Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. Known for her artistic reinventions, she is an influential figure in both music and fashion. Rihanna is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated sales of over 250 million records.
As a child, Rihanna showed interest in the arts. Signed to Def Jam Recordings, she debuted with the Caribbean-inspired records Music of the Sun and A Girl Like Me, both of which reached the top ten of the US Billboard 200. The albums spawned the singles "Pon de Replay" and "SOS", which peaked at numbers two and one on the US Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Adopting a more mature image, Rihanna rose to stardom and transitioned to dance-pop and R&B with the album Good Girl Gone Bad and its reissue, subtitled Reloaded. The project yielded a string of successful songs, including the US number-one singles "Umbrella", "Take a Bow", and "Disturbia".
After exploring more personal themes on the rock-influenced record Rated R, Rihanna returned to her more upbeat sound with the dance-pop albums Loud and Talk That Talk, and topped the Billboard 200 with her synth-pop set Unapologetic. Departing from Def Jam in favour of Jay-Z's label, Roc Nation, she released the eclectic Anti —her second number-one album. These albums contained the US number-one singles "Rude Boy", "Only Girl ", "What's My Name?", "S&M", "We Found Love", "Diamonds", and "Work". Her films include Battleship, Home, Ocean's 8, and Smurfs.
Rihanna's numerous accolades include nine Grammy Awards, twelve Billboard Music Awards, and thirteen American Music Awards. She is the highest-certified female digital single artist by the Recording Industry Association of America, and has seven diamond-certified singles and fourteen number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. The first female musician to achieve billionaire status, Rihanna founded the nonprofit Clara Lionel Foundation, the cosmetics brand Fenty Beauty, and the fashion brand Fenty under LVMH, becoming the first Black woman to lead a luxury brand for the group. She was named an ambassador by the Government of Barbados in 2018 and declared a National Hero of Barbados in 2021.
Life and career
1988–2002: Early life
Robyn Rihanna Fenty was born in Saint Michael, Barbados, on February 20, 1988. She is the daughter of Monica, an Afro-Guyanese accountant, and Ronald Fenty, a Barbadian warehouse supervisor of African, Irish, English, and Scottish descent. Rihanna has two younger brothers, Rorrey and Rajad Fenty, as well as two half-sisters and a half-brother from her father's previous relationships. She was raised in a three-bedroom bungalow in Bridgetown and helped her father sell clothes at a street stall. Her childhood was affected by her father's alcoholism and crack cocaine addiction, which strained her parents' marriage. Rihanna has spoken about witnessing her father physically abuse her mother, describing her as "one of the strongest women I know, if not the strongest".As a child, Rihanna suffered from intense headaches that required multiple CT scans, with doctors once suspecting a tumor. Her health began to improve after her parents divorced when she was 14. She attended Charles F. Broome Memorial Primary School and Combermere School. One of her teachers described her as a "well-behaved student" who avoided trouble. She showed an interest in singing, dancing, and poetry. Around this time, Rihanna began listening to reggae artists such as Sizzla and Damien Marley, as well as R&B musicians like Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. At the age of 11, she became a cadet in Barbados's Cadet Corps, with future singer Shontelle as her drill sergeant. Though she initially planned to finish high school, she ultimately dropped out at age 16 to pursue a music career.
2003–2006: Career beginnings with ''Music of the Sun'' and ''A Girl Like Me''
In 2003, Rihanna formed a music trio with two classmates in Barbados. Unnamed and without original material, the girl group auditioned for American producer Evan Rogers, who recalled that "the minute Rihanna walked into the room, it was like the other two girls didn't exist". The trio went on to perform a cover of Destiny's Child's "Emotion". Impressed, Rogers arranged a second meeting with Rihanna and her mother—this time without the other two girls—and later invited them to his hometown in Connecticut to record demo tapes for record label submissions. Rihanna's demo tape included "Pon de Replay" and "The Last Time". In 2005, she became the first artist to sign with Syndicated Rhythm Productions, the production company founded by Rogers and Carl Sturken.Rihanna's demo was sent to rapper Jay-Z, who had just become the president and CEO of the record label Def Jam Recordings. Although Jay-Z initially thought "Pon de Replay" was too big for a new artist, he invited her to audition. In early 2005, she performed in New York City for Jay-Z and music executive Antonio "L.A." Reid, singing Whitney Houston's "For the Love of You" along with demo tracks "Pon de Replay" and "The Last Time". Jay-Z was convinced of her potential, and Reid told him not to let her leave the building without a deal. She waited in Jay-Z's office while lawyers finalized a six-album contract with Def Jam. Rihanna canceled scheduled meetings with other labels and, shortly after turning 16, moved from Barbados to the US. There, she completed her high school education with a tutor.
After Rihanna signed with Def Jam, Jay-Z and his team spent three months completing her debut studio album. She collaborated with various producers, primarily Rogers and Sturken. "Pon de Replay" was selected as the lead single because of its summer appeal. The song was released on May 25, 2005, and became a commercial success, reaching number two on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. Her debut studio album, Music of the Sun, was released on August 29, 2005. It debuted at number ten on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 69,000 units. Its second single, "If It's Lovin' That You Want", peaked at number 36 in the US. Rihanna made her acting debut with a cameo in the straight-to-DVD film Bring It On: All or Nothing, in which she portrayed herself.
