Rihanna aka "bad girl riri" is one of the highest selling female pop star of all time, and considering that she's still young, she might even end up becoming the highest female musician of her time. Today, RNB takes a look at the life of this beautiful goddess and how her music careerstarted.
Family and Childhood
Robyn Rihanna Fenty was born in St Michael, Barbados on February 20th 1988. She is a Barbadian musician, actress and business woman. Her mother is an accountant and her father is a warehouse supervisor. She had two brothers and two half-sisters and a half brother from her father's side. She was raised in a three bedroom bungalow and her childhood is characterized by her father's constant intake of hard drugs and drunkenness which resulted in a marital breakdown. She attended Charles .F. Broom memorial Primary School and Conbermere School an became an army cadet in a sub-military program before deciding to take the path of music.
Music Career
In 2003, Rihanna was found by American producer Evan Rodgers. Impressed by performing the songs of Destiny's Child and Mariah Carey, Rihanna travelled with Rodgers to the United States to record some demo tapes that could be to record labels. Pon De Reply and Last Time were the first two tracks recorded and which ended up in her debut album Music of the Sun in 2005. In the same year, she agreed to a deal with Rodgers’ production company, Syndicated Rhythm Productions. Def Jam Recordings received her demos and an A&R executive at the label, played the demo for rapper Jay-Z who recently became the president and CEO of the label. Jay-Z doubted Rihanna's potential, but when he heard her perform an audition of one of her songs, he became sure of her ability and signed her to the label. Jay-Z and his team completed Rihanna's debut album and her lead single Pon de Reply charted with success worldwide and peaked at second spot on Billboard Hot 100. Music of the Sun debuted at the tenth spot on the Billboard album chart. A Girl Like Me, released in 2006, produced lead single ‘SOS’ which hit top spot at the Billboard Hot 100 chart, her first song to reach the chart.
In 2007, her international fame was cemented with the release of Good Girl Gone Bad album. Its lead single ‘Umbrella,' reached the top spot in thirteen countries and became one of the best selling singles inn history with eight million copies sold. Don't Stop the Music, another single from the album, became an international success as well. Umbrella won a Grammy for Rap Sung/Collaboration in 2008. In 2009, Good Girl Gone Bad Reloaded was released with three new singles Disturbia, Take a Bow and If I Never See Your Face Again, reached high positions worldwide. In late 2009, Rated R, another album, was released to acclaim and debuted at number four on the album chart. Rude Boy, a single from the album, peaked at top spot on Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks. In 2010, her fifth album Loud, was released. Only Girl (in the world), one of the singles, won her Grammy for Best Dance Recording. She participated a Loud World Tour in 2011 and sold out ten nights at 02 Arena, the most for any female artist in history of the venue.
Her sixth album Talk that Talk was released in 2011. The album debuted at number three on album chart. We Found Love, the album lead single, topped the chart in twenty-seven countries and broke records worldwide. It topped the Hot 100 chart for ten consecutive weeks. Her seventh album Unapologetic came out in 2012 and debuted at top spot of Billboard album chart, her first number one in the country. Diamonds, from the album, became her twelfth number one song on Billboard and in more than twenty countries. In 2013, she won Best Music Video at Grammy for We Found Love. In 2015, she signed a contract with Samsung to advertise their products while Samsung would endorse the release and promote her eight studio album and its supporting tour. In 2016, Anti, an album was released to critical acclaim. Four singles were released to promote the album and her song Work topped the chart.
In October 2017, Shakka was quoted saying that he was planning with Rihanna on a new album. In December 2018, Rihanna stated that the album will be out the following year and concluded that it will be a reggae styled album. In December 2019, she referenced her album being complete but postponed the album's release indefinitely.
