A pop and reggae album, A Girl Like Me peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 chart, with 115,000 copies sold in the US in its first week. Impressed, Rogers arranged a second meeting with Rihanna and her mother—this time without the other two girls—and later invited them to his hometown in Connecticut to record demo tapes for record label submissions. Around this time, Rihanna began listening to reggae artists such as Sizzla and Damien Marley, as well as R&B musicians like Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. She is the highest-certified female digital single artist by the Recording Industry Association of America, and has seven diamond-certified singles and fourteen number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. These albums contained the US number-one singles «Rude Boy», «Only Girl (In the World)», «What’s My Name?», «S&M», «We Found Love», «Diamonds», and «Work». The albums spawned the singles «Pon de Replay» and «SOS», which peaked at numbers two and one on the US Billboard Hot 100, respectively.
Reinventing Into A Pop Genius
She’d see visceral images in her mind — from battleships to tree swings to mirrored disco balls — and turned them into stories, sometimes weaving in her own personal narrative throughout, or taking on a narrator role and speaking from the perspective of someone she had never met. Crafting a world with characters like the folklore love triangle between those in «betty» and «august,» as well as Rebekah Harkness from «the last great american dynasty» (who once lived in Swift’s Rhode Island mansion), was Swift’s way of venturing outside her typical autobiographical style of writing. Without exactly setting out to create an album, she began dreaming of fictional stories and characters with various narrative arcs, allowing her imagination to run free. But Lover was more than any accolades could reflect — it was Swift’s transitional album in many ways, notably marking the first album that she owned entirely herself following leaving Big Machine Records for Republic Records in 2018. This evolution is mentioned throughout Lover, particularly in a direct callback to 2012’s Red, «Daylight,» which sees her describe her love as «golden» rather than «burning red.»
She first gained prominence in 2005 with her debut album «Music of the Sun,» which quickly established her as a force in the music industry. Known for her unique style and chart-topping hits, she has influenced music and fashion worldwide. She told Winfrey that Brown may have been the love of her life and she has developed “a very close friendship” with him. The pair worked together on the song “Birthday Cake,” released that year.
The song’s success buoyed sales for her debut full-length recording, Music of the Sun (2005), on which conventional R&B ballads shared space with Caribbean-flavored dance-pop that showcased her melodious Barbadian lilt. About the same time, she started a girl group with two friends, and in 2004 she attracted the attention of Evan Rogers, an American record producer. In September 2008, Rihanna joined fifteen other female artists to record and perform the song «Just Stand Up!» during the Stand Up to Cancer television special. That year, she released a photo book documenting the Last Girl on Earth tour, serving as a companion to her album Rated R (2009). Rihanna has eight number-one singles on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, seven on the Airplay chart, and sixteen on the Rhythmic chart. Jocelyn Vena of MTV News observed that Rihanna often creates music videos that are thought-provoking and aligned with the themes of her songs.
Instead, she wanted to capture the years of her life while they still represented what she was going through, writing about what she was observing and experiencing, from love and friendship to feeling like an outsider. Written throughout her adolescence, Taylor Swift was recorded at the end of 2005 and finalized by the time Swift finished her freshman year of high school. In a genre dominated by men, the odds were already stacked against Swift when she first broke into country music as a teenage female artist.
- In June 2010, she collaborated with rapper Eminem on the single «Love the Way You Lie».
- Rihanna has eight number-one singles on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, seven on the Airplay chart, and sixteen on the Rhythmic chart.
- Her first hit single was «Pon de Replay,» which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard singles chart in 2005.
- «The Fate of Ophelia» might be Swift’s best lead single since «Mine» in 2010, thanks to its infectious beat and memorable chorus.
- Vulnerability is explored on the pop and synth-pop record Unapologetic (2012), which Vulture described as an «act of defiance … to sort out her feelings about her … ex-boyfriend Brown and her public image».
