Following the career-pivoting Rated R, 2010’s Loud offered a welcome return to the West Indian artist’s earlier sound. Rated R showcased Rihanna’s undeniable star power, and allowed her to shed her good-girl image once and for all. Badgal RiRi returned to her dancehall roots on her fifth No. 1 « Rude Boy, » which offsets the album’s harrowing motif. The singer had grown in leaps and bounds while taking musical risks, even penning nine of Rated R’s 13 tracks (she had no writing credits on Good Girl Gone Bad). Following three multi-platinum albums in a three-year span, Rihanna’s rebranding as a rebel at heart reached its apex.
- In March 2015, Rihanna was announced as a co-owner of the music streaming platform Tidal, alongside several other artists.
- In support of the album, Rihanna embarked on the worldwide Good Girl Gone Bad Tour in September 2007, performing 80 concerts across five continents.
- Rihanna is a Grammy-winning singer known for such No. 1 pop hits as “Umbrella,” “SOS,” “Diamonds,” and “Work.”
- 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 the popular power ballad “Unfaithful,” as well as singles “We Ride” and “Break It Off.”
- Often mentioned as a record that inspired a generation of artists from Troye Sivan to Conan Gray, Swift’s confessional, soul-bearing authenticity set a new standard for straightforward pop music.
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She also won her first GRAMMY in 2008 (Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for « Umbrella ») and scored four other nominations, including Record Of The Year. Good Girl Gone Bad remains Rihanna’s best-selling album and marks her greatest reinvention as she adopted a more rebellious sound. The melancholy « Rehab » is a clever metaphor for lost love, co-written by Timbaland and Justin Timberlake. Produced by Tricky Stewart, the LP’s juggernaut lead single « Umbrella » featuring Jay-Z skyrocketed to No. 1 in 17 countries. Her official introduction to the world also hit No. 1 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart; she boasts 33 on the tally, second behind only the Queen of Pop herself, Madonna.
The dance-pop and R&B heavy record, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart, featured several hit songs, including the singles “Don’t Stop the Music,” “Shut Up and Drive,” and “Hate That I Love You” with Ne-Yo. With its follow-up, « Our Song » — which spent six consecutive weeks on the top of Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart — she became the youngest person to solely write and sing a No. 1 country single; she also became the first female solo artist in country music to write or co-write every song on an album. With the dance-pop set Loud (2010), she reflected on the fun she had while recording the album, incorporating ballads, party anthems, and empowering love songs.
Eminem feat. Rihanna — « The Monster »
Released on November 20, Rated R marked a shift away from the upbeat sound of Rihanna’s earlier albums, embracing a darker, more introspective tone with rock influences. The case garnered widespread media attention, particularly after TMZ published a leaked police photograph showing Rihanna with visible injuries. In 2008, she announced her romantic relationship with singer Chris Brown and topped the Hot 100 once again with a feature on rapper T.I.’s song « Live Your Life ». Having sold nine million copies as of 2023, Good Girl Gone Bad is her best-selling album worldwide. In support of the album, Rihanna embarked on the worldwide Good Girl Gone Bad Tour in September 2007, performing 80 concerts across five continents.
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.
Music career: A Girl Like Me and Good Girl Gone Bad
The singer/songwriter also picked up a Best Traditional Pop GRAMMY in 2024 for her second LP, an immaculate collection of jazz, pop and classical that bridged the gap between Gen-Z and the Great American Songbook. Still, as a love song dedicated to wife Amanda Shires — and the quiet acceptance that the Grim Reaper will inevitably end their story — it’s certainly no less emotional. Just four years after picking up five GRAMMY nominations for their transatlantic chart-topper « Love the Way You Lie, » unlikely dream team Eminem and Rihanna once again joined forces for another hip-pop masterclass. Traditional Appalachian folk song « O Death » had previously been recorded by the likes of gospel vocalist Bessie Jones, folklorist Mike Seeger and Californian rockers Camper Van Beethoven, just to name a few. The King of Pop picked up a whopping 11 nominations for his first blockbuster album, Thriller, and then converted seven of them into wins, including Album Of The Year. Considering how perfectly Mike Oldfield’s prog-rock epic Tubular Bells complements all-time classic horror flick The Exorcist, it’s remarkable to think that it was recorded before director William Friedkin came calling.
