User:Tomica/Sandbox/Rihanna

Robyn Rihanna Fenty (born February 20, 1988), known by her stage name Rihanna, is a Barbadian singer, actress, and fashion designer. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, her career began upon meeting record producer Evan Rogers in late 2003 through mutual friends.

1988–2003: Early life
Robyn Rihanna Fenty was born on February 20, 1988, in Saint Michael, Barbados. Her mother, Monica Braithwaite, is a retired accountant of Afro-Guyanese background and her father, Ronald Fenty, is a warehouse supervisor of Barbadian and Irish descent. Rihanna has two brothers, Rorrey and Rajad Fenty and two half-sisters Kandy and Samantha and a half-brother Jamie from her father's side, each born to different mothers from his previous relationships. She grew up in a three-bedroom bungalow in Bridgetown and sold clothes with her father in a stall on the street. Rihanna's childhood was deeply affected by her father's addiction to crack cocaine and alcohol. By the time she was fourteen, her parents had divorced. Rihanna grew up listening to reggae music and began singing at around the age of seven. She attended Charles F. Broome Memorial Primary School and Combermere High School, where she studied alongside future England cricketer Chris Jordan and formed a musical trio with two of her classmates. Rihanna was an army cadet in a sub-military programme; the singer-songwriter Shontelle was her drill sergeant. Although she initially wanted to graduate from high school, she chose to pursue a musical career instead.

2003–05: Career beginnings and Music of the Sun
In December 2003, Rihanna was discovered in Barbados by American record producer Evan Rogers. The two met through mutual friends of Rihanna's and Rogers' wife, while the couple was on vacation in the country, because of how Rihanna's friend had told Rogers' wife how the aspiring singer was always singing and performing. After meeting for the first time, Rogers' asked Rihanna to come to his hotel room, where she performed renditions of Destiny's Child's "Emotion" and Mariah Carey's "Hero". Rihanna's renditions impressed Rogers, who then took her to New York, where she was accompanied by her mother to record some demo tapes which could be sent to record labels. Subsequently, Rihanna was signed to Rogers' and Carl Sturken's production company, Syndicated Rhythm Productions (SRP), who assigned her a lawyer and manager, before the completed demo tape was distributed to various record labels around the world in late 2004. The first to respond to the demo tape was American rapper Jay-Z, who had recently been appointed as president and Chief executive officer (CEO) of Def Jam Recordings. He was given Rihanna's demo by A&R Jay Brown. When Jay-Z heard the track "Pon de Replay", he felt the song was too big for her, saying "when a song is that big, it's hard [for a new artist] to come back from. I don't sign songs, I sign artists".

Despite being skeptical about signing Rihanna, he invited her to audition for him and music mogul L.A. Reid, in his office. Looking back on the audition and meeting Jay-Z, Rihanna explained in an interview how she felt before walking into the room, saying: "That's when I really got nervous..... I was like: 'Oh God, he's right there, I can't look, I can't look, I can't look!' I remember being extremely quiet." During the audition, Rihanna performed Whitney Houston's cover of "For the Love of You", as well as her songs, "Pon de Replay" and "The Last Time", which were written and produced by Rogers and Sturken. The audition resulted in Rihanna signing a six-album record deal with Def Jam in February 2005, on the same day of the audition to prevent her from signing with another label, with Jay-Z saying "There's only two ways out. Out the door after you sign this deal. Or through this window ...". After contracting to Def Jam, she canceled other meetings with record labels and relocated from Barbados to New York to live with Rogers and his wife.

In May 2005, she released "Pon de Replay" as her debut single. The song received positive reviews from music critics who praised its Carribean feel and composition. Commercially, it performed well and reached number one on the New Zealand Singles Chart and number two on the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Following the song's success, she released her debut studio album, Music of the Sun, in August, that same year. On the album she worked with several producers, mainly Sturken and Rogers. Critics were divided on the album; some of them praised its dancehall sound, however, some criticized the production. It debuted at number 10 on the US Billboard 200 chart and number 35 on the UK Albums Chart. It was eventually certified gold by both the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). To further promote the album, a second single titled "If It's Lovin' that You Want" was released; it experienced moderate commercial success. Music of the Sun sold over 2 million copies worldwide.

