Rihanna releases music surprise for 20th anniversary of debut

She especially enjoyed singing and won a high-school talent show with a rendition of a Mariah Carey song. As a child, she listened to Caribbean music, such as reggae, as well as American hip-hop and R&B. Rihanna (born February 20, 1988, St. Michael parish, Barbados) is a Barbadian pop and rhythm-and-blues (R&B) singer who became a worldwide star in the early 21st century. In 2022, Rihanna advocated for reforming the global financial system to better address climate change and poverty, including providing aid to nations most affected by climate-related crises. In October 2019, she stated that she declined to perform at the 2020 Super Bowl halftime show in support of Colin Kaepernick following the controversy surrounding his role in the national anthem protests. Proceeds from the single supported the fundraiser, which ultimately helped raise $100 million for cancer research.

Videography and stage

Many of her music videos were shot as short films exploring issues such as love triangles, abuse and substance abuse romance, including “We Found Love” and “Man Down”. The album’s lead single, “Diamonds”, topped the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Rihanna’s twelfth number-one song on the chart. A synth-pop record with EDM and hip-hop elements, Unapologetic debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 238,000 copies, becoming Rihanna’s first chart-topping album in the US. Rihanna is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated sales of over 250 million records. “She continued to make incredible art and so this is a love song kind of through the lens of the motif of what she had to go through in her life and sort of the parallels that I feel in my own life.”
Her ability to captivate audiences across both music and film realms underscores her dynamic artistry and continued relevance in the entertainment industry. Her involvement in these projects demonstrated her ability to transition from pop music icon to a prominent figure in film. Her debut album, “Music of the Sun,” released in 2005, marked the beginning of her remarkable career, selling over two million copies worldwide. At the age of 15, she formed a girl group with school friends, which paved the way for her discovery by music producer Evan Rogers. With her distinct voice, groundbreaking style, and philanthropic contributions, Rihanna continues to leave an indelible mark on both the music industry and popular culture. Transitioning from a teen pop sensation to a mature artist, Rihanna’s work reflects her evolving artistic vision.
Rihanna became the youngest and fastest solo artist in Billboard Hot 100 history to accumulate ten number-one singles. In late 2008, she released “Rehab”, the fifth and final single from Good Girl Gone Bad; it peaked within the top 20 of the charts in both the US and UK. The following singles, “Shut Up and Drive” and “Hate That I Love You”, saw moderate success, while the album’s fourth single, “Don’t Stop the Music”, peaked at number three in the US.
More than its predecessor, Fearless blurs the line between country and pop thanks to crossover hits like “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me,” yet still keeps the confessional attributes known in country songwriting. Even as a new country artist, critics claimed that she “mastered” the genre while subsequently ushering it to a new era — one that would soon see Swift dabble in country-pop. One writer in particular, Liz Rose, applauded Swift’s songwriting capabilities, stating that she was more of an “editor” for the songs because Swift already had such a distinct vision.
Their “FourFiveSeconds” is a pop-folk hybrid with a universal message about carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. Another overlooked jam, her sultry “Can’t Remember to Forget You” duet with Shakira sees both stars trade lines about struggling to let go of an undeserving lover. Both larger-than-life productions won GRAMMYs for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration in 2010 and 2012, respectively.

Rihanna Marks 10th Anniversary of ‘ANTI’ With Record-Extending 8th RIAA Diamond Certification

“And it turns out that’s not the case at all … and we just were catching lightning in a bottle with this record.” “I used to kind of have this dark fear that if I ever were truly happy and free being myself and nurtured by a relationship, what happens if the writing just dries up? What if writing is directly tied to my torment and pain?” she said ahead of the album’s release. “Wood” is Swift taking cues from fellow showgirl Carpenter, winking at listeners as she weaves as many innuendos about the word as possible. “The Fate of Ophelia” might be Swift’s best lead single since “Mine” in 2010, thanks to its infectious beat and memorable chorus.
“Wood” and “Honey” capture the playfulness of true love, while songs like “WI$HLI$T” and “Elizabeth Taylor” see love not as a distraction from her life’s work but as the very thing that makes it feel meaningful. Many of the love songs on Swift’s more recent albums are brimming with anxiety, from Lover’s “Cornelia Street” (“I hope I never lose you, hope it never ends”) to folklore’s “Peace” (“The rain is always gonna come if you’re standing with me”). One of the biggest takes by critics — that borderlines on sexist at times — is that Swift won’t be able to write good, reflective music that cuts deep like the songs that orbit around heartache and pain.
Her most conceptual album to date, Midnights charts 13 sleepless nights and explores five themes, from self-hatred and revenge to “what if” fantasies, falling in love, and falling apart. Sonically, evermore is a slight departure from its sister record; where folklore relies on more alt-leaning and indie-tinged sounds, evermore takes the sonics from all of Swift’s past records — from pop to country to indie rock — and features all of them on one album. Some songs, like “peace,” were recorded in just one take, capturing the essence and fragility in the song’s story, whereas the lyrics for the sun-drenched “august” were penned on the spot as Swift was in her makeshift home studio in Los Angeles. Swift described reputation as a bait-and-switch; at their core, the songs are about finding love in the darkest moments.
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.
It topped the charts in several territories, spending ten consecutive weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart and seven at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 162,000 copies in its first week. Regarded as a turning point in her career, it marked a shift from the Caribbean-influenced sound of her earlier work, embracing a more contemporary pop direction driven by uptempo dance tracks. It became her first RIAA-certified double platinum album, surpassing one million units sold. Soon after releasing Music of the Sun, Rihanna began working on her second studio album in September 2005.

