Songbook: The Ultimate Guide To Rihanna’s Reign, From Her Record-Breaking Hits To Unforgettable Collabs

More than its predecessor, Fearless blurs the line between country and pop thanks to crossover hits like “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me,” yet still keeps the confessional attributes known in country songwriting. Even as a new country artist, critics claimed that she “mastered” the genre while subsequently ushering it to a new era — one that would soon see Swift dabble in country-pop. One writer in particular, Liz Rose, applauded Swift’s songwriting capabilities, stating that she was more of an “editor” for the songs because Swift already had such a distinct vision.
Retrospective and reflective, Speak Now is an album about the speeches she could’ve, would’ve and should’ve said. The album’s title track pulled from the saying, “Speak now or forever hold your peace,” inspired by a friend’s ex-boyfriend getting engaged; meanwhile, “Mean” was everything Swift wanted to say to a critic who was continuously harsh about her vocals. Along with having more eyes on her, Swift also felt pressured to maintain her persona as a perfect young female role model amid a time when her peers like Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato were attempting to rebrand betista casino to be more mature and sexier. But this meant that she faced more publicity and criticism, from naysayers who nitpicked her songwriting and vocals to the infamous Kanye West incident at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.

Artistry

Through her fashion ventures, Rihanna has become one of the wealthiest musicians; in 2021, she became the richest female musician at the time, with a net worth of $1.7 billion. Around the time of her second album A Girl Like Me (2006), critics often compared her style and sound to that of Beyoncé. She credits that song with sparking her passion for music and partly attributes her presence in the industry to Houston. She also mentioned that one of the earliest songs she developed an affection for was Houston’s rendition of “I Will Always Love You” (1992). As a child, she sang Whitney Houston songs and “A Whole New World” (1992) into her hairbrush so frequently that her neighbors started calling her “Robyn Redbreast”. She deemed him one of her all-time favourite artists, crediting him with “paving the way for every other artist out of the Caribbean”.

• Performing hit after hit while unveiling a baby bump, her 13-minute set became one of the most-watched halftime shows of all time with over 121 million viewers.
• The reissue of Good Girl Gone Bad, subtitled Reloaded, was released on June 2; selling 63,000 copies in its first week, it helped the original album rise to number seven in the US.
• In December, Nancy will headline a celebration of her career featuring female artists including Renée Neufville.
• Elizabeth Taylor has appeared as a character in Swift’s songs before, particularly in rep’s “Ready For It…?” where she compares herself to the famous actress and entertainer.
• In 2009, Rihanna was the center of a media firestorm after a domestic violence incident in which her then-boyfriend Chris Brown assaulted her before an awards show.
• 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.

In August 2021, Forbes announced that Rihanna had become one of the richest entertainers in the world, estimating her net worth to be $1.7 billion at the time following the success of her cosmetic company. In lieu of another album, the singer-turned-entrepreneur, born Robyn Fenty, launched Fenty Beauty in 2017 in partnership with luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, which also preceded a short-lived luxury fashion line. “20 years ago, i left my country, my culture, my food, and family to embark on a journey that started with the release of my very first body of music!” she wrote in an Instagram caption alongside a montage of her biggest career moments. Rihanna officially becomes a billionaire and Forbes names her the ‘richest female musician’
Her debut album, “Music of the Sun,” further solidified her presence, selling over two million copies worldwide and setting the stage for her meteoric rise in the years to come. Jay-Z was immediately captivated, signing her on the spot and launching her career in the music industry. Her journey from a small island to the bustling music scene of America marked the beginning of her transformational career. Relocating from her home in Barbados to Connecticut, she stayed with music producer Evan Rogers and his wife.

Rihanna Marks 10th Anniversary of ‘ANTI’ With Record-Extending 8th RIAA Diamond Certification

She scored another No. 1 hit with the single “Rude Boy,” while the tracks “Hard” and “Russian Roulette” landed squarely in the top 10. Good Girl Gone Bad remains her best-selling album with over 10 million copies sold worldwide. Her lead single “Umbrella,” featuring Jay-Z, lead the Billboard Hot 100 for a whopping seven weeks and later won the Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration in 2008. Her sophomore effort, A Girl Like Me, followed in April 2006, incorporating reggae, rock, and pop influences.
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.

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Rolling Stone included her single “Umbrella” in its list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” and her album Anti amongst the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”. She is the UK’s third best-selling female artist of the 21st century, having sold seven million albums. In August 2018, Billboard ranked Rihanna as the tenth-most successful Hot 100 artist of all time and it also named her the top Hot 100 artist of the 2010s. She has accumulated numerous awards and honours, including nine Grammy Awards, twelve Billboard Music Awards, and thirteen American Music Awards.

