Rihanna
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Robyn Rihanna Fenty (born February 20 1988), principally known by the stage name Rihanna (pronunciation REE-anna), is a Bajan R&B singer with musical influences from pop, Reggae, Dancehall, and Soca.
Biography
Rihanna is a Caribean 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.
Rihanna was born on the Caribbean island of Barbados on February 20, 1988. Through the years, particularly during her pre-teen and teenage years, she would sing to friends and family only for amusement purposes. One day, a mutual friend of Rihanna introduced her to music producer Evan Rogers, whose home base is in New York.
He asked Rihanna to perform whatever song that came to mind for her. Rogers was obviously suprised on what great talent Rihanna had. Immediately, both Rogers and Rihanna made demos containing close to twelve tracks including the 2005 smash hit Pon De Replay and mailed the demos out to various recording comanies including Def Jam Recordings where Rihanna would eventually be signed onto.
Shawn Carter, also known as simply 'Jay-Z' in the urban community, who was recently crowned as the CEO of Def Jam, was enticed by the mature sounds of the talented singer, and immediately started recording for her upcoming LP disc.
Of course Rihanna completed the recording of her LP disc entitled Music Of The Sun. She amazingly did not just sing the notes to the songs that can be heard on the album, she also co-written a majority of them. She has gone to various radio stations around the United States promoting her vivacious single, "Pon De Replay" , and her album, which has been released on August 30, 2005.
Rihanna says she is inspired by such artists like Alicia Keys, Beyoncé Knowles and Mariah Carey.
2005: Music Of The Sun
Rihanna's debut album Music of the Sun, which she co-wrote, was released in August 2005, led by the single "Pon de Replay", which peaked at number two on both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. The second single, "If It's Lovin' That You Want", was less successful than its predecessor but reached the top twenty in several countries. The album itself peaked within the top ten in Canada, and the U.S., and within the top forty in the UK. It has received platinum certifications in several countries and a Gold certification in the U.S. To further promote the album, Rihanna toured with Gwen Stefani.
The album itself sold just under 500,000 copies in the US and 2 million worldwide. In 2006, Rihanna participated in several endorsement deals, including Nike and J.C. Penney.
2006: A Girl Like Me
A Girl Like Me was released in April 2006, less than eight months after the release of her debut album. The album debuted at number five in the U.S. and number six in the UK. The lead single, "SOS", was used in her endorsement deal with Nike.
The song, which featured a sample from the Soft Cell hit Tainted Love, became Rihanna's first number one on the Hot 100 chart. It also debuted at number one on the Hot Digital Songs chart where it became the second biggest first week digital single ever. "SOS" peaked at number one in Hawaii and number two in the UK. The second single, a slow ballad which addresses the feelings of guilt a girl faces as she cheats on her boyfriend titled "Unfaithful", became her third top ten hit in the U.S & the U.K. (becoming her third #2 single held off by "Hips Don't Lie" by Shakira) "We Ride", the 3rd single premiered at radio stations on August 22, 2006."A Girl Like Me" is Rihanna's biggest selling album to date and was certified platinum by the RIAA.
Trivia
- On July 25, 2006, Rihanna appeared on the American soap opera All My Children, performing "S.O.S" and "Kisses Don't Lie."
- On August 31, 2006 Rihanna received two MTV Video Music Award Nominations for the categories- Best New Artist & Viewer's Choice for her video "SOS (Rescue Me)"
- She won a MuchMusic Video Award for Best International Artist.
- It has been confirmed that Rihanna's fourth single from her album "A Girl Like Me", after "We Ride", will be "Break It Off" featuring Sean Paul. The song will be released to radio stations around the world in November 2006.
- Rihanna made her acting debut in a cameo role in Bring It On: All or Nothing, which was released on August 8, 2006.
- August 26: The Barbadian-born Rihanna said that she was honoured to represent a Caribbean telecommunication network and considered Trinidad her second home. Rihanna revealed to the media that her music was inspired by her own experiences and the experiences of her close friends.[1]
- On September 20, 2006, Rihanna performed her single Unfaithful live at the MOBO Awards and won an award for Best R&B.
Singles
Main Article: Rihanna discography
| Year | Single | Peak positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. | UK | CAN | AUS | EUR | ||
| 2005 | "Pon De Replay" | 2 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 3 |
| "If It's Lovin' That You Want" | 36 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 43 | |
| 2006 | "S.O.S (Rescue Me)" | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| "Unfaithful" | 6 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2006 | "We Ride" | 106 | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC |
See also
- Rihanna discography
- List of Bajans
- List of number-one hits (United States)
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
References
- ^ "CROWDS GREET RIHANNA, LEGEND". Newsday. 2006-08-26.
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