Taylor Swift: Finding Her Place In Music

• Debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, the pop and R&B album produced her longest-charting No. 1 hit, “We Found Love” with Calvin Harris, which topped the song chart for a whopping 10 weeks straight.
• At its heart, The Life of a Showgirl goes beyond the fame, accolades, praise, and anything else Swift has been awarded in her 20-year career.
• Other songs, including “Death By A Thousand Cuts” and “Cornelia Street,” are Swift at her most vulnerable, reflecting on a love lost and grappling with the extreme worry that comes when you could potentially lose someone.
• With Halloween celebrations in full swing this Oct. 31, revisit some eerie or ghoulishly titled songs that have been awarded golden gramophones, from the ‘Exorcist’ theme to Eminem and Rihanna’s “The Monster.”
• The resulting album, Good Girl Gone Bad, was released on May 31, 2007, to critical acclaim.
• A once-in-a-lifetime generational storyteller, one could argue that she is music’s modern-day maverick, constantly evolving both her music and the culture around her.

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.

The Life of a Showgirl: Offering A Peek Behind The Curtain

Following the success with folklore and evermore, Swift’s intrigue was at a then-all-time high upon the release of Midnights. Although the album is a departure from the two pandemic sister albums, the overall creation process didn’t differ too much. On Midnights, Swift leaves behind indie folk sounds and returns to the pop production of 1989 and Lover. After coming out of the folklorian woods following folklore and evermore, fans and critics alike were intrigued to see what direction Swift would take on her next studio album. Even so, its poetic lyricism and mystical storytelling cleverly foreshadowed what was to come with subsequent albums, particularly The Tortured Poets Department.

• The album’s lead single, “Diamonds”, topped the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Rihanna’s twelfth number-one song on the chart.
• 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.
• Rihanna has received multiple Grammy Award nominations for her albums, winning Best Urban Contemporary Album for Unapologetic in 2014.
• While half of The Life of a Showgirl’s 12 tracks peer into the darker corners of fame and explores the loneliness, scrutiny and fractures that used to come with it, the other half are dedicated to falling completely head over heels.
• On Red, Swift focused on emotions evoked from a hot-and-cold relationship, one that forced her to experience “intense love, intense frustration, jealousy and confusion” — all feelings that she’d describe as “red.”

Grammy Awards

“If you listen to the lyrics to that song, you know the depth and how far she’s come.” “The minute Rihanna walked into the room, it was like the other two girls didn’t exist,” he told Entertainment Weekly in 2007. The post featured a photo of Rihanna holding her new daughter, Rocki Irish Mayers, who was born on September 13. Rihanna is a Grammy-winning singer known for such No. 1 pop hits as “Umbrella,” “SOS,” “Diamonds,” and “Work.” In 2023 Rihanna revealed she was again pregnant by performing at the Super Bowl halftime show with a visible baby bump; her representatives subsequently confirmed that the singer was expecting her second child. Rihanna’s personal life attracted intense media attention.

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.
And Eminem that appeared on albums of theirs; many felt her vocals on the latter’s “Love the Way You Lie” (2010) lent resonance to the song’s depiction of an abusive relationship. With the assistance of such high-profile collaborators as Timbaland and Justin Timberlake, she abandoned the tropical rhythms that had adorned her first two albums and recorded a collection of sleek R&B that presented her as a fiercely independent and rebellious woman. He helped Fenty record a demo that led to an audition with the rapper Jay-Z, who at the time headed the Def Jam record label, and he soon signed the budding vocalist. Rihanna exclusively uses her surname for ventures outside of music to keep her business and artistic identities separate. In November 2015, Rihanna partnered with Benoit Demouy to launch Fr8me, a Los Angeles-based beauty and stylist agency supporting artists with commercial bookings, photo shoots, campaigns, and red-carpet appearances. In March 2015, Rihanna was announced as a co-owner of the music streaming platform Tidal, alongside several other artists.
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.
The doo-wop-infused ballad soared to No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 back in 2017, and its new certification helps Rihanna extend her record as the female artist with the most Diamond singles in RIAA history. In 2007, betista casino Rihanna transformed from a teen pop star into a serious artist with her groundbreaking album “Good Girl Gone Bad,” which featured the iconic single “Umbrella,” featuring Jay-Z. Notable songs from her early career, including “Pon de Replay,” “Unfaithful,” and “SOS,” showcased her versatility and unique sound, quickly establishing her as a prominent figure in the music industry. Incorporating an assortment of genres, the record featured the singles “Pour It Up,” “Stay” with Mikky Ekko, and “Diamonds,” which topped Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for three weeks. Debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, the pop and R&B album produced her longest-charting No. 1 hit, “We Found Love” with Calvin Harris, which topped the song chart for a whopping 10 weeks straight. The album, which mixed pop and electronic music, peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart.
In 2016, it was confirmed that Rihanna would release her music through her own label, Westbury Road Entertainment, founded in 2005 and named after her childhood home in Barbados. Including Beyoncé and Jay-Z, 16 artist stakeholders co-own Tidal, most of whom own a 3% equity stake. He highlighted her multifaceted career, “from her business achievements through Fenty to her tremendous record as an activist and philanthropist”.