Rihanna

Robyn Rihanna Fenty was born in the parish of St. Michael, Barbados, on February 18, 1988. Growing up, Rihanna led a relatively simple, average life on her island home. She attended Combermere, a kind of technical high school, and, despite having a natural singing talent, she didn't give much thought to performing -- aside from singing with her friends for fun. At one point, though, Rihanna did enter a beauty and talent pageant at her school. Singing Mariah Carey's "Hero" as part of the talent component, Rihanna went on to win the competition. But that performance -- and singing in the shower or in front of the mirror -- was the extent of her musical experience before 2004. During Christmas 2003, a series of chance events unfolded that would change Rihanna's life forever. A New York City record producer, Evan Rogers, was vacationing with his Barbadian wife Jackie near Rihanna's home. A mutual friend introduced them, and after Rihanna belted out a few tunes for Rogers, he realized her potential and invited her to New York to record some demo songs. Rihanna jumped at the opportunity to sing professionally, and she took Rogers up on his offer the following spring. It wasn't long before Rihanna was auditioning for Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, head of Def Jam Recordings. Despite her nervousness, Rihanna wowed the Def Jam record execs, and was signed to a deal before she walked out the door. Work immediately began on her singles, starting with "Pon de Replay," one of the punchy dance numbers that had first impressed Jay-Z. The hip-hop mogul, however, had initial concerns that the number would upstage its performer, but he was ultimately convinced that Rihanna's deeper vocal talents would keep her from being a one-hit wonder.

Rihanna went into the studio in early 2007 with Ne-Yo, Stargate, and Timbaland among others to record her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad. The album was released on June 5, 2007. It features Jay-Z and Ne-Yo as featured artists. The first single, "Umbrella", featuring Jay-Z, was released on March 29, 2007, reaching number one in various countries, including the U.S. "Umbrella" was the #1 single in the UK for 10 consecutive weeks. It was the longest running #1 single since "Wet Wet Wet's¹" single "Love Is All Around", back in 1994, and the longest running #1 by a female artist since Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You", which also topped the chart for 10 weeks in 1992. It was produced by Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The-Dream" Nash. Then her second single, "Shut Up and Drive", was sent to radio stations on June 5, has so far peaked at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100. Her club airplay third single, "Don't Stop The Music" was premiered on BET's 106 & Park on July 20, 2007 and was released only in Canada. The song is also going to be released in the UK. The fourth single, "Hate That I Love You" featuring Ne-Yo, was released on August 21, and so far has peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Rihanna her sixth top ten hit.

Rihanna worked with Timbaland on three songs in the album. Justin Timberlake co-wrote and provides background vocals on "Rehab". In interviews, many have questioned the meaning and reasoning of the album title. The album title reflects the difference between the old and new Rihanna. "Bad means cool, bad means funky, bad means having an attitude, bad means being edgy. This album is definitely a great representation of who I am now, and where I am in my career," she says. Seven weeks after the album was released, it had gone gold in the United States and Platinum on the United World Albums Chart.