All Things Taylor Swift
On «Father Figure,» she flips the power dynamic between a «showman,» someone who thought they were pulling the strings, and a showgirl. On stage, fans were seeing the same steadfast, resilient showgirl they were seeing throughout the tour perform three-hour sets. After The Tortured Poets Department provided insight into how she coped during the beginning of the tour while dealing with two relationships breaking down, producing tracks like «The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived» and «loml,» The Life of a Showgirl is a sharp turn in the other direction. The 12-track record is an amalgamation of what was going on behind the scenes throughout the latter half of The Eras Tour. Take a look at how tracks like «The Fate of Ophelia» and «The Life of a Showgirl» hint that Swift is happier and more inspired than ever.
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».
Currently certified sextuple Platinum, ANTI also remains the longest-charting album by a Black female artist on the Billboard 200, with more than 508 weeks and counting. Despite the success of singles here and there and a buzzy Super Bowl halftime performance in 2023, she has focused her attention on her beauty brand Fenty Beauty and lingerie brand Savage X Fenty. Twenty years after she released her debut album, Rihanna is back with new music. Yes, Rihanna has won multiple awards, including several Grammy Awards and MTV awards for her outstanding contributions to music.
Her work has influenced artists such as Lorde, Sam Smith, Billie Eilish, Selena Gomez, Ed Sheeran, Ellie Goulding, Kim Petras, Marilyn Manson, Jessie J, SZA, Ayra Starr, and Demi Lovato. In July 2015, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced that Rihanna had surpassed 100 million gold and platinum song certifications. In 2012, she set a Guinness World Record as the best-selling digital artist in the US.
Rihanna releases new music in honor of 20 years in music. Well, kind of.
Her first hit single was «Pon de Replay,» which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard singles chart in 2005. This pivotal move allowed her to focus on honing her vocal talents and recording a demo album that would ultimately pave the way for her music career. Her third album, «Good Girl Gone Bad,» marked a significant turning point in her career, showcasing her growth as an artist and solidifying her image as a bold and edgy figure in music. The record also featured popular single “Where Have You Been,” as well as “You da One,” and title track “Talk That Talk.” “We Found Love” later won Best Short Form Music Video at the 2013 Grammys. The upbeat pop record featured her first radio hit, the club anthem “Pon de Replay,” which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Since then, the singer has released seven more albums, which are all platinum or multi-platinum, making her one of the best-selling artists in the world.
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In 2014, Shakira featured Rihanna on her single «Can’t Remember to Forget You». In December 2013, she topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart with a feature on Eminem’s song «The Monster». Rihanna made a cameo in the comedy film This Is the End (2013), and later collaborated with rapper Wale on his remix of the single «Bad». To promote the album, Rihanna embarked on the 777 Tour, performing seven shows in seven countries over the course of seven days. In September 2012, the music video for «We Found Love» won Video of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards, making Rihanna the first woman to receive the honour more than once. In March, Rihanna and Brown released two remixes—her track «Birthday Cake» and his «Turn Up the Music»—which were criticized due to their history of domestic violence.
If Taylor Swift was the soundtrack to navigating the early stages of teenhood, Fearless is Swift’s coming-of-age record. While her songwriting has developed and matured, feeling like an outsider and carving her own path is a theme she still writes about now, as seen on Midnights’ «You’re On Your Own, Kid.» On the track «A Place In This World,» a song she wrote when she was just 13, Swift sings about not fitting in and trying to find her path.
The lead single, «Work», topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, with the third and fourth singles, «Needed Me» and «Love on the Brain», peaking within the top ten. With an eclectic blend of genres such as pop, dancehall, and psychedelic soul, Anti peaked at number one on the Billboard 200, marking her second chart-topping record in the US. It spent ten non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, making it both Rihanna’s longest-running chart-topping single and the longest-running number one song in the US in 2011. To support the album, Rihanna launched the Loud Tour in June 2011, which included a record-breaking ten sold-out shows at The O2 Arena in London—the most by a female artist in the venue’s history.
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.
