Rihanna

Rihanna was born in Saint Michael, Barbados, as the eldest child of Ronald Fenty, her Barbadian father, and Monica Fenty, her mother (also of African descent). She has two younger brothers named Rorrey and Rajad. Rihanna attended a grammar school. In 2004, Rihanna won a beauty pageant and sang Mariah Carey's "Hero" for her school during a talent show. Producer Evan Rogers and his wife Jackie were on holiday in Barbados when a friend introduced them to Rihanna. Rihanna's demos were sent to various record labels, including Shawn 'Jay-Z' Carter's Def Jam Recordings, where Rihanna eventually signed a contract. Rihanna has also said that she looks up to former Def Jam artist Fefe Dobson.

Music of the Sun Rihanna's debut album, Music of the Sun, was released on 30 August 2005. From this album came the singles "Pon De Replay" and "If It's Lovin' That You Want". Her debut single "Pon de Replay" was released on 11 October 2005 and became a success. The single reached #2 in the charts in America and England. In Belgium, the single landed at #5. In the Netherlands, "Pon de Replay" was less successful, peaking at #18. The single was written by Rihanna's discoverers Evan Rogers and Carl Strucken together with Rihanna herself. Music of the Sun itself reached the top 10 in America (#10) and Canada (#7). The album received a gold RIAA certification in America with 500,000 copies sold and went platinum worldwide with 2 million sales. To further promote her album, she toured with pop singer Gwen Stefani.

Rihanna's second single "If It's Lovin' That You Want" was less successful than her previous single. The single reached #36 in America, #25 in Belgium, #17 in the Netherlands, and #11 in England. A third single, "Let Me", was released only in Japan, where it became a hit and reached #8.

Shortly after, A Girl Like Me came out, and no further singles were released from the album.

A Girl Like Me Eight months after Rihanna released Music of the Sun, her second album A Girl Like Me came out. Rihanna participated in endorsements such as Nike and J.C. Penney. The lead single, "SOS", was a major international success and was used for the Nike deal. Two music videos were made for "SOS", a regular video broadcast on TV and a special video made for Nike. The song became Rihanna's first #1 in America and on the United World Chart, and her first top ten hit in the Netherlands, where it reached #4. It also became a hit in Belgium, where it reached #2. The next track, a ballad called "Unfaithful", was written by singer and songwriter Ne-Yo and is about infidelity and the guilt that comes with it. The song became Rihanna's third top ten hit in America, England, and Belgium, reaching #6, #2, and #3 respectively. In the Netherlands it reached #4 and on the United World Chart #3. The third single, "We Ride", was not as successful as her other singles. The song failed to chart in the Netherlands and America. It was also not a big success in Belgium, where #40 was the highest position. In England it managed to enter the top twenty, landing at #17. The fourth single, "Break It Off", was a duet with Sean Paul and was released only in America and parts of Europe. Both Rihanna's and Sean Paul's management decided not to record a music video.

Rihanna recorded a song called "Just Be Happy", written by Ne-Yo for a deal with Clinique to promote their latest 'Happy' fragrance. Rihanna also recorded a song with Nicole Scherzinger for P&G's deodorant Secret.

In November, she toured several European countries with The Pussycat Dolls. On this tour they performed in Belgium, England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, France, and Austria. In Belgium they performed at Vorst Nationaal in Brussels. She also gave a concert on 17 November at the HMH in Amsterdam.

Good Girl Gone Bad On 1 June 2007, Rihanna's latest album was released in the Netherlands: Good Girl Gone Bad. The first single was "Umbrella". Umbrella is Rihanna's biggest single to date. In America, Rihanna spent seven weeks at number 1, and after Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable" it was the biggest single of 2007. With this song, Rihanna achieved her fifth top ten hit in America in less than 2 years. In England, it was Rihanna's first number 1 hit, the song stayed at the top for 10 weeks, the longest since 10 years. It was also Rihanna's first number 1 hit in Belgium. In the Netherlands, the single reached number 2. On the United World Chart, this single also reached number 1 where it stayed for 10 weeks. Umbrella was the best single of 2007 worldwide.

The second single, "Shut Up And Drive", became Rihanna's fifth top ten hit in England and Belgium, reaching number 5 and number 9 respectively. In America it reached position 15 and in the Netherlands #5. Its successor "Don't Stop The Music" was originally intended to be played only in the dance scene. Due to the large number of digital sales and extensive radio airplay, the song was released as a single. It achieved a third place in the American charts and a fourth place in the United Kingdom. In the latter, the single appeared in the charts two months before its official single release. In the Netherlands and Belgium, the song became a number 1 hit. As the fourth single, "Hate That I Love You", a duet with Ne-Yo, was released, which reached seventh place in the Dutch top 40. In the United States and England, where the song was released earlier than "Don't Stop The Music", it also became a hit.

In the United Kingdom and the United States, "Take A Bow" was released as the fifth single. In both countries it became a number 1 hit. In the Netherlands, this song is now in the tip parade, as is the song "If I Never See Your Face Again", a collaboration with Maroon 5. Both songs appear on the re-release of Good Girl Gone Bad coming on 27 May. The duet with Maroon 5 appears as a solo version by the band on their album It Won't Be Soon Before Long. A re-release also includes the special duet with Rihanna.

Rihanna said on "Soundcheck" that she would like all the songs from Good Girl Gone Bad to be singles or at least have music videos.

The album itself is a commercial success and has sold approximately 4 million copies to date.

Rihanna has also launched an umbrella line. The Rihanna umbrellas were designed because of her big hit "Umbrella".

Rihanna was nominated for six Grammy Awards in 2007: Record of the Year, Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals (for "Hate That I Love You"), Best Dance Recording (for "Don't Stop the Music"), Song of the Year, Best R&B Song, and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (for "Umbrella"). She won the latter.

Rihanna started touring on 12 September 2007 through Canada, the United States, and later through Europe. Her tour is called the "Good Girl Gone Bad Tour". Around early 2008 she will release a DVD of this tour, which shows the performance at the 'Manchester Evening News Arena' on 6 December. On 21 November 2007, Rihanna gave a concert at the HMH. The next day (22 November 2007) she also performed on the stage of Vorst Nationaal in Brussels, Belgium.

Rihanna's Fourth Album MTV.com reported that Rihanna went into the studio for a fourth album. MTV said: "Rihanna has meanwhile gone into the studio for the follow-up to her successful album Good Girl Gone Bad." The album has no name or release date yet. On the Ryan Seacrest Show, an American program, Rihanna said more about this album: "I haven't gone to the studio for my album yet, no not yet. We won't be releasing an album this year, probably in 2009."