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Rihanna | |
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 Rihanna in 2018 | |
| Born | Robyn Rihanna Fenty February 20, 1988 |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2003–present |
| Organisations | |
| Works | |
| Partners |
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| Children | 2 |
| Awards | Full list |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
| Labels |
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| Barbadian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | |
| Assumed office September 20, 2018 | |
| Prime Minister | Mia Mottley |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Website | rihanna |
| Signature | |
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Robyn Rihanna Fenty (/riˈænə/ ree-AN-ə;[2][3][n 1] born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman and actress. She was cited as the best-selling female recording artist of the 21st century by Guinness World Records and is one of the best-selling recording artists of all time, with sales estimated at 250 million units worldwide. Rihanna is the highest-certified female artist of all time on the RIAA's Top Artists (Digital Singles) ranking; she has the most U.S. diamond certified singles for any female artist (7). She has achieved 14 number-one singles, 32 top-ten singles in the US, and 31 top-ten entries in the UK. Her accolades include nine Grammy Awards, 13 American Music Awards (including the Icon Award), 12 Billboard Music Awards, six Guinness World Records, the NAACP's President's Award, and an Academy Award nomination. As of 2024, she is the wealthiest female musical artist with an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion.[4][5]
Rihanna signed with Def Jam Recordings in 2005 and found mainstream recognition following the release of her first two studio albums, Music of the Sun (2005) and A Girl Like Me (2006). Both influenced by Caribbean music, the albums peaked within the top ten on the US Billboard 200 chart. Her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007), incorporated elements of dance-pop, and established her status as a pop icon. Its lead single "Umbrella" peaked atop the US Billboard Hot 100 and won her first Grammy Award.
Rihanna continued to blend pop, dance, and R&B influences on her next albums, Rated R (2009), Loud (2010), Talk That Talk (2011), and Unapologetic (2012)—the latter of which peaked the Billboard 200. The albums spawned the Billboard Hot 100-number one singles "Rude Boy", "Only Girl (In the World)", "What's My Name?", "S&M", "We Found Love", and "Diamonds". Her eighth album, Anti (2016), showcased new creative control following her departure from Def Jam in favor of Jay-Z's label, Roc Nation. Becoming her second US number one album, it was supported by the chart-topping single "Work". Throughout her career, Rihanna has worked with artists including Coldplay, Drake, Eminem, Kanye West, Ne-Yo, and Shakira.
Aside from music, Rihanna is recognized for her humanitarian involvement, entrepreneurship, and fashion industry influence. She established the Clara Lionel Foundation, cosmetics brand Fenty Beauty, and fashion house Fenty under LVMH, becoming the first black woman to lead a luxury brand for LVMH.[6] Rihanna has acted in major roles in Battleship (2012), Home (2015), Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017), and Ocean's 8 (2018). In 2018, she was appointed as an ambassador by the Government of Barbados and declared a National Hero of Barbados in 2021.[7]
Early life[edit]
Robyn Rihanna Fenty was born on February 20, 1988, in Saint Michael, Barbados.[8] She is the daughter of accountant Monica (née Braithwaite) and warehouse supervisor Ronald Fenty.[9][10] Her mother is Afro-Guyanese, while her father is a Barbadian of African, Irish, English, and Scottish descent.[11][12][13][14] Rihanna has two brothers, Rorrey and Rajad Fenty, and two half-sisters and a half-brother from her father's side, each born to different mothers from his previous relationships.[15][16] She grew up in a three-bedroom bungalow in Bridgetown and sold clothes with her father in a stall on the street. Her childhood was deeply affected by her father's alcoholism and crack-cocaine addiction, which contributed to her parents' strained marriage. Rihanna's father used to abuse her mother physically, and Rihanna would try to get in between them to break up fights.[17]
As a child, Rihanna had many CT scans for the excruciating headaches that she suffered, recalling, "The doctors even thought it was a tumor, because it was that intense."[15] By the time she was 14, her parents had divorced, and her health began to improve.[10][18] She grew up listening to reggae music.[15][19] She attended Charles F. Broome Memorial Primary School and Combermere School, where she studied alongside future international cricketers Chris Jordan and Carlos Brathwaite.[20][15] At age 11, Rihanna was a cadet in Barbados's Cadet Corps; the later Barbadian singer-songwriter Shontelle was her drill sergeant.[21][22] She initially wanted to graduate from high school, but she chose to pursue a musical career instead.[23]
Music career[edit]
2003–2006: Beginnings and early releases[edit]
