Songfacts®:

• Rihanna pairs with Ne-Yo on this track, which plays on the love/hate dynamic. Instead of a typical love/hate relationship, this one is overloaded on love to the point that it's dangerous: they have each other under a spell.
  
  Ne-Yo and Rihanna were both signed to Def Jam Records, run at the time by Jay-Z. They were both rising stars at the label, with Ne-Yo doing double duty as a songwriter - he wrote the lyric to this one.
• "Hate That I Love You" was produced by the Norwegian team StarGate (Mikkel S. Eriksen and Erik Hermansen), who are also credited as writers. They had previously teamed with Ne-Yo on Rihanna's "Unfaithful," Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable," Beyoncé and Shakira's "Beautiful Liar," and Ne-Yo's own "So Sick."
• This was the third single from Rihanna's third album, Good Girl Gone Bad, following "Umbrella" and "Shut Up And Drive." The next single was another StarGate production: "Don't Stop The Music," followed by another Ne-Yo/StarGate co-write, the #1 hit "Take A Bow."
  
  As for Ne-Yo, he had released two albums, both of which went to #1. He remained a top songwriter and artist as Rihanna's career went stratospheric. Every subsequent album she released was packed with hits, and she became a global superstar.
• In the music video, Rihanna is in a hotel getting ready for night out, and Ne-Yo is heading over to the hotel. We assume they'll meet up, but when they cross paths in the elevator, they don't speak. Both meet up with other people, and we realize their love may be on the down-low.
  
  The clip was directed by Anthony Mandler, who also did Rihanna's "Unfaithful" video.