Rihanna

Rihanna (born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on February 18, 1988 in St. Michael, Barbados), is a Bajan R & B singer with musical influences from Reggae, Dancehall, and Pop. Rihanna became worldwide known with her three chart hits "Pon de Replay", "SOS", and "Unfaithful".

Rihanna was born on the Caribbean island of Barbados. She was the first of three children to Ronald and Monica Fenty. Her mother is of Guyanese descent and her father is a biracial Bajan of Irish descent. She has two younger brothers named Rorrey and Rajad. Rihanna went to Charles F. Broome Memorial School, a primary school in Barbados, and then on to one of Barbados' secondary schools, the Combermere School, where she formed a musical trio with two of her classmates. In 2004, she won the Miss Combermere Beauty Pageant and performed in the Colours of Combermere School Show, singing Mariah Carey's "Hero".

At the age of 15, Rihanna received her big break when one of her friends introduced her to music producer Evan Rogers, who was vacationing in Barbados with his wife. Rogers, along with his partner, Carl Sturken, helped Rihanna record material in the US which was sent to various recording companies. One copy of Rihanna's work was sent to Jay-Z, who eventually signed her to his record label Island Def Jam Records.

Rihanna's debut album Music Of The Sun, which she co-wrote, was released in August 2005. The first single released from the album was the track "Pon De Replay", which peaked at number 2 on both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart due to considerable airplay. Although the success was great, only greater success was to come.

The second single, "If It's Lovin' That You Want", was less successful than its predecessor, climaxing on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 36, and number 11 on the UK Singles Chart. The album itself peaked within the top ten in Canada, and the US, and within the top forty in the UK. It has received platinum certifications in several countries, and received a Gold certification in the US by the RIAA. To further promote the album, Rihanna toured as an open act for American pop singer Gwen Stefani. The album itself sold almost 500, 000 units in the US and close to 2 million worldwide.

In 2006, Rihanna participated in several endorsement deals, including for Nike and J.C. Penney. She released her second album, A Girl Like Me, in April 2006 less than eight months after the release of her first album. The album debuted at number five in the US and number six in the UK. The lead single, "SOS", was used in her endorsement deal with Nike. The song became Rihanna's first number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it also debuted at number one on the Hot Digital Songs chart. "SOS" peaked at number one in Australia and number two in the UK. The second single, a slow ballad, which was written by R&B singer Ne-Yo, addresses the feelings of guilt that the protagonist of the song faces as she cheats on her former boyfriend DJ Homeless, entitled "Unfaithful", became her third top ten hit in the US and in the UK.

The third single "We Ride" has not been as successful as her previous releases, failing to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, however, it has managed to seal her 5th UK top 20 single, where it peaked at number 17 on that chart. Rihanna's fourth single from the album "Break It Off" featuring Sean Paul has yet to be released as a digital download, but has already managed to peaked at #54 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Rihanna made her acting debut in a cameo role in Bring It On: All or Nothing, which was released on August 8, 2006, she also appeared on an episode of American soap opera All My Children and drama Las Vegas.

Rihanna became a spokesperson for CoverGirl in early December of 2006, agreeing to shoot a series of ads for their summer of 2007 campaign.