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The eldest child of a Barbadan
father and a Guyanese mother, Robyn Rihanna Fenty spent a quiet, average
childhood in the Parish of St. Michael on the small Carribean island of
Barbados. Although her vocal abilities became apparent at an early age,
for the first decade-and-a-half of Rihanna's life her musical experience
did not extend beyond singing for her own enjoyment (or, on occasion, with
friends at school). In her early teens she made her first attempts at
public performance, beginning with her entry in the Miss Combermere Beauty
Pageant (which she won) and followed by a rendition of Mariah Carey's Hero
as part of the Colours of Combermere School talent show (which she also
won).
A dramatic change in Rihanna's life took place at the end of 2003, set in
motion by a chance introduction to New York-based producer Evan Rogers.
Vacationing on the island at the time with his Barbadan-born wife, Rogers
was introduced to the young singer by a mutual friend; after an impromptu
demonstration of her vocal skills, he immediately recognized her potential
and arranged a recording session back in the States the following spring
with his production/writing partner Carl Sturken. A 12-song demo tape was
compiled over the next several months, and in January of 2005 Rihanna
relocated to New York City to more effectively pursue whatever
opportunities presented themselves. The demo recordings quickly generated
a lot of interest -- the most enthusiastic response being from Def Jam CEO
Jay-Z, who arranged a meeting with the then-17-year-old in February and
signed her on the spot.
Rihanna's debut single Pon De Replay was issued in the summer of 2005,
rapidly climbing to the #2 position on both the US and UK mainstream
charts. Her first album Music of the Sun arrived at #10 a month later,
with a subsequent promotional tour in support of Gwen Stefani helping to
push it towards gold status. Filming for her first acting role (albeit as
herself) in the straight-to-video cheerleading flick Bring It On: All or
Nothing was undertaken between sessions for her second album A Girl Like
Me (2006), which arrived a mere 8 months after the first. This second
collection's lead single S.O.S. (Rescue Me) (featuring a sample from Soft
Cell's Tainted Love) repeated Pon De Replay's rapid journey up to the #2
slot, while the album itself surpassed it's successor by reaching #5 and
almost doubling it's sales figures. A second single, Unfaithful, found
it's way to #6 upon it's release in July, providing the singer with her
third top 10 song less than a year after her arrival on the music scene.
In the midst of the considerable developments taking place in her career,
the singer moved out of New York and took up residence at the Connecticut
home of Rogers and his wife. Numerous television and sporting event
appearances successfully maintained her public exposure throughout 2005
and 2006, including performances at both the 2005 US Lawn Tennis Open
Championships and the 2005 NFL launch game, and a guest appearance on the
long-running soap opera All My Children in July of 2006. |
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2005:
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. 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." However, despite Pon de
Replay's commercial chart success, the album itself was rated 2˝ 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".
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 released only 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.
2006: 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 Bring It On: All or
Nothing, which was released on August 8, 2006; she also appeared on
an episode of American soap opera All My Children and drama Las
Vegas.
2007: 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'są" 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 released only 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
#9 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Rihanna her sixth top ten hit.
Rihanna worked with Timbaland on three songs in the album. Justin
Timberlake co-wrote and provides background vocals on "Rehab". 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. |
