What is Rihanna?

Rihanna (IPA pronunciation: [ɹiˈɑ.nɑ])^[1] (born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on February 20 1988) is a Barbadian singer,^[2] currently living in San Diego, California.^[3][4][5][6]

Early life

Rihanna was born in Saint Michael, Barbados as the oldest child to Ronald Fenty, her Barbadian father,^[7] and Monica Fenty, her Guyanese mother.^[8][9] She has two younger brothers named Rorrey and Rajad. Rihanna went to Charles F. Broome Memorial School, a primary school in Barbados, and then on to one of Barbados' Grammar (older secondary) schools, the Combermere School, where she formed a musical trio with two of her classmates. In 2004, she won the Miss Combermere Beauty Pageant and performed in the Colours of Combermere School Show, singing Mariah Carey's "Hero". At the age of 15, Rihanna received her big break when one of her friends introduced her to music producer Evan Rogers, who was vacationing in Barbados with his wife. Rogers, along with his partner, Carl Sturken, helped Rihanna record material in the U.S. which was sent to various recording companies. One copy of Rihanna's work was sent to Jay-Z, who eventually signed her to Def Jam Records. Rihanna cites Alicia Keys, Beyoncé Knowles and her Caribbean background as major musical influences.^[10] Rihanna also stated in an interview that her friend and former Island Def Jam record label artist Fefe Dobson was someone that she admired and looked up to, having a fellow artist writing, singing, and performing the music she truly loves.^[11][12][13]

Music career

Music of the Sun

Main article: Music of the Sun

Rihanna's debut album, Music of the Sun, was released 30 August, 2005 from which, further singles were released, the first being "Pon de Replay" which was released on October 11, 2005 and reached position #2 in both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, the UK Singles Chart due to considerable airplay and gained several #1 positions in various niche charts ^{[14] [15]} The single itself was written by Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers alongside Rihanna herself and described by Rolling Stone magazine as a "poppy piece of dancehall reggae with slapping, syncopated beats recalling big-band jazz."^[16] However, despite Pon de Replay's commercial chart success, the album itself was rated 2½ out of 5 stars by Rolling Stone Magazine and described as lacking the replay value, ingenuity and rhythm of the single with "generic vocal hiccups and frills" of US R&B inflecting upon her "caribbean charm".^[17] Since its release, the album reached the top 10 in both US and Canadian charts, gaining gold certification from the RIAA from selling 500,000 units and subsequent platinum certifications for selling 2 million units in various other countries. To further promote the album, Rihanna toured as an opening act for American pop singer Gwen Stefani.

The second single, "If It's Lovin' That You Want", was considerably less successful than its predecessor, peaking at position #36 on the U.S Billboard Hot 100 and position #11 in the UK. A third single, "Let Me", was only released in Japan, where it was a big hit, reaching #8 on the charts.

When asked about the nature of the album by AskMen Magazine about the album itself, Rihanna noted that it was released quickly after she was discovered in her home as a means of portraying her image as a girl from a small area who had moved to a large country in line with her debut, and that her second album was released somewhat shortly thereafter to illustrate that in her time in the country she had grown up quickly enough to release another album.^[18]

A Girl Like Me

Main article: A Girl like Me

In 2006, Rihanna participated in several endorsement deals, including for Nike and J.C. Penney. She released her second album, A Girl Like Me, in April 2006, less than eight months after the release of her first album. The album debuted at number five in the U.S. and number four in the UK. The lead single, "SOS", was used in her endorsement deal with Nike. The song became Rihanna's first number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it also debuted at number one on the Hot Digital Songs chart. "SOS" peaked at number one in Australia and number two in the UK. The second single, entitled "Unfaithful", was written by R&B singer Ne-Yo, and addresses the feelings of guilt that the protagonist of the song faces as she cheats on her boyfriend. The song became her third top ten hit in the U.S. and in the UK. The third single "We Ride" wasn't as successful as her previous releases, failing to chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, however, it became her fifth UK top 20 single, where it peaked at number 17 on that chart and peaked number one on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart. Rihanna's fourth single from the album, "Break It Off" featuring Sean Paul, had already climbed to number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 based solely on airplay. It was released as a digital download on February 19, 2007, which made the song jump from number fifty-two to number ten and then eventually peak at number nine.

In total Rihanna has had 11 different number-ones on the Billboard charts and has had major success on the Hot Dance Club Play chart with four number-ones ("Pon De Replay", "SOS", "Unfaithful", and "We Ride"). When Rihanna received an endorsement deal from Clinique, she recorded a song written by Ne-Yo entitled "Just Be Happy" as part of the deal to promote their Happy fragrance. The song can be heard on her Myspace page. Rihanna also recently recorded a song called "Winning Women" with Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger for P&G’s female deodorant Secret.

