Rihanna

Rihanna

Rihanna performing in Wantagh, New York during her Last Girl on Earth Tour on August 15, 2010.
Background information
Birth name Robyn Rihanna Fenty
Born February 20, 1988 (age 23)
Saint Michael, Barbados

Genres
pop, dance, urban pop, Eurodance, R&B, reggae

Occupations Singer, songwriter, executive producer, video director, philanthropist, author, actress
Years active 2005–present
Labels
Def Jam, SRP, Roc Nation

Associated acts Jay-Z, Kanye West, Shontelle, Ne-Yo, Nicki Minaj, Eminem

Website

Rihanna's signature
In 2005, Rihanna released her debut studio album, Music of the Sun, which peaked in the top ten of the Billboard 200 chart and features the Billboard Hot 100 hit single "Pon de Replay." Less than a year later, she released her second studio album, A Girl Like Me (2006), which peaked within the top five of the Billboard albums chart, and produced her first US number one single, "SOS", as well as the top 10 singles "Unfaithful" and "Break It Off". Rihanna's third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007), which peaked at number two on the Billboard 200, featured five top ten hits including three US number one hit singles—"Umbrella", "Take a Bow" and "Disturbia"—and the worldwide hit "Don't Stop the Music". The album was nominated for nine Grammy Awards, winning Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Umbrella," which features Jay-Z. Her fourth studio album, Rated R (2009), peaked at number four on the Billboard 200. Its first three singles, "Russian Roulette", "Hard" and "Rude Boy" peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, while "Rude Boy" peaked at number one. Loud (2010), her fifth studio album, spawned the number one hits, "Only Girl (In the World)" and "What's My Name?" and "S&M".
Rihanna has sold more than 15 million albums and 45 million singles making her one of the best selling artists of all time. She has achieved ten number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 since first appearing on the chart on June 11, 2005, which is the most by any artist during that time span. As of March 18, 2011, Rihanna has sold approximately 6 million album units and over 28 million digital singles in the US. She has sold over 10 million records in the UK. Billboard named Rihanna the Digital Songs Artist of the 2000s decade. She has received several accolades, including the 2007 World Music Awards for World's Best-Selling Pop Female Artist and Female Entertainer of the Year, and the 2011 Brit Award for Best International Female Solo Artist. She has also amassed a total of four Grammy Awards, four American Music Awards, and fifteen Billboard Music Awards.
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Biography
1988–2004: Early life and career beginnings
Rihanna was born in Saint Michael, Barbados on February 20, 1988, to Monica, an accountant, and Ronald Fenty, a warehouse supervisor. Her mother, a native of Guyana, is Afro-Guyanese, and her father is of Barbadian and Irish descent. She is the eldest of three siblings; two younger brothers, Rorrey and Rajad Fenty. She began singing at around the age of seven. Her childhood was deeply affected by her father's addiction to crack cocaine and her parents' rocky marriage, which ended when she was fourteen years old.Rihanna attended Charles F. Broome Memorial School, a primary school in Barbados, and then the Combermere School, where she formed a musical trio with two of her classmates at the age of fifteen. In 2004 she won the Miss Combermere Beauty Pageant. She was an army cadet in a sub-military programme that trained with the military of Barbados and Shontelle was her drill sergeant.
In 2003, friends introduced Rihanna and her two bandmates to record producer Evan Rogers, who was vacationing in Barbados with his wife. The group auditioned for Rogers, who said that "the minute Rihanna walked into the room, it was like the other two girls didn't exist." While auditioning for Rogers, Rihanna sang Destiny's Child's cover of "Emotion". Over the next year, Rihanna and her mom shuttled back and forth to Rogers' home in Stamford, Connecticut. Then, shortly after turning 16, she relocated in the United States and moved in with Rogers and his wife. Carl Sturken helped her record a four-song demo, which included the ballad "Last Time", a cover of Whitney Houston's hit "For the Love of You", and what would become her first hit, "Pon de Replay", to send to various recording companies. It took a year to record the demos, because Rihanna was going to school and would only record during summer and Christmas school breaks. Her demo made its way to Def Jam, which invited her to audition for the label's then-president, Jay-Z, who quickly signed her.
2005–06: Music of the Sun and A Girl Like Me
After signing with Def Jam, she spent the next three months recording and completing her debut album. The album featured production from Evan Rogers, Carl Sturken, Stargate and Poke & Tone. She first collaborated with rapper Memphis Bleek on his fourth studio album 534 before her debut. She released her debut single, "Pon de Replay", on August 22, 2005, which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. It became a global hit where it peaked within the top ten across fifteen countries. Her debut album, Music of the Sun, was released in August 2005 in the United States. The album reached number ten on the Billboard 200, selling 69,000 copies in its first week. The album sold over two million copies worldwide and received a Gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America, denoting shipments to US retailers of over 500,000 units.