In 2003, Rihanna formed a musical trio with two of her classmates in her home country of Barbados.[15] Without a name or any material, the girl group auditioned with American record producer Evan Rogers, who commented, "The minute Rihanna walked into the room, it was like the other two girls didn't exist."[15] Rihanna later performed renditions of Destiny's Child's "Emotion" and Mariah Carey's "Hero".[24] Impressed, Rogers scheduled a second meeting with Rihanna's mother present and then invited Rihanna to his hometown in the United States to record some demo tapes that could be sent to record labels.[24] Recordings were intermittent, taking about a year because she was only able to record during school holidays. "Pon de Replay" and "The Last Time" were two tracks recorded for the demo tape, which were eventually included on her debut album Music of the Sun.[25] That same year, Rihanna was signed to Rogers's and Carl Sturken's production company, Syndicated Rhythm Productions.[24]
Rihanna's demo was shipped out to Def Jam Recordings, where Jay Brown, an A&R executive at the record label, was one of the first to hear the demo. Brown played the demo tape for rapper Jay-Z, who had recently been appointed as president and CEO of Def Jam.[26] When Jay-Z first heard the track "Pon de Replay", he felt the song was too big for her.[27] Despite being skeptical, he invited Rihanna to audition for the label. In early 2005, Rihanna auditioned for Def Jam in New York City, where Jay-Z introduced her to music mogul Antonio "L.A." Reid.[24][28] At the audition, she sang Whitney Houston's cover of "For the Love of You", as well as the demo tracks "Pon de Replay" and "The Last Time".[24] Jay-Z was absolutely certain about signing her after she performed her future single "Pon de Replay".[27] His boss, L.A. Reid, was also impressed with her audition, telling Jay-Z not to let Rihanna leave the building until the contract was signed.[29] Reid left it to Jay-Z and his team to close the deal which resulted in a six-album record deal with Def Jam. She waited in Jay-Z's office until 3:00 in the morning to get lawyers to draft up a contract because he wanted to prevent her from signing with another label.[27] Rihanna canceled other meetings with record labels and relocated from Barbados to the United States to live with Rogers and his wife.[30]
After signing with Def Jam, Jay-Z and his team did the A&R for Rihanna's debut album and spent the next three months recording and completing her debut album.[29] She worked with different producers to complete her debut studio album, primarily Rogers and his production partner Carl Sturken.[31] With several songs to pick as a lead single, "Pon de Replay" was chosen because it seemed like the best song suited for a summer release.[32] In May 2005, her debut single, "Pon de Replay", was released under her mononym "Rihanna". It charted successfully worldwide, peaking in the top five in fifteen countries, including at No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and the UK Singles Chart.[33] The song became a club hit in the United States, peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs.[34]
Music of the Sun was released in August 2005. It debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 and received a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of over 500,000 units.[35] The album sold over 2 million copies worldwide. A second single, "If It's Lovin' that You Want", was not as successful as its predecessor, but reached the top 10 in Australia, Ireland and New Zealand.[36] Aside from her work in music, Rihanna made her acting debut in a cameo role in the successful straight-to-DVD film Bring It On: All or Nothing, released in August 2006.[37]
A month after the release of her debut album, Rihanna began working on her second studio album.[38] A Girl like Me was released in April 2006.[39] Rolling Stone felt that "the burning rock guitar" and haunted strings of some of the album's tracks made "A Girl like Me [...] likable."[40] The album was a commercial success, charting in the top 10 in 13 countries. The album reached No. 1 in Canada and No. 5 in the United Kingdom and the United States, where it sold 115,000 copies in its first week.[35][41] The album became Rihanna's first to be certified Platinum by the RIAA, after selling over 1,000,000 units.[42] Its lead single, "SOS", was an international success, charting in the top five in 11 countries. The song reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and in Australia, her first to reach this chart position.[43] "Unfaithful", the album's second single, reached the top 10 in 18 countries, including No. 1 in Canada and Switzerland.[44] Two more singles were released from the album: "We Ride" and "Break It Off".[45][46]
2007–2008: Breakthrough with Good Girl Gone Bad[edit]
In early 2007, Rihanna appeared on the single "Roll It" with Jamaican band J-Status and fellow Barbadian singer-songwriter Shontelle. The song appeared on J-Status' debut album The Beginning, released in several European countries only. Around that time, Rihanna had already begun work on her third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad.[47] With the help of producers Timbaland, Tricky Stewart and Sean Garrett she embraced a new musical direction through uptempo dance tracks.[48][49] Released in May 2007, the album charted at No. 2 in Australia and the US and topped the charts in multiple countries, including Brazil, Canada, Ireland and the UK.[50] The album received the most positive critical reviews of her first three albums.[51]
