Rihanna
- There is also an R&B singer named Rhianna.
Template:Infobox musical artist 2 Robyn Rihanna Fenty (born February 20, 1988), principally known by the stage name Rihanna, is a Barbadian (Bajan) Pop singer with musical influences from dancehall and R&B.
Biography
Rihanna was born on the Caribbean island of Barbados in the parish of St. Michael. She was discovered by music producer Evan Rogers while he was vacationing in Barbados with his wife Jackie, who is also a Bajan.
Rogers, along with his partner Carl Sturken, helped Rihanna record demo material that was sent to various recording companies including Def Jam, where Rihanna auditioned for CEO Jay-Z and was signed on-the-spot.
Her debut album Music of the Sun, which she co-wrote, was released in August 2005 and was led by the single "Pon de Replay", which peaked at number two on both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the UK singles chart. The second single, "If It's Lovin' That You Want", was less successful than its predecessor but still reached the top twenty in many countries. The album itself peaked within the top ten in Canada, and the U.S., and within the top forty in the UK. It has received platinum certifications in several countries. To promote the album, Rihanna toured with Gwen Stefani.
In 2006, Rihanna landed several endorsement deals, including ones for Nike and J.C. Penney. In addition to a cameo role in Bring It On 3, she also released her sophomore album, A Girl Like Me, in April 2006 less than eight months after the release of her debut album. The album debuted at number five in the U.S. and number six in the UK. The lead single, "SOS (Rescue Me)", was used in her endorsement deal with Nike. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, Pop 100, Hot Dance Music/Club Play, and debuted at number one on the Hot Digital Songs chart where it became the biggest first week digital single ever with over 169,000 copies sold in its first week. The song also peaked at number one in Australia and on the World Music Charts and number two in the UK. The second single from the album, "Unfaithful" written by Ne-Yo, is a slow ballad which addresses the feelings of guilt a girl faces as she cheats on her boyfriend. The song has become her third top 20 hit in the U.S. Outside of her music career, Rihanna will make a special appearance on Cartoon Network's series Fridays.
Recently, there have been reports that Rihanna has become closer to Jay-Z, who is Beyonce Knowles current boyfriend; however, a spokesperson for Jay-Z denied any love affairs. (Metro Ottawa, Trouble in Paradise for Jay-Z and Beyonce?, May 23, 2006, p.14)
Discography
- For complete discography and sales information, see Rihanna discography.
Albums
| Year | Title | Chart Peak Positions | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | UK | CAN | GER | JPN | PHI | MEX | AUS | IRE | ||
| 2005 | "Music of the Sun" | 10 [Gold] |
35 [Gold] |
8 [3x Platinum] |
31 [Platinum] |
3 [Gold] |
4 [Gold] |
18 [Gold] |
— | — |
| 2006 | "A Girl Like Me" | 5 | 6 | 1 | 16 | 4 [Gold] |
1 [Silver] |
12 | 12 | 6 |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 | US Hot 100 Airplay | US Pop 100 | US Pop Airplay | US HOT Digital Songs | UK | TRL | BET | CAN | AUS | |||
| 2005 | "Pon de Replay" | #2 [3x Platinum] |
#3 | #2 | #2 | #1 | #2 | #2 | #4 | #7 | #6 | Music of the Sun |
| 2005 | "If It's Lovin' That You Want" | #36 | #9 | #15 | #8 | - | #8 | #7 | #8 | #4 | #9 | Music of the Sun |
| 2006 | "SOS (Rescue Me)" | #1 (3 weeks) | #7 | #1 | #2 | #1(410,000)downloads | #2 | #1(1x) | ?? | #1 | #1 (5 weeks)[Gold] |
A Girl Like Me |
| 2006 | "Unfaithful" | #14 | #47 | #12 | #18 | #10(90,000) downloads | - | #1(3x) | TC | - | - | A Girl Like Me |
Filmography
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
- List of number-one hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100