Rihanna, who just made a historic return to the music scene with the release of a new single; ‘Lift Me Up’ has continued to reinvent herself as a pop superstar and a business mastermind
Declared Barbados’ first billionaire by Forbes earlier this year, Rihanna recorded the new single for the upcoming Black Panther sequel movie.
Lift Me Up marks her first new music since the 2016 release of her eighth studio album Anti.
Rihanna and her musical career
Born in 1988 as Robyn Rihanna Fenty in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the US in 2005 to pursue a career in music.
Jay-Z’s Def Jam Recordings signed Rihanna after the rapper Jay-Z had been impressed with her song Pon De Replay, which would later become the lead track from her debut album; Music of The Sun.
Pon De Replay reached number two in the UK charts, while the album reportedly sold more than two million copies around the world.
Rihanna followed it up with 2006’s A Girl Like Me, which spawned the successful singles SOS, Unfaithful, and Break It Off.
Her status as a pop superstar was cemented a year later with the release of her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad.
A global hit, it reached number one in the UK album charts thanks to the singles Don’t Stop The Music, Shut Up And Drive, and Umbrella.
The latter was jokingly blamed for 2007’s exceptionally rainy summer.
Chris Brown Controversy
Rihanna’s performance at the 2009 Grammy Awards was reportedly canceled amid rumours of an assault by her R&B singer boyfriend; Chris Brown.
Subsequently, an infamous picture was leaked to the US showbiz website TMZ, showing Rihanna with a visibly bruised and swollen face.
Brown was later sentenced to five years probation. The pair briefly got back together, with Rihanna confirming they were seeing each other in January 2013.
Her first album after the 2009 Brown controversy, Rated R, marked a musical departure for the singer, moving away from her pop-heavy previous efforts.
It contained the singles Rude Boy and Te Amo. Rihanna has since released four studio albums, the last of which was 2016’s Anti.
Other Affairs after Chris Brown
Rihanna, in 2017 began a relationship with Saudi businessman; Hassan Jameel. They later split in 2020 and she reportedly took up with US rapper ASAP Rocky.
Until recently Rihanna and Rocky have only been pictured publicly a handful of times, including last year’s Met Gala in which they appeared wearing coordinating outfits.
But the couple announced in early 2022 that they were expecting their first child, with the singer sharing a picture of her baby bump on Instagram.
They welcomed the child, a boy, in May 2022, in Los Angeles.
Rihanna as a Businesswoman
Rihanna’s prowess as a businesswoman and entrepreneur has continued to grow.
First launched in 2017, her brand Fenty Beauty, generated more than 550 million dollars (£420 million) in revenue in 2020, according to Forbes.
She is also behind a lingerie brand, Fenty X Savage which raised a valuation of one billion dollars (£765 million) in February 2021.
Rihanna is also an actress and appeared in the 2018 heist film Ocean’s 8, as part of a female-led ensemble cast including Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, and Anne Hathaway.
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The new musical release, Lift Me Up, comes ahead of Rihanna’s performance at the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show.