2006–08: A Girl like Me and worldwide breakthrough with Good Girl Gone Bad
A month after the release of Music of the Sun, Rihanna began working on her second studio album. When discussing the concept for the album with L.A. Reid—at the time Chairman and CEO of The Island Def Jam Music Group—Rihanna talked about experimenting with different music by incorporating some rock on the album. In February 2006, she announced that she is going to release her second studio album in April 2006 under the name A Girl like Me. When asked about the album, in an interview with MTV News, Rihanna stated, "Vocally I've matured so much, and lyrically I'm speaking about stuff I would never sing about [before]. "Now I'm singing about experiences that I've gone through and stuff that other 18-year-old girls go through, so it's all about progression." Aside of Rogers and Sturken, on the record Rihanna also worked with Stargate, J.R. Rotem, The Congomerate and Mike City among others. It is mainly a pop and R&B record with rock, dancehall and reggae music influences. Like its predecessor, A Girl like Me received generally mixed reviews from music critics, however, it was more commercially successful. It topped the Canadian Albums Chart and peaked at number five on the UK Albums and the US Billboard 200 charts. The album spawned four singles, including the international hits, "SOS" and "Unfaithful"; the former topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart and became Rihanna's first number one single in the United States. Aside from her work in music, Rihanna made her acting debut in a cameo role in the straight-to-DVD film Bring It On: All or Nothing, released in August 2006.

In early 2007, Rihanna began work on her third studio album. In an interview with MTV News, she announced that "the new music is going in a different direction. Not on purpose, but I just want to hear something fresh and mostly uptempo. You feel different every album, and [at] this stage I feel like I want to do a lot of uptempo [songs]." Rihanna cited Afrodisiac (2004), the fourth studio album by American singer Brandy Norwood, as her main inspiration for the album. In May 2007, Rihanna revealed that she called the album Good Girl Gone Bad because it represents her bolder and more independent image: "I'm not the innocent Rihanna anymore. I'm taking a lot more risks and chances. I felt when I cut my hair, it shows people I'm not trying to look or be anybody else. The album is very edgy." The album was released on June 5, 2007 in the United States. Good Girl Gone Bad is a dance-pop, pop and R&B album with 1980s music influences and reresents a departure from the Caribbean sound of her previous two releases. It received generally positive reviews from critics who praised the new sound and experiment risk she took on the album. Good Girl Gone Bad was a commercial success and reached number one in Canada, Ireland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In the United States it debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart; it was later certified six-times platinum by the RIAA and sold over 2.8 million copies in the country. As of 2017, it sold over nine million copies worldwide.

Good Girl Gone Bad spawned five singles, including the international hits, "Umbrella" (featuring Jay Z) and "Don't Stop the Music". The former topped the charts in over twenty countries worldwide including the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, it stayed on the top for seven consecutive weeks, at the time the longest running number one single by Rihanna. "Umbrella" became Rihanna's first number one single in the United Kingdom; it stayed on the top of the chart for ten consecutive weeks and became the longest-running number one song of the 21st century in the country. At the 50th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony, "Umbrella" won the accolade for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration; it became Rihanna's first Grammy Award. During that period, Rihanna started dating American singer Chris Brown. In June 2008, Rihanna reissued Good Girl Gone Bad under the title Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded; the re-release spawned four more singles, including "Take a Bow" and "Disturbia", both of which topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The same year, the singer was featured on T.I.'s single, "Live Your Life" which also reached number one in the United States; it became Rihanna's fifth number one song in the country. To further promote the album, Rihanna embarked on her first worldwide tour, titled the Good Girl Gone Bad Tour (2007–09).

