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Rihanna (born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on
February 20, 1988) is a Bajan singer with musical
influences from R&B, pop, reggae and dancehall.
Rihanna became worldwide known with chart hits such as
"Pon de Replay", "If It's Lovin' That You
Want", "SOS", "Unfaithful", and
"Break It Off".
Early life: Rihanna was born in Saint Michael,
Barbados to Ronald and Monica Fenty. Her mother is
Guyanese and her father is Barbadian. 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' 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 US
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.
Music career, Music of the Sun: Rihanna's debut
album Music Of The Sun, which she co-wrote, was released
in August 2005. The first single released from the album
was the track "Pon De Replay", which peaked at
number 2 on both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the UK
Singles Chart due to considerable airplay. The second
single, "If It's Lovin' That You Want", was
less successful than its predecessor, climaxing on the
US Billboard Hot 100 at number 36, and number 11 on the
UK Singles Chart.
The album itself peaked within the top
ten in Canada, and the US, and within the top forty in
the UK. It has received platinum certifications in
several countries, and received a Gold certification in
the US by the RIAA. To further promote the album,
Rihanna toured as an open act for American pop singer
Gwen Stefani. The album itself sold over 500,000 units
in the US and over 2 million worldwide. The album
features many dancehall songs that harth to her island
upcoming. Because her second album, "A Girl Like
Me" was released so soon after "Music Of the
Sun", no more singles were released. However, a
third single, "Let Me" was unofficially
released in Japan, and peaked at #8 there.
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 US 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 former boyfriend.
The song became her third top ten hit in
the US and in the UK. The third single "We
Ride" wasn't as successful as her previous
releases, failing to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100,
however, it has managed to seal her 5th UK top 20
single, where it peaked at number 17 on that chart and
peaked #1 at Hot Dance Club Play. Rihanna's fourth
single from the album "Break It Off" featuring
Sean Paul had already managed peak at #45 on the
Billboard Hot 100 based soley on airplay. It was
released as a digital download on February 19, 2007,
which made the song jump from #52 to #10 and then
eventually peaking at #9.
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 (Remix) and We Ride). When
Rihanna got the Clinique endorsement, 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 call 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.
Good Girl Gone Bad: Rihanna has been in the
studio with Ne-Yo, her usual producers Evan Rogers and
Carl Sturken, as well as new producers, Will.i.am,
Stargate, Timbaland, Sean Garrett, and Cee-Lo Green,
among others recording for her third album, Good Girl
Gone Bad. The album is set to be released on June 5,
2007. The first single "Umbrella", featuring
Jay-Z, was released on March 29, 2007. It was produced
by Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius
"The Dream" Nash.
Robyn Rihanna Fenty (born on February 18, 1988), Rihanna
was born on the Caribbean island of Barbados in the
parish of St. Michael. She was discovered by music
producer Evan Rogers while he was vacationing in
Barbados with his wife Jackie, who is also a Bajan.
Rogers, along with his partner Carl Sturken, helped
Rihanna record demo material that was sent to various
recording companies including Def Jam, where Rihanna
auditioned for CEO Jay-Z and was signed on-the-spot.
bean to re-energize a dry, stale season of the same old
song and dance. And with summer fast approaching there
couldn't be a better time for Barbados-born singer
Rihanna to break into an industry that is eager to
celebrate the next big thing.
Thanks to multi-platinum island-born superstars like
Sean Paul, Shaggy and Elephant Man, the mainstream has
been primed for a rhythmic female star to step into the
forefront of popular music. Besides ripping traditional
reggae tracks like a seasoned dancehall queen, the
stunning 17-year-old Rihanna possesses a powerful
singing voice that conjures up feelings and experiences
way beyond her years.
There's nothing like the warm spirit of the CaribRihanna
is a North American R&B/Soul singer. Most of the
worldly population would also classify her as a
tradtional dancehall singer; who has splurged onto the
entertainment scene unexpectedly.
It's no wonder that all it took was a quick audition
with Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, President and CEO of Def
Jam Recordings, for the green-eyed beauty to solidify a
recording contract with the multi-million dollar record
company. While that performance ended up changing her
life forever, the sweet natured island girl laughs at
her own naivetי at the time. "I was in the
lobby shaking!," remembers Rihanna with a healthy
dose of her Bajan accent hanging onto every one of her
words. "I saw just a little bit of Jay's face down
the hall and I was just like, 'Oh my God!' I had never
met a celebrity, and to meet a celebrity who's also the
president of the label, that was crazy!!"
Luckily Rihanna was able to shake the jitters as soon as
she started her impromptu showcase, a performance that
forced her future label bosses to sign the deal before
she walked out of their offices. "We were there
until 4:30 in the morning closing the deal. Every time I
signed my name I was just smiling." Growing up in
the parish of St. Michael, Barbados, it never occurred
to Rihanna that one day she would be sitting in the
company of mega music moguls.
Before moving to the US in 2005, Rihanna lived somewhat
of a simple life on her home island where she attended
high school and like most teenage girls sang songs for
fun with her friends. Aside from winning her school's
beauty and talent pageant, Rihanna never realized how
talented she really was until she attracted the
attention of a New York City music producer named Evan
Rogers.
Evan and his partner, Carl Sturken, have produced hits
for such artists as Christina Aguilera, Ruben Studdard
and Kelly Clarkson. Evan and his Barbadian wife Jackie
were vacationing over Christmas near Rihanna’s
hometown and through a mutual friend were introduced to
the young diva. After hearing her belt out a couple of
tunes Evan realized Rihanna’s future star power and
invited her to New York to record some tracks.
Rihanna, Evan and Carl ended up creating close to a
dozen songs. Together they pulled inspiration from the
dancehall and reggae that are embedded in Rihanna’s
rich musical culture and fused it with a fresh R&B
soul sound - a mixture Rihanna likes to compare to one
of her favorite Caribbean dishes, callaloo. "It's
like a gumbo or a stew," explains Rihanna. "My
music is mostly Caribbean beats mixed with R&B. I
don't want to be pigeon holed into being just a dance
artist because I can sing too. I have ballads on the
album as well as upbeat tracks."
Rihanna’s debut album promises to have all the
ingredients that make musical magic. And like her
influences Beyonce, Alicia Keys, and Mariah Carey,
Rihanna is a talented songwriter who has co-written much
of her album. "Music is in my D.N.A.!"
exclaims the bright eyed singer.
Her first single "Pon De Replay" is sure to
mash up dancehalls worldwide with Rihanna’s soul
stirring vocals demanding the DJ to play her song again
and again 'til it touches every single person within
earshot. With tracks featuring both Elephant Man and
Vybz Kartel, Rihanna is guaranteed to supply some
serious heat for both radio and clubs nationwide.
Rihanna is indeed living a real life Cinderella story.
"If I hadn't met Evan and Carl I might have just
been dreaming forever," she muses. "I am so
thankful for everything they’ve done for me."
Soon the whole world will be giving both Rihanna and her
producers thanks. |
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