Don't Stop the Music

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Lore & Background

In February 2009, Cameroonian musician Manu Dibango filed a lawsuit claiming that "Don't Stop the Music" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" used the "Mama-say, mama-sa, ma-ma-ko-ssa" hook without his permission. According to Dibango, the line is from his 1972 single "Soul Makossa". Agence France-Presse reported that Jackson admitted that he borrowed the line for "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" and settled out of court. The sample used in "Don't Stop the Music" was licensed through publishers, not directly from Jackson. Dibango's attorneys brought the case before a court in Paris, demanding €500,000 in damages and asking for Sony BMG, EMI and Warner Music to be "barred from receiving 'mama-say mama-sa'-related income until the matter is resolved". The lawsuit was dismissed because Dibango had previously settled and waived his rights in a 2008 agreement, not because of a Paris judge's ruling about liner notes.

In Their Own Story

Anthony Mandler filmed the song's music video in Prague. In the video, Rihanna and her friends sneak into the back of a candy store that contains a secret club, and she parties with club-goers. The singer performed "Don't Stop the Music" at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards and the NRJ Music Awards in 2008, and included it on her Good Girl Gone Bad, Last Girl on Earth, Loud and Diamonds World Tour set lists. The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) recognized it as one of the most-performed songs of 2009. English recording artist Jamie Cullum released a cover of the song as the second single from his 2009 album The Pursuit, and his version charted in several European countries.

Reader's Guide

Produced by the Norwegian production duo StarGate, with additional songwriting by Tawanna Dabney, the track was recorded at Battery Studios in New York City and Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles by Mikkel S. Eriksen and Al Hemberger. Phil Tan and Josh Houghkirk mixed the single, and StarGate provided vocal production and instrumentation. "Don't Stop the Music" is a four-minute, 27-second dance-pop song, written in the key of F♯ minor in common time, with a moderate tempo of 123 beats per minute. Rihanna's voice ranges from F♯3 to A4. The syncopated song samples a variety of layered rhythms, with hip-hop rhythms and a heavy bass drumbeat predominating. The sampled chant "Mama-say, mama-sa, ma-ma-ko-ssa" was added to the arrangement as a complementary throbbing motif, becoming the main background vocals. Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine described "Don't Stop the Music" as having a bouncy feel similar to Rihanna's 2006 single "SOS". According to Fraser McAlpine of the BBC's Chart Blog, Rihanna's vocals on the song sound as if she recorded them to a different backing track, "then gave them to some nerdy beatmatcher with an extensive collection of dark electro and classic pop." McAlpine compared the verses' vocal melody to that of Aaliyah's single "Try Again", the chorus to Madonna's "La Isla Bonita", and the base track to Eric Prydz-style trance music.

Did You Know?

• The song was nominated for Best Dance Recording at the 50th Grammy Awards, losing to Justin Timberlake's "LoveStoned/I Think She Knows".
• As of June 2015, "Don't Stop the Music" had sold more than 3.7 million copies in the US.
• The song won International Song of the Year at the 2008 NRJ Music Awards.
• In Australia, the song peaked at number one and remained there for four weeks.
• The music video was filmed in Prague by director Anthony Mandler.