2009–10: Domestic violence case and Rated R
At around 12:30 a.m. (PST) on February 8, 2009, Rihanna and Brown had an argument which escalated into physical violence, leaving her with visible facial injuries which required hospitalization. Brown turned himself in to the Los Angeles Police Department's Wilshire station at 6:30 p.m. (PST) and was booked under suspicion of making criminal threats. Subsequently, Rihanna's scheduled performance at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards was cancelled. The police report did not name the female in the incident as is policy, but media sources soon revealed that the victim was Rihanna. On March 5, 2009, Brown was charged with felony assault and making criminal threats. He was arraigned on April 6, 2009, and pleaded not guilty to one count of assault and one count of making criminal threats. On June 22, 2009, Brown pleaded guilty to a felony and accepted a plea deal of community labor, five years' formal probation, and domestic violence counseling. On August 25, Brown was sentenced to five years of probation, one year of domestic violence counseling, and six months of community service; the judge retained a five-year restraining order on Brown, which required him to remain 50 yards away from Rihanna, 10 yards at public events.

Rihanna began recording songs for her new album in April 2009. That summer, she and rapper Kanye West were featured on Jay Z's single, "Run This Town"; it became a commercial success and topped the UK Singles Chart and reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. At the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, it won the accolades for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Best Rap Song. In November 2009, Rihanna released her fourth studio album, Rated R. Inspired by her domestic violence case with Brown, it features a foreboding and atmospheric tone in terms of musical and lyrical direction and incorporates elements of hip hop, rock, and dubstep music. Rated R received positive reviews from critics who viewed as so far Rihanna's best album and one of the most significant pop music releases of the year. Commercially, it topped the album charts in Norway and Switzerland and reached number four on the US Billboard 200 chart and number nine on the UK Albums Chart. As of 2010, it sold over 3 million copies worldwide. Rated R spawned six singles, including the international hits "Russian Roulette" and "Rude Boy". The latter became Rihanna's sixth chart-topper in the United States and also reached number one in Australia and on the UK R&B Singles Chart.

In December 2009, Rihanna started a relationship with American baseball player Matt Kemp, which would end in December the following year. In early 2010, she started working on material that would be included on her fifth studio album. According to production duo Stargate, Rihanna had approached them before she had started to record the then untitled project, saying that she wanted to have fun and make "happy," up-tempo songs. To further promote Rated R, the singer embarked on her second worldwide tour, titled the Last Girl on Earth tour (2010–11). The tour visited Europe, Asia, North America and Australia. The same year, she collaborated with American rapper Eminem on the single, "Love the Way You Lie". Inspired by the both artists' personal life, Rihanna said she joined the collaboration because she could relate to the theme of the song, as she and Eminem had been in difficult relationships on "different ends of the table". It was a commercial success and reached number one on most national charts including the Australian Singles Chart, the New Zealand Singes Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. RIAA certified it eleven-times platinum (Diamond) and sold over 6.5 million copies in the country.

2010–11: Loud and Talk That Talk
In September 2010, Rihanna released "Only Girl (In the World)", the lead single from her fifth studio album, Loud. The following month, she released the second single, "What's My Name?" featuring Canadian rapper Drake. Both singles reached number one on the UK and US charts. Loud, released in November 2010, incorporates up-tempo pop, R&B and electronic genres, and marks a return to dancehall, a prominent genre on Rihanna's first two albums. The album peaked at number three in the US, and topped the charts in Canada, Switzerland, and the UK. Loud was supported by five other singles, including the US number-one single "S&M" featuring Britney Spears, the international top-ten entries "California King Bed", "Man Down", and "Cheers (Drink to That)", and "Raining Men" featuring Nicki Minaj. The album's associated world tour, the Loud Tour, ran from June to December 2011 and grossed over $90 million. "Only Girl (In the World)" won Best Dance Recording at the 53rd Grammy Awards. At the 54th Grammy Awards, Loud was nominated for three awards, including Album of the Year.

