It was a very vulnerable time in my life, and I refused to let that be the image. In addition to being a talented recording artist, Rihanna is a billionaire entrepreneur with multiple successful business ventures. Rihanna’s latest work, Anti, arrived in January 2016, topping the mainstream album chart for two weeks. In June 2007, Rihanna released her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad, to much fanfare. The album’s second single, “If It’s Lovin’ That You Want,” made it into the top 40. Rihanna released her debut album, Music of the Sun, in August 2005.
Redefining its titular term, the four-week chart-topper finds the husky-voiced T-Boz freely admitting to straying from an unaffectionate relationship, proving that the playa anthem wasn’t solely the reserve of their male counterparts. But the song itself did pip fellow superstars Prince, Billy Joel and Lionel Richie to the Best Male Pop Vocal Performance crown. Backed by some fast and furious fiddles, „The Devil Went Down to Georgia“ tells the tale of a young musician named Johnny who bumps into Beelzebub himself during a jam session in the Peach State.

A$AP Rocky trial brings clashing closing arguments over gun as Rihanna brings tiny sons to court

• In March, Rihanna and Brown released two remixes—her track „Birthday Cake“ and his „Turn Up the Music“—which were criticized due to their history of domestic violence.
• Aiming to dismiss her girl-next-door image in favour of a more mature and rebellious persona, she worked with such producers as Ne-Yo, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, and Tricky Stewart for the album.
• Currently certified sextuple Platinum, ANTI also remains the longest-charting album by a Black female artist on the Billboard 200, with more than 508 weeks and counting.
• Its win for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 2014 GRAMMYs, however, proved that Rihanna’s reign wasn’t letting up anytime soon.
• As Swift revealed on May 30, she bought back the master recordings of her first six albums, marking the first time she’s been in control of her entire discography.
• This made her the artist with the most digital single awards and the first performer to exceed RIAA’s 100 million cumulative singles certification threshold.

The dance-pop and R&B heavy record, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart, featured several hit songs, including the singles “Don’t Stop the Music,” “Shut Up and Drive,” and “Hate That I Love You” with Ne-Yo. With its follow-up, „Our Song“ — which spent six consecutive weeks on the top of Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart — she became the youngest person to solely write and sing a No. 1 country single; she also became the first female solo artist in country music to write or co-write every song on an album. With the dance-pop set Loud (2010), she reflected on the fun she had while recording the album, incorporating ballads, party anthems, and empowering love songs.
Looking at Lover retrospectively, it’s an album that almost symbolizes a bookend in her discography. Writing reputation became a lifeline following the events that catalyzed it  — a way to shed the so-called snakeskin and make peace with however the public wanted to view her. And even despite matching the 1.2 million first-week sales of her previous releases, some concluded that the album was her first commercial failure when compared to 1989. Even after Swift spent some time away from the spotlight, the public didn’t immediately gravitate toward her return.

Early life

She also won her first GRAMMY in 2008 (Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for „Umbrella“) and scored four other nominations, including Record Of The Year. Good Girl Gone Bad remains Rihanna’s best-selling album and marks her greatest reinvention as she adopted a more rebellious sound. The melancholy „Rehab“ is a clever metaphor for lost love, co-written by Timbaland and Justin Timberlake. Produced by Tricky Stewart, the LP’s juggernaut lead single „Umbrella“ featuring Jay-Z skyrocketed to No. 1 in 17 countries. Her official introduction to the world also hit No. 1 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart; she boasts 33 on the tally, second behind only the Queen of Pop herself, Madonna.

