"What's My Name?" is a song performed by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, which features Canadian rapper Drake. It was written by Star gate, Ester Dean, Traci Hale and Drake, and was produced by Star gate, serving as the second single from Rihanna's fifth studio album Loud. The song premiered on October 15, 2010 and officially impacted US mainstream radio on October 26, 2010. The single was released in some European countries on October 29, 2010 and later in the US on November 1. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Rihanna her eighth number-one hit on the chart and Drake's first number-one hit on the same chart.
Ester Dean asked songwriter Traci Hale to contribute to the song, whom she knew through production company Red Zone. At the time Hale had disappeared from the music scene after early success writing for Brandy and Mýa, and she credits Dean with putting her "back on the map" by getting her involved in co-writing the song. Hale largely contributed to the lyrics while Dean did most of the melody. Tor Herman sen, part of the songwriting and production duo Star Gate who worked on the song, said Rihanna had originally played the song to Drake "backstage somewhere to try to get him on a verse". In the interview with Billboard magazine it was also revealed that Rihanna has wanted to work with Drake for a long time but specifically wanted "Drake's signature swagger" for "What's My Name?" She said "Drake is the hottest rapper out right now and we've always been trying to work together. He's the only person I thought could really understand the melody of the song, and the minute he heard it he said, 'I know exactly what I'm going to do. I love it.' And he did it like three days later."
Rihanna performed the song for the first time (without Drake) on Saturday Night Live on October 30, 2010. She also performed the song for MTV’s “The Seven” on Monday evening on November 15 and at David Letterman on November 16. On November 17, she also performed the song, together with "Only Girl (In the World)" on Good Morning America. Rihanna performed a mix of the song together with "Love the Way You Lie (Part II)" and "Only Girl (In the World)" on the American Music Awards of 2010.
On December 11, 2010, Rihanna performed "What's My Name?" on the UK television talent show The X Factor after singing "Unfaithful" with finalist Matt Cradle. This performance marked her second appearance on the show during series 7 (having previously sung "Only Girl (In the World)" on October 31). The nature of Rihanna's dress, however, sparked complaints from viewers logged by Britain's media regulations watchdog Of com.
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