In September 2011, Rihanna released "We Found Love", a song written and produced by Scottish DJ Calvin Harris. The single was a major commercial success, topping charts of various countries worldwide including Germany, France, and the UK. In the US, it stayed at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for ten non-consecutive weeks, becoming Rihanna's longest-running number-one single on the chart. Its music video, portraying sex while under the influence of drugs, was criticized by such groups as anti-rape campaigners and Christian pastors. The video won Video of the Year at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards and Best Short Form Music Video at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. "We Found Love" served as the lead single from Rihanna's sixth studio album, Talk That Talk, which was released in November 2011. A dance-oriented pop/R&B crossover album, it entered the top five of charts in countries including Australia, Germany, France, and the US, and reached number one in the UK. Other singles from the album include "You da One", "Talk That Talk", "Birthday Cake", "Where Have You Been", and "Cockiness (Love It)". "Where Have You Been" became an international top-ten single, reaching number five in the US.

Rihanna won various accolades for her work on Loud and Talk That Talk, including International Female Solo Artist at the Brit Awards (2011 and 2012), Best Female R&B Artist at the BET Awards (2011), Top Radio Songs Artist (2011) and Top Streaming Artist (2012) at the Billboard Music Awards. She earned a Guinness World Record in 2011 as the first female artist to have number-one singles in the UK in five consecutive years (2007–2011). At the 55th Grammy Awards, "Talk That Talk" and "Where Have You Been" were nominated for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Best Pop Solo Performance, respectively.

2012–14: Battleship and Unapologetic
Rihanna featured on two singles released in early 2012: "Princess of China" with English alternative rock band Coldplay, and "Take Care" with Drake. Both were certified platinum in the UK, while the latter was also certified four times platinum in the US. She also collaborated with Chris Brown on the official remixes of "Birthday Cake" and Brown's single "Turn Up the Music", which sparked controversy because of the two's previous domestic violence case. Rihanna's first theatrical feature film, Battleship was released in May 2012 in the US. Loosely based on the game of the same name, the film and Rihanna's performance as Petty Officer (GM2) Cora Raikes received mixed reviews. It grossed $303 million at the box office, against a budget of $220 million.

Rihanna's seventh studio album, Unapologetic, was released in November 2012. A pop-R&B album incorporating elements of hip hop, EDM and reggae,    Unapologetic received mixed reviews from critics: some were unfavorable of the album's more intense sound, while others complimented the vulnerable lyrics inspired by Rihanna's tumultuous personal life. The album debuted at number one in six countries, including the US, where it became Rihanna's first number-one album. Within six months of release, Unapologetic sold three million copies worldwide. The lead single, "Diamonds", topped music charts in over twenty countries, including the US, where it became Rihanna's twelfth number-one single. It had also sold over 7.5 million copies worldwide by May 2013. Unapologetic produced six other single: "Stay", "Pour It Up", "Loveeeeeee Song", "Right Now", "What Now", and "Jump". "Stay" was one of the best-selling singles of 2013 worldwide, with sales of 7.9 million copies. At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, Unapologetic won Best Urban Contemporary Album.

To further promote the album, Rihanna embarked on two worldwide tours. In November 2012, Rihanna held a promotional tour for Unapologetic, the 777 Tour. She performed seven concerts in seven days, each in a different city in North America and Europe. Fans and reporters attending the tour were invited aboard a chartered Boeing 777 twinjet to every venue. On May 6, 2013, Fox aired a tour documentary, and a documentary DVD was released the following day. Rihanna's fifth headlining tour, the Diamonds World Tour, ran from March to November 2013 and grossed $137 million, being the fifth highest-grossing worldwide tour of 2013. Rihanna was featured on Eminem's "The Monster", released in October 2013. The song topped charts in various countries including Australia, France, the UK, and the US. In January 2014, Rihanna was featured on Colombian singer Shakira's single "Can't Remember to Forget You". In May 2014, Rihanna left Def Jam Recordings and fully signed with Roc Nation, the record label that had managed her career since October 2010. She and Eminem embarked on a co-headlining tour, The Monster Tour, which visited three cities in the US in August 2014.

2015–17: Home and Anti
In January 2015, Rihanna released "FourFiveSeconds", a collaboration with West and English singer Paul McCartney.

