Rihanna

Rihanna born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer. She is the second artist, and first female, from Barbados to have received a Grammy Award (the first being Jimmy Senya Haynes).[6] Rihanna is currently signed to the Def Jam Recordings label. Since the release of Rihanna's first album Music of the Sun in 2005 her music has gone on to become immensely sucessful in the United States and worldwide where she has amassed 10 top 40 hit singles on the US Billboard Charts and on the United World Charts in the span of only 3 years.Also significant is that 8 of these singles have gone on to become top 10 hits while 3 went even further and achieved the number 1 position on these charts. Early Life Rihanna was born in Saint Michael, Barbados, to Ronald Fenty of Barbados(of African and Irish ancestry)and Monica Fenty, who is of Guyanese descent.She has two younger brothers, Rorrey and Rajad Fenty. Rihanna went to Charles F. Broome Memorial School, a primary school in Barbados, and then on to 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. 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 Recordings. Rihanna cites Brandy Norwood, Beyoncé Knowles, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Bob Marley and her Caribbean background as major musical influences.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. Career Rihanna's debut album, Music of the Sun, was released on August 30, 2005, yielding two hit singles, the first being "Pon de Replay" which was released on August 22, 2005. This single became a huge success upon its release peaking at number 2 in the US on Billboard Hot 100 charts. It also became a global hit where it peaked within the top 10 across 15 countries as well as achieving top 20 chartings on 20 charts around the world. The single written by Carl Sturken, Evan Rogers and Rihanna was described by Rolling Stone magazine as a "poppy piece of dancehall reggae with slapping, syncopated beats recalling big-band jazz." The second single "If It's Lovin' That You Want" was less successful than "Pon de Replay", but it became a hit nonetheless by managing to achieve a top 40 charting in the USA reaching a high of number 36. In Australia, Ireland and New Zealand the single proved to be well-recieved reaching the top 10 in those countries. Overall the single became a top 40 hit on 11 charts around the globe. Despite the album not having huge promotion and only releasing two singles Music of the Sun managed to sell over 500,000 copies in the United States and 2 million worldwide. Rihanna second album, A Girl like Me, was released in April 2006; less than eight months after the release of her first album. The lead single, "SOS", was used in an 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. 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 at 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. A Girl like Me's sales were significantly stronger, selling 1.2 million in the U.S and over 3.5 million worldwide In total, Rihanna has had 11 #1's 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. Rihanna also recorded a song called "Winning Women" with Cat Doll Nicole Scherzinger for P&G’s female deodorant Secret. In addition Rihanna also made her acting debut in a cameo role in Bring It On: All or Nothing, which was released on August 8, 2006. Breakthrough success: 2007—present 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, features Jay-Z and Ne-Yo. Rihanna worked with Timbaland on three songs in the album. Justin Timberlake co-wrote and provides background vocals on "Rehab". The album yielded 4 singles, including the world-wide #1 hit "Umbrella", featuring Jay-Z. In addition to reaching #1 in various countries, "Unbrella" was the #1 single in the UK for 10 consecutive weeks, making it the longest running UK #1 single since Wet Wet Wet's 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. By the end of the year, "Umbrella" was ranked second on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart in the United States;[37] however, due to the song's world-wide chart dominance it was named the most successful song in the world for 2007, getting 8,160,000 points on the United World Chart. Her other two latter singles, " Shut Up and Drive" and "Don't Stop The Music" were able to mirror the success of "Umbrella", with "Don't Stop The Music" reaching #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Rihanna's seventh top ten single and her fourth top five hit, while peaking at #1 in various countries, including the United World Chart. The fourth single "Hate That I Love You, featuring Ne-Yo, was able to peak at #7 in the U.S. Starting September 12, 2007, Rihanna toured Canada and the United States in support of the album with several shows and then crossed to Europe. The tour was called called the Good Girl Gone Bad Tour, and it will be released on DVD in early 2008, featuring the show performed at the Manchester Evening News Arena on December 6 2007. Rihanna premiered a new single, "Take A Bow", on KIIS-FM's On Air with Ryan Seacrest. The song will be backed by the re-issue of her third album, titled Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded, which will be released on June 17, 2008. It has so far peaked at #1 on the Hot 100 chart. During this period in 2007, Rihanna insured her legs for $1 million. There are conflicting reports about her next album. MTV.com reported that Rihanna has now gone into the studio to start recording her fourth album,[41]. In the near future, Rihanna is scheduled to work with Ryan Tedder, who named her as "The Next Britney". She also states that she wants to work with T-Pain.