| Rihanna | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Robyn Rihanna Fenty |
| Born | February 20, 1988 |
| Origin | Saint Michael, Barbados |
| Genre(s) | Pop, R&B, reggae, dance-pop, electronica, electropop, dancehall |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, model, fashion designer, music director |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Label(s) | Def Jam Recordings |
| Associated acts | Ne-Yo, Jay-Z, Chris Brown, Maroon 5, Justin Timberlake, T.I., Timbaland |
| Website | Official Site |
Rihanna established her dance-pop credentials in summer 2005 with her debut smash hit, "Pon de Replay," and continued to demonstrate such hit potential in subsequent years (e.g., "S.O.S.," 2006; "Umbrella," 2007). By the time her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad, arrived in 2007, she was a full-fledged international pop star with a regular presence atop the charts, from Germany to Japan. Born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on February 20, 1988, in Saint Michael, Barbados, she always exhibited a certain star quality, winning beauty and talent contests as a schoolchild. But because she lived on the fairly remote island of Barbados in the West Indies, she never foresaw the sort of stardom that would later befall her.
That stardom came courtesy of a fateful meeting with a man named Evan Rogers. The New Yorker was vacationing in Barbados with his wife, a native of the island, when someone turned him on to Rihanna. Since Rogers had spent years producing pop artists -- including superstars like *NSYNC, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, Kelly Clarkson, Laura Pausini, and Rod Stewart -- he offered her the opportunity to record some music after he recognized her talent. Along with Rogers' production partner, Carl Sturken (the other half of Syndicated Rhythm Productions), Rihanna recorded several demos that sparked the interest of the Carter Administration -- that is, newly appointed Def Jam president Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter. This led to an audition and, in turn, an on-the-spot offer to sign with Def Jam, which Rihanna indeed inked on the spot.
Come summer 2005, Def Jam rolled out "Pon de Replay," the lead single of Music of the Sun. Produced almost entirely by Rogers and Sturken, the song also synthesized Caribbean rhythms with urban-pop songwriting. "Pon de Replay" caught fire almost immediately, climbing all the way to number two on The Billboard Hot 100 and contesting the half-summer reign of Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" atop the chart -- this was before Music of the Sun even had been released. The album spawned one other hit, "If It's Lovin' That You Want," which broke the Top 40. Rihanna's follow-up album, A Girl Like Me, was a greater success, spawning three big singles: a chart-topper ("S.O.S.") and two Top Tens ("Unfaithful," "Break It Off").
Rihanna's third album, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007), continued her success and, more notably, signaled a change of direction. Whereas her past two albums had been imbalanced -- often weighed down by faceless balladry and canned Caribbean-isms -- Good Girl Gone Bad was a first-rate dance-pop album. Moreover, it was surprisingly solid, stacked with several chart-topping singles and boasting collaborations with Jay-Z, Ne-Yo, Timbaland, and StarGate. The lead single, "Umbrella," shot to number one and, for the third year in a row, was a potential "song of the summer." By this point it was clear that Rihanna had become one of the biggest singles artists of the mid-2000s. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
Rihanna was born on the Caribbean island of Barbados in 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 will be released on August 30, 2005.
Rihanna says she is inspired by such artists like Alicia Keys, Beyoncé Knowles and Mariah Carey. She also states that on her album, you'll not only listen to reggae, but you'll hear ballads and other R&B fused tracks. Well, we can't wait....
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