Loud

Rihanna has worked with music video director Anthony Mandler on seventeen music videos, the first being “Unfaithful” (2006). Rihanna was also influenced by artists such as Janet Jackson, Aaliyah, Beyoncé, Celine Dion, Grace Jones, Lil’ Kim, Prince, and Brandy. In her youth, Rihanna often watched Bob Marley on television due to his popularity in the Caribbean. Rihanna identified Brandy’s fourth album, Afrodisiac (2004), as a primary source of inspiration for her album Good Girl Gone Bad. After moving to the US, she was exposed to a wide range of musical genres, which she said had a profound effect on her.
In contrast to the fairytale motifs and happy endings of Fearless, evermore saw Swift become fixated on “unhappy” endings — stories of failed marriages (“happiness”), lifeless relationships (“tolerate it”), and one-time flings (“’tis the damn season”). Like its (literally) folklorian sister, evermore was a surprise release at the end of 2020, marking the first time Swift didn’t have distinct “eras” between albums. It was exciting enough for Swifties to experience one surprise album drop from Swift, an artist who typically has an entire album campaign calculated. At the 2021 GRAMMYs, folklore took home Album Of The Year, making her the fourth artist in history to win three times in the Category. After its release, folklore became the best-selling album of 2020 after selling 1.2 million records. Lover became Swift’s sixth No. 1 album in America, making her the first female artist to achieve the feat.

• “And, baby, that’s show business for you,” Taylor Swift declared after announcing her 12th full-length album, The Life of a Showgirl.
• 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.
• Writing the entire album herself, Swift used Speak Now to prove her songwriting prowess to those who questioned her capabilities.
• (“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.”)
• Around the time of her second album A Girl Like Me (2006), critics often compared her style and sound to that of Beyoncé.
• 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.
• The songs “Man Down”, “California King Bed”, and “Cheers (Drink to That)” were released as singles from Loud in 2011.

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.
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.

Lead single “We Found Love” is undeniably the biggest hit to stem from the Talk That Talk era, spending 10 consecutive weeks atop the Hot 100. Her longing continues in “Where Have You Been,” which flaunts Rihanna’s versatility, flipping Geoff Mack’s 1959 country song “I’ve Been Everywhere” into an infectious EDM banger. It was especially refreshing to see Rihanna emerge from one of the darkest periods of her life as exuberant as ever.

A$AP Rocky talks baby news with Rihanna at Met Gala

The record also featured the popular power ballad “Unfaithful,” as well as singles “We Ride” and “Break It Off.” The album debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart and earned her first No. 1 hit with the catchy pop single “SOS,” which spent three weeks atop Billboard’s Hot 100. In 2008, Rihanna topped the chart three times, twice with her own songs “Disturbia” and “Take a Bow,” plus a feature on T.I.’s “Live Your Life.” She has also earned nine number-one songs on the UK Singles Chart and ranks second to the Beatles for the most million-selling singles in the country. This made her the artist with the most digital single awards and the first performer to exceed RIAA’s 100 million cumulative singles certification threshold. With estimated worldwide sales exceeding 250 million records as of 2023, Rihanna is one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
In addition to her film roles, Rihanna made notable television appearances, including recurring parts in the psychological thriller series “Bates Motel” in 2017. This hit catapulted her to international fame, earning her first Grammy Award and redefined her image as a confident and edgy artist. Rihanna, born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on February 20, 1988, in Barbados, swiftly ascended to global stardom after signing with Def Jam Records at just 16.
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.
But if you want to add a bit of prestige to your supernatural soundtrack, there’s another list of Halloween-friendly songs to check out — one that highlights another celebrated annual occasion. With Halloween celebrations in full swing this Oct. 31, revisit some eerie or ghoulishly titled songs that have been awarded golden gramophones, from the ‘Exorcist’ theme to Eminem and Rihanna’s “The Monster.” More than 40 years later, she’s still happy to discuss and play that single she recorded back in Kingston as a young woman.
Gleefully playing the witch doctor, prolific singer/bassist Esperanza Spalding individually released every song (and an accompanying video) from her seventh album across 11 days before serving up its cauldron of genre-hopping sounds in full. (Rih recorded an equally moving sequel for her Loud album.) Three years later, the two confronted their inner demons in “The Monster,” and their musical chemistry scored a GRAMMY in 2015 for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. Final single “Te Amo” didn’t chart, but garnered a great deal of attention as the Latin-infused Stargate production depicts Rihanna being enticed by a female love interest. It also marked Rihanna’s first time veering away from her “girl next door” image, as the song’s subject matter deals with infidelity. Follow-up single “If It’s Lovin’ That You Want” stalled at No. 36 on the Hot 100, but still whetted fans’ appetite — as did her debut album, Music of the Sun, which is mostly comprised of dance-pop and dancehall tracks with hints of R&B (like “Willing to Wait”). Shortly after her 16th birthday, Rihanna left her home country for the U.S. to record a demo, which included her breakthrough hit “Pon de Replay.” The demo found its way into Jay-Z’s hands, and Hov signed the teen artist to Def Jam and the label expedited her 2005 debut album, aptly titled Music of the Sun.
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.”