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Rihanna

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-10-30 10:05

Birth Name: Robyn Rihanna Fenty

Date of Birth: February 20th, 1988

Birth Place: Saint Michael, Barbados

Father: Ronald Fenty, a warehouse supervisor, Barbadian and Irish.

Mother: Monica Fenty, an accountant, native of Guyana, is Afro-Guyanese.

Siblings: She is the oldest of three siblings; two younger brothers, Rorrey and Rajad Fenty.

Schooling: Rihanna attended Charles F. Broome Memorial School, a primary school in Barbados, and then the Combermere School.

Start of Career: She began singing at around the age of seven. She formed a musical trio with two of her classmates at the age of fifteen. In 2003 friends introduced Rihanna and her two bandmates to record producer Evan Rogers, who was vacationing in Barbados with his wife. The group auditioned for Rogers, who said that "the minute Rihanna walked into the room, it was like the other two girls didn't exist." While auditioning for Rogers, Rihanna sang Destiny's Child's cover of "Emotion". Over the next year, Rihanna and her mom shuttled back and forth to Rogers home in Stamford, Connecticut. Then, shortly after turning 16, she relocated in the United States and moved in with Rogers and his wife. Carl Sturken helped Rihanna record a four-song demo, which included the ballad "Last Time," a cover of Whitney Houston’s hit "For the Love of You" and what would become her first hit, "Pon de Replay" to send to various recording companies. It took a year to record the demos, because she was going to school and would only record during summer and Christmas school breaks. Rihanna's demo made its way to Def Jam, which invited her to audition for the label's then-president, Jay-Z, who quickly signed her. In 2004 she won the Miss Combermere Beauty Pageant.

Music Style: Rihanna is the rare rhythm and blues (R&B) diva to emerge from the Caribbean world." Becoming an international sensation, Rihanna is known for blending R&B with Caribbean music, such as reggae and dancehall.

Influences: Mariah Carey, Beyoncé Knowles, Bob Marley, Alicia Keys, Whitney Houston, Destiny's Child, Celine Dion,  Brandy, and Gwen Stefani

Discograghy:

Music of the Sun (2005)

A Girl Like Me (2006)

Good Girl Gone Bad (2007)

Rated R (2009)

Awards: 60 awards and 111 nominations, including World Music Awards for Female Entertainer of the Year and World's Best-Selling Pop Female Artist in 2007, American Music Awards for Favorite Female Artist(soul/R&B, Pop/Rock) in 2007 and 2008, Grammy Awards for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration in 2008, BET Awards for Viewer's Choice Award in 2009, BET Hip-Hop Awards for Best Hip-Hop Video in 2009, Urban Music Awards for Best Music Video and Best Female Act in 2009.