- In her youth, Rihanna often watched Bob Marley on television due to his popularity in the Caribbean.
- David Bowie fans may well feel aggrieved that his post-punk classic « Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) » was entirely ignored by GRAMMY voters, while the bro-step banger it inspired was showered with awards.
- Good Girl Gone Bad remains Rihanna’s best-selling album and marks her greatest reinvention as she adopted a more rebellious sound.
- A dance-oriented pop and R&B album, Talk That Talk opened at number three on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 198,000 copies, while debuting atop the UK Albums Chart with 163,000 units sold.
- 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.
- Armageddon —her first full-length since 2001’s Sister Nancy Meets Fireproof — was released this summer, seven years after it was recorded with Mad Professor in the U.K.
Rihanna
Looking at Lover retrospectively, it’s an album that almost symbolizes a bookend in her discography. Writing reputation became a lifeline following the events that catalyzed it — a way to shed the so-called snakeskin and make peace with however the public wanted to view her. And even despite matching the 1.2 million first-week sales of her previous releases, some concluded that the album was her first commercial failure when compared to 1989. Even after Swift spent some time away from the spotlight, the public didn’t immediately gravitate toward her return.
Following the success with folklore and evermore, Swift’s intrigue was at a then-all-time high upon the release of Midnights. Although the album is a departure from the two pandemic sister albums, the overall creation process didn’t differ too much. On Midnights, Swift leaves behind indie folk sounds and returns to the pop production of 1989 and Lover. After coming out of the folklorian woods following folklore and evermore, fans and critics alike were intrigued to see what direction Swift would take on her next studio album. Even so, its poetic lyricism and mystical storytelling cleverly foreshadowed what was to come with subsequent albums, particularly The Tortured Poets Department.
Oldfield was rewarded for helping to scar a generation of moviegoers for life when a condensed version of his eerie masterpiece picked up the Best Instrumental Composition GRAMMY in 1975. And the soul legend further leaned into its supernatural theme in 2013 when he appeared as a witch doctor in a Bud Light Super Bowl commercial soundtracked by the ominous chart-topper. Along with giving GRAMMY gold betista casino to the likes of Smashing Pumpkins, Slayer and Vampire Weekend, the Recording Academy has embraced the odd musical spooktacular in several forms. « I have to appreciate ‘Bam Bam.’ I have no problem talking about it because it’s mine. I did the song, so I’m not tired of talking about it. I’m not tired of playing it either, » Sister Nancy says. « Mad Professor is someone I look up to. He’s a genius, and I love working with him, » Sister Nancy adds. She continues to release new music of her own, though she believes in letting projects simmer before embarking on something new.
Rihanna, who has not released a full album since 2016’s « Anti, » voices Smurfette in the film. The songstress herself shared a sweet note on Friday, Aug. 29, thanking her fans and those who « gave me a chance over the years. » To celebrate her success in the music business and beyond, Rihanna is releasing « R20 » merch and a vinyl album boxed set, which are available for pre-order on her official online store.
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.
It’s a highlight on The Life of a Showgirl as it’s a testament that, regardless of how much time has passed or the fame that Swift has achieved, she still looks back on those who changed her life early on. Swift doesn’t want you to get it twisted, though — this is an album about the life of a showgirl, not an album about being a performer. She’s no longer anxious in love (« Eldest Daughter, » « Honey ») and for the first time, she owns all of her work and is in complete artistic control (« Father Figure »).
After exploring pop-leaning sonics she first found with Red, Swift worked with Martin and Shellback again on most of 1989. 1989 was lauded by critics for its infectious synth-pop that was reminiscent of the 1980s, yet still had a contemporary sound. 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. In her liner notes, she references Pablo Neruda’s poem « Tonight I Can Write, » stating that « Love is so short, forgetting is so long » is the overarching theme for the album. From addressing the aforementioned VMA incident in the forgiving « Innocent » to a toxic relationship in « Dear John, » Speak Now also hinted that her rose-colored glasses were cracked, but Swift (and her songwriting) was only becoming stronger because of it.