Soon after releasing Music of the Sun, Rihanna began working on her second studio album in September 2005. Titled A Girl Like Me, the record was released on April 25, 2006. A pop and reggae album, A Girl Like Me peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 chart, with 115,000 copies sold in the US in its first week. It became her first RIAA-certified double platinum album, surpassing one million units sold. It spawned four singles: "SOS", "Unfaithful", "We Ride", and "Break It Off". "SOS" became her first song to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100, while "Unfaithful" was a top-ten single worldwide. To promote both A Girl Like Me and Music of the Sun, Rihanna embarked on her debut headlining concert tour, entitled Rihanna: Live in Concert Tour, throughout 2006.
2007–2008: ''Good Girl Gone Bad''
In early 2007, Rihanna began recording her third studio album. Aiming to dismiss her girl-next-door image in favour of a more mature and rebellious persona, she worked with such producers as Ne-Yo, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, and Tricky Stewart for the album. The resulting album, Good Girl Gone Bad, was released on May 31, 2007, to critical acclaim. Regarded as a turning point in her career, it marked a shift from the Caribbean-influenced sound of her earlier work, embracing a more contemporary pop direction driven by uptempo dance tracks. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 162,000 copies in its first week.The lead single from Good Girl Gone Bad was "Umbrella", featuring Jay-Z. It topped the charts in several territories, spending ten consecutive weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart and seven at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The following singles, "Shut Up and Drive" and "Hate That I Love You", saw moderate success, while the album's fourth single, "Don't Stop the Music", peaked at number three in the US. In support of the album, Rihanna embarked on the worldwide Good Girl Gone Bad Tour in September 2007, performing 80 concerts across five continents. At the 2008 Grammy Awards, she received multiple nominations for Good Girl Gone Bad and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Umbrella" alongside Jay-Z. In late 2008, she released "Rehab", the fifth and final single from Good Girl Gone Bad; it peaked within the top 20 of the charts in both the US and UK. Having sold ninemillion copies as of 2023, Good Girl Gone Bad is her best-selling album worldwide.
Entertainment Weekly named Rihanna "Diva of the Year" in 2008, praising her "newfound staying power". In April 2008, Rihanna joined Kanye West as a supporting act on his Glow in the Dark Tour. The reissue of Good Girl Gone Bad, subtitled Reloaded, was released on June 2; selling 63,000 copies in its first week, it helped the original album rise to number seven in the US. Reloaded spawned four new tracks, two of which—"Disturbia" and "Take a Bow"—topped the Billboard Hot 100. Soon after the release of Reloaded, she issued Good Girl Gone Bad Live, a DVD documentary featuring Rihanna's December 2007 concert at the Manchester Arena. In 2008, she announced her romantic relationship with singer Chris Brown and topped the Hot 100 once again with a feature on rapper T.I.'s song "Live Your Life".
2009–2011: Domestic violence case, ''Rated R'', and ''Loud''
On February 8, 2009, Rihanna was forced to cancel her scheduled performance at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards following reports that she had been physically assaulted by Brown. He later turned himself in to authorities and was detained on suspicion of making criminal threats. On March 5, 2009, he was formally charged with assault and making criminal threats. The case garnered widespread media attention, particularly after TMZ published a leaked police photograph showing Rihanna with visible injuries.Rihanna was subpoenaed to testify at a preliminary hearing in Los Angeles on June 22, 2009. The incident and its aftermath influenced her artistically, prompting her to begin work on her fourth studio album, titled Rated R, one month after the Grammy Awards. Released on November 20, Rated R marked a shift away from the upbeat sound of Rihanna's earlier albums, embracing a darker, more introspective tone with rock influences. The album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 chart and sold 181,000 copies in its first week. The single "Rude Boy" peaked atop the Hot 100 for six weeks, while "Russian Roulette" and "Hard" both peaked within the top ten. In support of the album, Rihanna embarked on the Last Girl on Earth tour from 2010 to 2011.
Rihanna entered an on-again, off-again relationship with Canadian rapper Drake in 2009. In June 2010, she collaborated with rapper Eminem on the single "Love the Way You Lie". It topped the Billboard Hot 100 for seven consecutive weeks and peaked at number two in the UK; it was also the latter country's best-selling song of 2010. In October that year, Rihanna switched management, signing with Jay-Z's Roc Nation. Rihanna returned to her more upbeat sound with her fifth studio album, Loud, which was released on November 12, 2010. A dance-pop record, Loud debuted at number three in the US with first-week sales of 207,000 copies. It spawned three Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles: "Only Girl ", "What's My Name?" featuring Drake, and "S&M", which topped the chart following the release of its remix with Britney Spears. Rihanna became the youngest and fastest solo artist in Billboard Hot 100 history to accumulate ten number-one singles.
At the 53rd Grammy Awards in 2011, "Only Girl " won Best Dance Recording. The songs "Man Down", "California King Bed", and "Cheers " were released as singles from Loud in 2011. To support the album, Rihanna launched the Loud Tour in June 2011, which included a record-breaking ten sold-out shows at The O2 Arena in London—the most by a female artist in the venue's history. The tour grossed $90million, making it one of the highest-grossing tours worldwide that year. Also in 2011, she featured on three other artists' songs: West's "All of the Lights" from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Nicki Minaj's "Fly" from her debut album Pink Friday, and David Guetta's "Who's That Chick?" from One More Love.