Influence and legacy
Rihanna is one of the best-selling music artists, having sold over 250 million records worldwide as of September 2018. She is recognized by the media as a pop and fashion icon, particularly since her third studio album Good Girl Gone Bad (2007). Nick Levine of Digital Spy described Good Girl Gone Bad as "the closest thing to a Thriller that 2007/08 is likely to produce". Her single "Umbrella", famous for its "ella ella" hook, is considered by Rolling Stone to be one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Her 2011 single "We Found Love" was ranked by Billboard as the 24th biggest US Billboard Hot 100 hit of all time. Her eighth studio album Anti (2016) and its lead single "Work" has been credited by a Billboard editor for bringing the dancehall genre to the forefront of mainstream American music. Music critic Jayson Greene of Pitchfork described Rihanna as the most influential singer of the past decade, writing: "'Rihanna Voice has become an industry-wide idea, a creative property like the Korg synth or LinnDrum […] We crave the thrill that you can only get when a dozen or so good ideas manifest themselves in a single voice. For the past 10 years, that voice has more or less been Rihanna's. Now that she's gleefully shredding it apart, she'll probably generate a whole new comet trail of Rihannabes. Inevitably, none of them will carry the charge, the glassy cool and subterranean heat, of the real thing.'"

Time magazine included Rihanna on its 100 Most Influential People in the World issue in 2012 and 2018, with Stella McCartney writing: "She's one of the coolest, hottest, most talented, most liked, most listened to, most followed, most impressive artists at work today, but she does it in her own stride. She works hard, very hard. She gives to her fans, friends and foundation not just herself but her energy and spirit." On June 2, 2014, Rihanna was presented with Fashion Icon lifetime achievement award from Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), a special prize reserved for "an individual whose style has made a significant impact on popular culture on an international stage". In August 2018, Billboard ranked Rihanna as the tenth biggest Hot 100 artist of all time, as well as the fifth biggest female act of all time. Billboard also ranked Rihanna the top Hot 100 artist of the 2010s decade. In 2014, Time magazine's pop stardom ranking metric ranked Rihanna second in history, based on all-time chart performance and contemporary significance.

Additionally, Rihanna has become a dominating figure in social media and internet streaming, ranking at No. 1 on Forbes ' 2012 list of Social Networking Superstars. In 2013, Rihanna was also named the most influential pop star in the United Kingdom by UK channel 4Music. Rihanna's work has directly influenced a number of contemporary artists such as Lorde, Sam Smith, Little Mix, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, Ellie Goulding, Jennie Kim from Blackpink, Tegan and Sara, Marilyn Manson, Sleater-Kinney, Jessie J, Cover Drive, SZA, Fifth Harmony, Camila Cabello, Demi Lovato, Alexandra Stan, Grimes, and Cher Lloyd.

Rihanna has an honorary title of Ambassador for Culture and Youth in Barbados. On February 22, 2008, former Barbados Prime Minister, David Thompson, launched the national "Rihanna Day" in their country. Although it is not a bank holiday, Barbadians celebrate it every year in honor of Rihanna. In February 2017, Rihanna was named Harvard University's "Humanitarian of the Year" by the Harvard Foundation.

Discography

 * Music of the Sun (2005)
 * A Girl like Me (2006)
 * Good Girl Gone Bad (2007, reissued in 2008 as Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded)
 * Rated R (2009)
 * Loud (2010)
 * Talk That Talk (2011)
 * Unapologetic (2012)
 * Anti (2016)

Selected filmography

 * Bring It On: All or Nothing (2006)
 * Battleship (2012)
 * This Is the End (2013)
 * Home (2015)
 * Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)
 * Ocean's 8 (2018)
 * Guava Island (2019)

Headlining tours

 * Rihanna: Live in Concert (2006)
 * Good Girl Gone Bad Tour (2007–2009)
 * Last Girl on Earth Tour (2010–2011)
 * Loud Tour (2011)
 * Diamonds World Tour (2013)
 * Anti World Tour (2016)

Co-headlining tours

 * The Monster Tour (with Eminem) (2014)

Promotional tours

 * A Girl's Night Out (2008; a series of charity concerts to benefit the “Believe Foundation”)
 * 777 Tour (2012; in support of her seventh studio album Unapologetic)