Style
Raised in Barbados, she began to receive influence of reggae and hip hop. Arriving to the United States, she began to listen to more diverse style, with rock becoming her favourite. All through her albums, she fused reggae, hip-hop, R&B, rock, Dance and pop and her lyrical themes applies provocative subject matters with influences ranging from Madonna, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson and Bob Marley. She appeared in Times 100 Most Influential Persons in the world in 2012 and 2018. Her fashion style has seen her compared to fashion greats like Madonna, Michael Jackson, Prince and David Bowie. In 2018, Billboard ranked her the tenth biggest Hot 100 artist of all time as well as fifth biggest female artist of all time. She's ranked the top 100 artist of the 2010s. She has influenced musicians like Rita Ora, Sam Smith, Lorde, Billie Eillish, Demi Lovato, and Justin Bieber.
Honors and Recognition
She acquired a honorary title of Ambassador for culture and youth in Barbados and February 22 is recognized as Rihanna Day in Barbados. She has also donated money to set up medical supplies, school equipment and toys for children across Barbados and extended support for Indian farmers and citizens rights worldwide.
Net Worth
In 2019, she became the world's wealthiest female artiste with net worth of six hundred million dollars. Her first fragrance, Reb' L Fleur, was launched in January 2011 and her second, Rebelle, in February 2012. Her third fragrance, Nude in 2013, and both sexes of her fourth Rogue in 2013 and 2014. In 2015, she was proclaimed as the co-owner of music streaming service Tidal. Fenty, a fashion brand under luxury fashion company LVMH was launched in May 2019 making her the first woman and person of color to achieve this.
In 2017, she launched her famous cosmetics company Fenty Beauty. The first series of Fenty Beauty came out in September 2017 in stores available in over one hundred and fifty countries and involves an array of products from lip glosses to blush compacts. She launched a lingerie brand Savage X Fenty. She appeared in movies like Battleship (2012), Ocean 8 (2018) and animated picture True Meaning of Smekday (2015).
Awards
She has won nine Grammys, twelve Billboards Music Awards, thirteen American Music Awards and eight People’s Choice Awards and holds six Guinness World Records. She has sold over two hundred million records worldwide making her one of the best selling artistes of all time.
Relationship
Rihanna has been romantically involved in the past with lots of important personalities, including those in the music industry. In 2007, the "work" singer began dating Chris Brown, two years after the release of her debut album. The relationship with Chris Brown was her first serious relationship.
The relationship ended in 2009 after suffering series of domestic abuse from Chris Brown, shortly before the commencement of the Grammy Awards in that year. Chris Brown who was arrested for physical assault pleaded guilty and served five years of probation, six months of community service, and one year of domestic violence counselling.
A relationship between the two almost rekindled in 2012 after the she featured in the remix of the pop song, "Turn Up the Music". However, it died a few months later.
Rihanna also hooked up with MLB player Matt Kemp, shortly after her separation from Chris Brown in 2010. However, it was just a fling, and Rihanna confirmed that "it was all about having fun!".
Rihanna and Matt Kemp
She also hooked up with actor, Ryan Phillipe at a Gucci/Roc Nation brunch in February, 2010. Like the one with Matt Kemp, the two had no feelings for each other, but they did have sex multiple times.
Rihanna and Drake's relationship took off in 2016, although they have been somewhat romantically involved on and off after her split from Chris Brown in 2009. The Grammy winners collaborated on songs like "Work" and "Too Good" an in the videos, the two showed some sort of chemistry, and that became true when both confirmed that they were a couple at the MTV Video Music Awards.
Drake confessed to been in love with Rihanna since he was 22 years old during the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award ceremony. He also said that he has always looked up to her, even though he was older than her. Again, the two went their separate ways two months later, making us think that they were lying about their relationship in the first place.
And in 2017, she began a relationship with Saudi Billonaire Businessman Hassan Jameel and splited in January 2020 after some sort of disagreement.
Currently, bad girl riri was rumored to be dating the "Wild for the Night" rapper, A$AP Rocky, after being spotted hanging out together. The relationship became official after the two declared that they were a couple in December, 2020. The two celebrated Christmas in her native home, Barbados.
Comments
Post a Comment
Add Your Comments