Name: Robyn Rihanna Fenty (Rihanna is her stage name)
Birthdate: February 20, 1988
Birthplace: Saint Michael, Barbados
Claim to fame: She is one of the biggest pop stars in the world and one of the best-selling artists of all time.
Where we can see her in next: Well you won’t be able to see her, but you will be able to hear her voicing the character of Gratuity ‘Tip’ Tucci in the animated film, Home, which releases in theatres on March 27. Last week, she was also announced as the French fashion label Dior’s first-ever black campaign star. She will be featured in the fourth installment of the video and print series of the Secret Garden campaign, set to release this spring.
Interesting fact: She is the most popular artist on Facebook and the most-viewed and subscribed recording artist on YouTube. Also, Spotify announced in 2013 she was the most-streamed artist worldwide.
Best quote: “I’m moving forward in my life only way I’m looking back is if it’s my ass in the mirror.”
Why we love her: Oh Rihanna. What’s not to love about her? She’s got the voice, she’s got the looks, and she’s got enough confidence and swagger to cause men to fight over her, like literally fight over. She’s done it all with some serious Caribbean flare, building and sustaining a huge career over the past decade — continuously pouring out hit tracks that climb to the top of the Billboard charts. On top of it all, she’s managed to dip her toes into the acting pool and not ruin her career in the process. She was also recently announced as the first-ever black campaign star of the French fashion label Dior for their upcoming Secret Garden campaign. Not bad for a girl from a small island in the Caribbean.
Rihanna got her first break in 2003 when record producer Evan Rogers was on vacation with his wife in Rihanna’s native Barbados. Rihanna was first introduced to Rogers by mutual friends, and was then asked to come audition for him in his hotel room after he had been told she was planning to pursue a singing career. Rogers was so impressed with Rihanna that he brought her up to New York to record a demo reel that they would eventually send off to record labels all across the country. Eventually the demo tape landed her an audition for Jay-Z and music-mogul LA Reid and Def Jam Records, which Jay-Z was the president of at the time. Jay-Z signed her immediately after her audition, stating, “There’s only two ways out. Out the door after you sign this deal. Or through this window…” Now we all know what happened next…
She went onto become one of the biggest pop stars in the world, particularly after her third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad came out in 2007 and it’s chart-topping single ‘Umbrella’. Since then, she has gone onto sell more than 150 million album copies worldwide in her career, winning 8 Grammies, 8 American Music Awards, and 22 Billboard Music Awards.
While at times her reputation has been slammed and questioned by the media with her no bullsh*t attitude and overt comfort with her sexual side, there’s no denying she’s one of the best in the business at what she does. Now as the first-ever face of French label Dior, a new animated movie coming out (as well as a concept album based around the movie), as well as an eighth studio album set to release later this year (Kanye West is producing), Rihanna is completely on top of her game.
Cheers to you, Rihanna, keep on strutting the way you do, you won’t see any of us complaining.
