Rihanna

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Updated December 15, 2014

Rihanna's Birth and Early Life:

Rihanna Fenty was born in the Caribbean island nation of Barbados in 1988. She was discovered by producer Evan Rogers (known for work with Christina Aguilera, *NSYNC, Jessica Simpson, and others) when he and his Barbadian wife Jackie were visiting the island for Christmas 2003. Her obvious talent impressed Def Jam Records CEO Jay-Z enough for the label to sign her to a 6 album contract at the young age of 16.

Breakout Pop Star:

Def Jam released Rihanna's first single "Pon De Replay" to strong response from radio in June 2005. By mid-July "Pon De Replay" took up residence in the U.S. pop top 10. The debut album Music Of the Sun was released in August, 2005. "If It's Lovin' That You Want," a second single from Music of the Sun failed to reach the top 10, but Rihanna returned to the charts in early 2006 with the #1 smash "S.O.S. (Rescue Me)."

Rihanna's Continued Success:

Rihanna is one of the most consistent hitmakers in pop music. By late 2010, she had appeared on 17 top 10 pop singles in the US. Among these are nine #1 smashes, "S.O.S.," "Umbrella,", "Take a Bow,", "Disturbia," "Rude Boy," "What's My Name?," "Only Girl (In the World)," "Live Your Life," and "Love the Way You Lie." Among her most frequent collaborators are the production team Stargate and fellow DefJam artist Ne-Yo.

Album Reviews:

Rihanna was initially considered primarily a singles artist.

However, the release of the album Good Girl Gone Bad proved that she was fully capable of putting together a collection of songs built around a definable persona.