Adopting a more mature image, Rihanna rose to stardom and transitioned to dance-pop and R&B with the album Good Girl Gone Bad (2007) and its reissue, subtitled Reloaded (2008). Known for her artistic reinventions, she is an influential figure in both music and fashion. She’s closing a chapter of her life — saying goodbye to the heartbreaks, pleading and scrutiny — and embracing a new, well, era that was quietly created during the behind-the-scenes of The Eras Tour. 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. Swift herself has long embodied independence through redefining over and over what it means to be a pop star for over two decades.
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. Despite these difficulties, Rihanna showcased resilience and creativity from a young age, channeling her personal experiences and pain into music. She is the eldest of three siblings, navigating a childhood fraught with challenges, including her father’s struggles with substance abuse and her parents’ tumultuous marriage, which ultimately ended in divorce when she was just 14. Rihanna, born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on February 20, 1988, in St. Michael Parish, Barbados, is a globally renowned pop star, singer, and fashion icon.
Artistry
Content on this site does not reflect an endorsement or recommendation of any artist or music by the Recording Academy and its Affiliates. And with that tour having celebrated her life’s work up to now, The Life of a Showgirl feels like the exhale before a brand new beginning. «That always chokes me up because it transports me right back to that actual memory of standing on that stage for the last time on that tour that was so important to me, and the tour that really inspired this album. So it’s the last track of the album and a really special one to me.» For a project about being a showgirl, introducing people to the concept of the album at the end was puzzling for some. For her, finding a balance between her career and love, and realizing that they can coexist, makes this album one of Swift’s most — if not the most — romantic to date. Yet these songs admit that she doesn’t want to carry it all alone; she wants partnership, to build something with someone else.
Throughout The Life of a Showgirl, Swift, Martin and Shellback craft tracks that go beyond what they created with 1989 and reputation. Reuniting with her pop powerhouse collaborators Max Martin and Shellback, who worked on her biggest pop radio hits like «We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,» «Delicate,» «Blank Space,» and «Shake It Off,» was a return to form after the fog of TTPD. («And all the headshots on the walls/ Of the dance hall are of the b—es/ Who wish I’d hurry up and die/ But I’m immortal now.») On «The Life of a Showgirl,» she declares with her fellow showgirl that she isn’t handing over the baton just yet. The showgirl is actually the one in charge («I was your father figure/ You pulled the wrong trigger/ This empire belongs to me»), alluding to her battle to retain her masters.
- Its win for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 2014 GRAMMYs, however, proved that Rihanna’s reign wasn’t letting up anytime soon.
- Swift herself has long embodied independence through redefining over and over what it means to be a pop star for over two decades.
- She plays with time — speeding it up in «Starlight,» dabbling in the past in «All Too Well,» and reframing it in «State of Grace» — to better understand her experiences.
- Currently certified sextuple Platinum, ANTI also remains the longest-charting album by a Black female artist on the Billboard 200, with more than 508 weeks and counting.
- Commercially, Red debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and sold 1.2 million copies in its first week, becoming the fastest-selling country album and making Swift the first female artist to have three consecutive albums spend six or more weeks at the top of the chart.
- Rihanna began her music career at the age of 16 when she signed with Def Jam records.
- For her work on the single, Rihanna received her first Academy Award nomination, for best original song.
From becoming the first woman and only artist to win a GRAMMY for Album Of The Year four times, to dealing with heightened media scrutiny, to breaking records with her Eras Tour, no one understands the highs and lows of being a showgirl like Swift. Fans rejoiced at having songs to comfort them during difficult times, and artists like Maya Hawke, Gracie Abrams, and Sabrina Carpenter credit folklore for inspiring them to create and be even more emotionally honest in their songwriting. 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. When Swift released the lead single «Look What You Made Me Do,» a song she initially wrote as a poem about not trusting specific people, many assumed the album would center betista casino on vengeance and drama. The album also earned Swift several awards — including her second Album Of The Year GRAMMY, which made her the first female artist to ever win the award twice.
This initial success paved the way for her subsequent albums and chart-topping singles, solidifying her status as a pop powerhouse. Just months later, Rihanna released her first single, «Pon de Replay,» which quickly climbed the charts and established her as a formidable newcomer in pop music. The pop star has an impressive 64 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including 14 No. 1 hits and 32 tracks in the top 10.