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Eventually, her bold move to the United States at 16 years old marked the beginning of her journey to stardom, as she pursued her passion for singing and songwriting with determination. Despite these difficulties, Rihanna showcased resilience and creativity from a young age, channeling her personal experiences and pain into music. She is the eldest of three siblings, navigating a childhood fraught with challenges, including her father’s struggles with substance abuse and her parents‘ tumultuous marriage, which ultimately ended in divorce when she was just 14. Rihanna, born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on February 20, 1988, in St. Michael Parish, Barbados, is a globally renowned pop star, singer, and fashion icon.
In June 2016, Rihanna released „Sledgehammer“ as part of the film soundtrack for Star Trek Beyond. Announced in November 2015, the Anti World Tour was launched in March 2016 in betista casino support of the album. In late 2015, Rihanna signed a $25 million deal with Samsung to promote its Galaxy product line, with the company also sponsoring the rollout of her eighth studio album, titled Anti, and its accompanying tour.
Seven years into an already extraordinary career, 2012’s Unapologetic became Rihanna’s first album to debut at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart. With this feat, she became the youngest artist to attain the most chart-toppers in a five-year span. That same carefree spirit can be heard in the feminist track „Raining Men,“ which features Nicki Minaj — their first of two collabs, as they joined forces again for „Fly,“ the final single off the rapper’s iconic Pink Friday album. While „What’s My Name?“ may not outshine Rih and Drizzy’s other collabs — including 2011’s „Take Care“ or 2016’s „Work“ — the second she sings, „Hey, boy, I really wanna see if you can go downtown with a girl like me,“ it’s impossible not to whine your waist to the riddim. Through lead single „Russian Roulette“ and bitingly catchy anthems „Stupid in Love,“ „Fire Bomb,“ „Photographs,“ „Cold Case Love,“ and „The Last Song,“ Rihanna explored her angst and confusion. Rihanna was a familiar face by 2007, but with the arrival of her third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad, she graduated from cookie-cutter pop star to bonafide icon.

The Rihanna Essentials: 15 Singles To Know

To celebrate Taylor Swift’s newest era with The Life of a Showgirl, GRAMMY.com looks back on all of her albums (Taylor’s Versions not included) and how each era shaped her remarkable career. Swift has become one of music’s most notable shapeshifters by refusing to limit herself to one genre, moving between country, pop, folk, and beyond. Oh, and she’s also won 14 GRAMMY Awards, including four for Album Of The Year — the most ever won by an artist. Upon the arrival of Taylor Swift’s ‚The Life of a Showgirl,‘ take a deep dive into her discography and see how each album helped her become the genre-shifting superstar she is today. And „Haunted,“ a poetic lament to unrequited love („Rose perfume, low-lit room/ I’ll pretend you’ll stay forever“) soundtracked by shuffling bossa nova beats and sultry strings, casts its most potent musical spell.
In contrast to the fairytale motifs and happy endings of Fearless, evermore saw Swift become fixated on „unhappy“ endings — stories of failed marriages („happiness“), lifeless relationships („tolerate it“), and one-time flings („‚tis the damn season“). Like its (literally) folklorian sister, evermore was a surprise release at the end of 2020, marking the first time Swift didn’t have distinct „eras“ between albums. It was exciting enough for Swifties to experience one surprise album drop from Swift, an artist who typically has an entire album campaign calculated. At the 2021 GRAMMYs, folklore took home Album Of The Year, making her the fourth artist in history to win three times in the Category. After its release, folklore became the best-selling album of 2020 after selling 1.2 million records. Lover became Swift’s sixth No. 1 album in America, making her the first female artist to achieve the feat.
In December, Nancy will headline a celebration of her career featuring female artists including Renée Neufville. In August, she released a new Mad Professor-produced album, Armageddon — her first LP in over 20 years. Rihanna comes out of left field with the Prince-inspired „Kiss It Better,“ the album’s second single, which sees the superstar falling back on addictive sex that „feels like crack“ to justify a destructive relationship. The black-and-white, red paint-splattered album cover signals a rebirth, featuring a real-life image of Rihanna as a child. Released four years after Unapologetic — her longest gap between albums at the time — ANTI illustrated Rihanna’s greater desire for quality over quantity. With 13 No. 1s and twice as many top 10 hits under her belt, Rihanna set out to create timeless music instead of chasing a radio-friendly formula with her 2016 magnum opus, ANTI.

Rihanna Biography

Armageddon —her first full-length since 2001’s Sister Nancy Meets Fireproof — was released this summer, seven years after it was recorded with Mad Professor in the U.K. In 2016, Sister Nancy received 10 years of back royalties as well as royalties going forward, which allowed her to retire from the bank and pursue music full time. Like many artists of her era who either had bad contracts or no contract at all, Sister Nancy did not benefit from the popularity of „Bam Bam“ for the majority of her career. „And remember, I had songs before that like ‚One, Two‘ and ‚Transport Connection‘; they were playing, but I didn’t hear ‚Bam Bam‘ until I come to the U.S.“ Yet the song made its way to the States, where it found popularity in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut’s Caribbean diaspora and caught the ear of hip-hop innovators of the ’80s. She recorded the early dancehall anthem in 1982 when she was just 20 years old as a last-minute addition to her debut album, One, Two.

