from Beetlejuice inspired the song. “The scene where they sing ‘Come, mister tally man, tally me banana’ [from Harry Belafonte’s 1956 song ‘Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)’], I used to rewind it all the time because it was so dope,” she recalled. “That song came into my head when I heard the track after a few hours of sitting there with the beat just repeating over and over again.”
“Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” is a calypso song. Meanwhile, “Pon de Replay” is part of another Carribean genre: dancehall. While the tunes aren’t particularly similar, it makes sense that the style of “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” wouldn’t serve as a template for “Pon de Replay.”
The Beetlejuice scene was not the only inspiration behind the song. “Zhané had a song called ‘Hey Mr. DJ’ and it had this vibe,” he said. “I don’t really write songs like that, where I picture another dope song and try to put it all together, but that’s how ‘Pon de Replay’ came about.”
The non-‘Beetlejuice’ inspirations behind the song
One other track served as the template for “Pon de Replay.” “We were in West Orange, New Jersey, in this basement studio from about 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.,” Brooks recalled. “[Songwriter] Vada Nobles had a vision. He wanted a song that was catchy [in the vein of Louchie Lou & Michie One’s 1993 song] ‘Rich Girl.'”
Gwen Stefani and Eve remade Louchie Lou & Michie One’s “Rich Girl” in 2004. “Pon de Replay” came out in 2005. Considering that Stefani was one of the biggest celebrities on earth during the mid-2000s, it makes a lot of sense that Rihanna would want to draw some inspiration from the “Hollaback Girl” singer for “Pon de Replay.” Rihanna would become more and more like Stefani with time, drawing on different genres and starting her own clothing line.
When the “SOS” singer first heard “Pon de Replay,” she had a mixed reaction. On one level, she liked it. On another level, she thought that it sounded like a nursery rhyme.
How Rihanna’s ‘Pon de Replay’ performed
“Pon de Replay” became Rihanna’s breakthrough hit. The tune climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It spent a total of 27 weeks. The tune appeared on the album Music of the Sun. The record is arguably the most Caribbean-inspired record in her catalog. That album reached No. 10 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 35 weeks. Neither the song nor the album were massive. However, they were both big enough to send Rihanna down the path to superstardom.
“Pon de Replay” is one of the most unusual hits of the 2000s and it wouldn’t be the same without a quirky scene from Beetlejuice.