Rihanna also said that Carey’s « Vision of Love » (1990) was the song that inspired her to pursue a career in music. 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 ». Rihanna’s rock-imbued record Rated R (2009), released after the assault by her then-boyfriend, Chris Brown, had a much darker tone and was filled with various emotions she experienced since then.
And on Aug. 13, she opened up about the concept and creation of the record on her now-fiancé Travis Kelce’s podcast, « New Heights. » To help explain this chapter of her life, Swift brings together a myriad of collaborators — from Stevie Nicks as fellow poetess, to duets with Florence Welch and Post Malone — and leans on real and fictional characters, like Clara Bow, Peter Pan (« Peter »), and Patti Smith. It pokes fun at so-called fans who overstep with her personal life (« But Daddy I Love Him »), says goodbye to a city that gave her a home (« So Long London »), and muses on how her own celebrity has stunted her growth (« Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me? »). As a result, there had arguably never been more excitement for a Taylor Swift album than for The Tortured Poets Department — especially because the announcement came on the heels of her lucky 13th GRAMMY win in February.
Later works: Rated R, Talk That Talk, and Unapologetic
In June 2016, Rihanna released « Sledgehammer » as part of the film soundtrack for Star Trek Beyond. Announced in November 2015, the Anti World Tour was launched in March 2016 in support of the album. In late 2015, Rihanna signed a $25 million deal with Samsung to promote its Galaxy product line, with the company also sponsoring the rollout of her eighth studio album, titled Anti, and its accompanying tour.
Only eight months later, in August 2005, she released her first single, “Pon de Replay,” a reggae-influenced club track that reached No. 2 on the Billboard singles chart and announced Rihanna as the next up-and-coming pop star. Rihanna soon followed with the album A Girl Like Me (2006), featuring the up-tempo club-oriented “S.O.S.” The song, which was built around a sample of Soft Cell’s 1981 new-wave hit “Tainted Love,” became Rihanna’s first to top the Billboard singles chart. Rihanna has fourteen number-one singles on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, placing her third for the most chart-topping songs in its history. The songs « Man Down », « California King Bed », and « Cheers (Drink to That) » were released as singles from Loud in 2011. The project yielded a string of successful songs, including the US number-one singles « Umbrella », « Take a Bow », and « Disturbia ».
In the United States, it is currently more popular than Come and See but less popular than Shutter. The movie has moved up the charts by 179 places since yesterday. The pair meet and fall in love on the Titanic, the greatest ship to sail the oceans. Rose is a high-society young woman who is being forced into a loveless marriage with a wealthy man.
In December, Nancy will headline a celebration of her career featuring female artists including Renée Neufville. In August, she released a new Mad Professor-produced album, Armageddon — her first LP in over 20 years. Rihanna comes out of left field with the Prince-inspired « Kiss It Better, » the album’s second single, which sees the superstar falling back on addictive sex that « feels like crack » to justify a destructive relationship. The black-and-white, red paint-splattered album cover signals a rebirth, featuring a real-life image of Rihanna as a child. Released four years after Unapologetic — her longest gap between albums at the time — ANTI illustrated Rihanna’s greater desire for quality over quantity. With 13 No. 1s and twice as many top 10 hits under her belt, Rihanna set out to create timeless music instead of chasing a radio-friendly formula with her 2016 magnum opus, ANTI.
Armageddon —her first full-length since 2001’s Sister Nancy Meets Fireproof — was released this summer, seven years after it was recorded with Mad Professor in the U.K. In 2016, Sister Nancy received 10 years of back royalties as well as royalties going forward, which allowed her to retire from the bank and pursue music full time. Like many artists of her era who either had bad contracts or no contract at all, Sister Nancy did not benefit from the popularity of « Bam Bam » for the majority of her career. « And remember, I had songs before that like ‘One, Two’ and ‘Transport Connection’; they were playing, but I didn’t hear ‘Bam Bam’ until I come to the U.S. » Yet the song made its way to the States, where it found popularity in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut’s Caribbean diaspora and caught the ear of hip-hop innovators of the ’80s. She recorded the early dancehall anthem in 1982 when she was just 20 years old as a last-minute addition to her debut album, One, Two.