• Transitioning from a teen pop sensation to a mature artist, Rihanna’s work reflects her evolving artistic vision.
• It’s been used in film and television, including prominently in 1998’s Nas- and DMX-featuring Belly.
• „20 years ago, i left my country, my culture, my food, and family to embark on a journey that started with the release of my very first body of music!“ she wrote in an Instagram caption alongside a montage of her biggest career moments.
• Seven years into an already extraordinary career, 2012’s Unapologetic became Rihanna’s first album to debut at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart.
• Jay-Z was immediately captivated, signing her on the spot and launching her career in the music industry.
• In August 2018, Billboard ranked Rihanna as the tenth-most successful Hot 100 artist of all time and it also named her the top Hot 100 artist of the 2010s.

Rihanna’s first studio album, Music of the Sun, was released in August 2005 to much intrigue. Her last No. 1 single, “Work” featuring Drake, topped the chart for nine weeks. Her first No. 1 song, “SOS,” topped the chart for three weeks in 2006, while her Grammy-winning Jay-Z collaboration “Umbrella” far surpassed that the following year, maintaining the lead spot for seven weeks.
Currently certified sextuple Platinum, ANTI also remains the longest-charting album by a Black female artist on the Billboard 200, with more than 508 weeks and counting. Despite the success of singles here and there and a buzzy Super Bowl halftime performance in 2023, she has focused her attention on her beauty brand Fenty Beauty and lingerie brand Savage X Fenty. Twenty years after she released her debut album, Rihanna is back with new music. Yes, Rihanna has won multiple awards, including several Grammy Awards and MTV awards for her outstanding contributions to music.
Jess Cartner-Morley of The Guardian called her wardrobe „the most talked-about, influential and dissected in pop“, stating that whatever she wears is quickly reproduced in mainstream fashion. Rihanna has credited her mother as the earliest inspiration for her love of fashion, recalling how she admired her getting dressed as a child. With the release of her third album Good Girl Gone Bad (2007), Rihanna abandoned her innocent image in favour of a sharper, edgier style. Known for her changing style and image, Rihanna’s music and fashion choices have been closely followed by the media. Rihanna has been described by the media as a pop and fashion icon, particularly since the release of Good Girl Gone Bad (2007). InStyle’s George Epaminondas described Rihanna’s videos as cinematic and highlighted their island rhythms, pop sensibilities, and playful sensuality.
Swift still remained in the pop lane with reputation, largely leaning on Antonoff and the Martin/Shellback team. She stayed away from public appearances, didn’t do any press, and missed the album schedule fans became accustomed to. For years, Swift was on a strict two-year cycle — she’d release an album one year, tour the next, and then release a new album the following year. In turn, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa and more pop stars have refused to conform or stick to what they’ve done prior.
While the world is still anticipating her ninth studio album, Rihanna — now a mom of two boys — continues to make her own rules and move at her own pace. With the glorious „Lift Me Up,“ she found herself in the top 10 for the first time since 2017’s „Wild Thoughts.“ Ever since ANTI, Rihanna’s devoted fanbase has been begging for a new album, with Rih playfully trolling them with responses like „I lost it“ and Instagram captions that read, „Me listening to R9 by myself and refusing to release it.“ Accolades aside, ANTI is proof that magic happens when an artist of Rihanna’s caliber follows their own instincts in pursuit of creating a body of work — one that can outlast them and continue to inspire generations to come. For instance, „Sex with Me“ is featured on the deluxe edition as a bonus track, but managed to crack the Hot 100 at No. 83 and reach No. 8 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. Elsewhere on ANTI, Rihanna drunk dials an ex („Higher“), compares smoking weed to her lover („James Joint“), and chastises a guy for getting emotionally attached after their fling („Needed Me“).
It’s a highlight on The Life of a Showgirl as it’s a testament that, regardless of how much time has passed or the fame that Swift has achieved, she still looks back on those who changed her life early on. Swift doesn’t want you to get it twisted, though — this is an album about the life of a showgirl, not an album about being a performer. She’s no longer anxious in love („Eldest Daughter,“ „Honey“) and for the first time, she owns all of her work and is in complete artistic control („Father Figure“).
Everything that happened after the success of Fearless pushed Swift from country music’s best-kept secret to a mainstream star. It might not be the romantic tale Swift dreamed of growing up, but her sophomore album signalled that bigger things were to come. It won Swift’s first Album Of The Year GRAMMY in 2010, at the time making her the youngest person to win the accolade at age 20.