The lead single, "Umbrella", topped the charts in 13 countries and remained at No. 1 in the UK for 10 consecutive weeks, the longest-running No. 1 single there since Wet Wet Wet's single "Love Is All Around" spent 15 weeks at the top in 1994.[52][53] It was Rihanna's first single to be named one of the best-selling singles worldwide, with sales of over 8 million copies.[54][55] The songs "Shut Up and Drive", "Hate That I Love You" (featuring Ne-Yo), and "Don't Stop the Music" were also released as singles, with the latter becoming an international hit. In support of the album, Rihanna began the Good Girl Gone Bad Tour in September 2007, with 80 shows across the US, Canada, and Europe.[56] Rihanna was nominated for several 2008 Grammy Awards for Good Girl Gone Bad, winning Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Umbrella" alongside Jay-Z, her first Grammy Award.[57]
On June 9, 2008, Rihanna released Good Girl Gone Bad Live, her first live long-form video. The DVD and Blu-ray release featured Rihanna's concert at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, United Kingdom, held on December 6, 2007, as part of the Good Girl Gone Bad Tour. The release also contained a special documentary that presented Rihanna discussing her experiences during the tour. By late 2008, Rihanna still remained on the charts with the release of the fifth single from Good Girl Gone Bad, "Rehab", and was named "Diva of the Year" by Entertainment Weekly for her "newfound staying power".[58] Good Girl Gone Bad has sold over 2.8 million units in the United States alone, receiving a two-times-Platinum certification from the RIAA. It is Rihanna's bestselling album in the country to date.[35][59] The album has sold 9 million units worldwide.[60][61]
During the late 2000s, Rihanna experimented further with pop, dubstep, and rock music, officially shifting her musical style and image away from the Barbados island girl.[62] Throughout 2008, Rihanna performed on the Glow in the Dark Tour alongside Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, and N.E.R.D.[63] Her third studio album's reissue, Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded, was released in June 2008 with three new songs: "Disturbia", "Take a Bow" and the Maroon 5 duet "If I Never See Your Face Again", plus a Spanglish version of "Hate That I Love You" featuring Spanish pop singer David Bisbal.[64] All four were released as singles and charted highly, reaching peak positions worldwide.[65][66][67] In August 2008, Rihanna and a host of other female singers recorded the charity single "Just Stand Up!", the theme song to the anti-cancer campaign Stand Up to Cancer.[68] "Live Your Life", a duet between T.I. and Rihanna, was released that November and topped the Billboard Hot 100.
2009–2011: Rated R and Loud[edit]
On February 8, 2009, Rihanna's scheduled performance at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards was canceled.[69] Reports surfaced that then-boyfriend, singer Chris Brown, had physically assaulted her. He was arrested on suspicion of making criminal threats.[70] On March 5, 2009, Brown was charged with assault and making criminal threats.[71] A leaked photograph from the police department obtained by TMZ.com revealed that Rihanna had sustained visible injuries.[72] A few months after the incident, Rihanna was featured on the single "Run This Town" by Jay-Z, which also featured Kanye West and was released as the second single from Jay-Z's eleventh studio album The Blueprint 3.[73]
In early 2009, Rihanna began working on her fourth studio album, Rated R.[74] Rated R was released in November 2009. The album had Rolling Stone magazine stating that Rihanna "transformed her sound and made one of the best pop records of the year".[75][76] Rated R featured a darker and more foreboding tone than Rihanna's previous albums.[77] Rated R debuted at No. 4 on the US Billboard 200 chart.[78][79][80] The album was supported by six singles, including "Rude Boy", which was the biggest worldwide success from the album, topping the US Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks and reaching top 10 positions in 22 other countries.[81][82] In January 2010, Rihanna released her charity cover version of "Redemption Song" for the Hope for Haiti Now campaign. She also recorded the song "Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)" together with Jay-Z, Bono and The Edge for the same campaign to alleviate the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
In summer 2010, Rihanna collaborated with rapper Eminem on "Love the Way You Lie", which was a major worldwide success, reaching No. 1 in over 20 countries.[83] Reaching number 2, the song became the biggest-selling song of 2010 in the UK and the first of Rihanna's singles to sell over a million copies in the country.[84][85] In October 2010, Rihanna switched managers, joining Jay-Z's Roc Nation Management.[86] In late 2010, she was featured on three singles: Kanye West's "All of the Lights", from the album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010),[87] Nicki Minaj's "Fly", from her debut studio album Pink Friday (2010)[88] and David Guetta's "Who's