Rihanna made her acting debut in a cameo role in , which was released on August 8, 2006; she also appeared on an episode of American soap opera All My Children and drama Las Vegas.

Good Girl Gone Bad

Main article: Good Girl Gone Bad

Rihanna went into the studio in early 2007 with Ne-Yo, Stargate, and Timbaland among others to record her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad. The album was released on June 5, 2007. It features Jay-Z and Ne-Yo as featured artists. The first single, "Umbrella", featuring Jay-Z, was released on March 29, 2007, reaching number one in various countries, including the U.S. "Umbrella" was the #1 single in the UK for 10 consecutive weeks. It was the longest running #1 single since "Wet Wet Wet's¹" single "Love Is All Around", back in 1994, and the longest running #1 by a female artist since Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You", which also topped the chart for 10 weeks in 1992. It was produced by Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The-Dream" Nash. Then her second single, "Shut Up and Drive", was sent to radio stations on June 5, has so far peaked at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100. Her club airplay third single, "Don't Stop The Music" was premiered on BET's 106 & Park on July 20, 2007 and was only released in Canada. The song is also going to be released in the UK. The fourth single, "Hate That I Love You" featuring Ne-Yo, was released on August 21, and so far has peaked at #18 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Rihanna worked with Timbaland on three songs in the album. Justin Timberlake co-wrote and provides background vocals on "Rehab".^[19] In interviews, many have questioned the meaning and reasoning of the album title. The album title reflects the difference between the old and new Rihanna. "Bad means cool, bad means funky, bad means having an attitude, bad means being edgy. This album is definitely a great representation of who I am now, and where I am in my career," she says. Seven weeks after the album was released, it had gone gold in the United States and Platinum on the United World Albums Chart.

Starting September 12, 2007, Rihanna will tour Canada in support of the album with several shows then crossing off to UK, it is called the Good Girl Gone Bad Tour.

Personal life

It has been rumored that Rihanna was dating R&B singer Chris Brown, but Rihanna said it was not true, saying they were just friends and seeing Chris Brown more as her "brother".^[20] Later rumors said that Rihanna would be dating old B2K singer Omarion, but Rihanna said that she and Omarion have a friendship together.^[21] After Rihanna dismissed these, rumors said that Rihanna was dating Transformers actor Shia LaBeouf. Again, Rihanna rejected those rumors,^[22] although other rumors recently stated they really were dating but recently broke up.^[23][24]

After the 2007 MTV VMA Awards, Rihanna has been spotted with Justin Timberlake at her hotel, leading some to say that they have slept with each other. However, at the same time, Justin Timberlake had a relationship with Jessica Biel.^[25]

Thursday October 11th, she was spotted with Josh Hartnett at the NYC club Pink Elephant making out after her concert at the Nokia Theater in Times Square earlier. They arrived separately but left together.^[26]

Accomplishments

On July 7, 2007, Rihanna performed at the Japanese leg of Live Earth in Tokyo.

Rihanna was named 2007 Venus Breeze 'Celebrity Legs of a Goddess' by Gillette and insured her legs for $1,000,000. Unfortunately, she injured her feet sometime after she insured her legs.^[27]

On September 1 issue of The Times of India newspaper, Rihanna was listed as one of the four richest teens in Hollywood. ^[28]

On September 9, 2007, Rihanna won the Monster Single of the Year at the MTV Music Video Awards for "Umbrella". She also won the Video of the Year for "Umbrella". These two awards made her the big winner of the show alongside Justin Timberlake.

She was ranked #9 on Maxim's Hot 100 list of 2007.^[29]

Discography

Main article: Rihanna discography

• 2005: Music of the Sun
• 2006: A Girl Like Me
• 2007: Good Girl Gone Bad

Number-one singles

Year	Single	[30][31]Peak positions[32][33]
		U.S.	CAN	UK	EUR	AUS	GER	NZ	FRA	WW
2005	"Pon de Replay"	2	7	2	2	6	6	1	18	3
2006	"SOS"	1	2	2	1	1	2	3	12	1
	"Unfaithful"	6	1	2	1	2	2	3	7	4
2007	"Umbrella" (Feat. Jay-Z)	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	6	1
	"Don't Stop the Music"	-	5	-	8	-	1	-	1	28
'''Total Number-one hits		2	2	1	3	2	2	2	1	2

Tours

• 2006: The Pussycat Dolls With Rihanna
• 2007: Good Girl Gone Bad Tour

Awards

Main article: List of Rihanna awards and nominations

References

External links

• Official Website
• Rihanna at Def Jam
• Rihanna at MySpace
• Rihanna at the Internet Movie Database