Rihanna is on a journey. From her Caribbean roots to the top of the charts, the runways of Paris and Milan and some of the biggest stages in the world, the 21-year-old, Barbados-born beauty has already earned the coveted title of international superstar. From her breakthrough multi-platinum album “A Girl Like Me” to her ubiquitous global smash “Good Girl Gone Bad,” in just a few short years, Rihanna has helped redefine the path of popular music for a new generation. Now, she continues that musical and stylistic journey on one of the most hotly anticipated new albums in recent history, her fourth original studio album, Rated R.
Slated for a November 23rd release, Rated R features the sultry, provocative first single “Russian Roulette,” which is rocketing up the charts at radio stations across the country.
In addition to her mind-blowing musical successes, Rihanna has created a charity organization for children in need as well as having signed on to endorse a number of multi-billion dollar companies including Parlux fragrances and Cover Girl, in which she joined the ranks of musical icons and celebrity powerhouses such as Queen Latifah, Drew Barrymore and Faith Hill. In addition, Rihanna was the face of Gucci’s Tattoo Heart Collection Campaign in 2008 to raise funds for UNICEF.
It’s hard to imagine that just four years ago, Rihanna was a young girl living
in the beautiful Barbados parish of Saint Michael. Her first connection to the
music industry came when she met a vacationing music producer named Evan Rogers
from New York City. After an impromptu performance for Evan, he was absolutely
certain she would one day make history. Soon after, Evan and Rihanna traveled
to the Big Apple in search of a record deal. It took just one meeting with
Jay-Z and Antonio “L.A.” Reid for Rihanna to score her big break; Jay, who had
just recently been appointed the President of Def Jam Records, was so taken by
the young singer's arresting natural talent that he signed her to the legendary
label on the spot.
In 2005, Def Jam released Rihanna's dynamic debut album, Music of the Sun, which garnered much attention due to the
popularity of her highly addictive dancehall-flavored first single, "Pon
de Replay". A year later, she released her
platinum-selling second album A Girl Like
Me, featuring the #1 singles "SOS" and "Unfaithful".
With two successful albums under her belt in just two years, Rihanna dropped
her third and multi-platinum LP, Good
Girl Gone Bad, in 2007. The album's first single, "Umbrella," was
the undisputed number one pop song of the summer and dominated the U.S. pop,
urban and crossover Billboard charts for 252 weeks in a row.
"Umbrella" was also the #1 single on the UK singles chart for eleven
consecutive weeks and went on to win "Video of the Year" and
"Monster Single of the Year" at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. Her extensive accomplishments also include multiple #1 hits, a Grammy for Best Rap/Sung
Collaboration for "Umbrella" along with six additional Grammy
nominations, two MTV Video Music Awards, a Teen Choice Award, Favorite Pop/Rock
& Soul/R&B Female Artist at the American Music Awards, three Billboard
Awards, four MTV Europe Music Awards nominations including "Album of the
Year,” and she was named "Best International Act" at the European
MOBO Awards.
Good Girl Gone Bad showed Rihanna’s many layers as a singer, performer and musician. With a cohesive collection of body rockin' tracks that include highly innovative production work from Timbaland and Tricky Stewart, along with the songwriting prowess of Justin Timberlake and Ne-Yo, Good Girl Gone Bad has solidified Rihanna's position amongst the industry elite. In support of the album, Rihanna embarked on hugely extensive U.S. and European tours. Good Girl Gone Bad contained a non-stop string of hit singles that began with the MTV VMA and Grammy Award-winning global #1 hit “Umbrella” (featuring Jay-Z), then “Shut Up and Drive,” “Hate That I Love You” (featuring Ne-Yo), and “Don't Stop the Music.” Good Girl Gone Bad spent 98 total weeks on the Soundscan chart, earned cumulative sales of more than 36-times platinum in at least 20 territories around the world, and spun off the CD+DVD package Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded (January 2009) – which continued the string of hits with the #1 “Take A Bow,” and the #1 “Disturbia.”
Rihanna’s wildly anticipated Rated R is sure to solidify her global chart dominance while she
continues to push boundaries in both music and fashion.
When it comes to fashion, Rihanna has quickly become an international style icon. Everything from her cutting edge hair
styles to her immaculate fashion sense are heavily monitored in the glossy
pages of high fashion magazines worldwide.