Barbados' Robyn Rihanna Fenty, born in February 20, 1988, known as Rihanna wants to share some of her Caribbean fun with the U.S. R&B and rap audiences. A dose of good luck and talent got Rihanna signed to Def Jam at the early age of sixteen. She was discovered by producer Evan Rogers in 2003, who was visiting Barbados. Rogers, in his turn, impressed CEO of Def Jam Jay-Z, who signed her for a multiple-album contract.
Released in June 2005, "Pon De Replay”, was the singer's first single from the album “Music of the Sun”, that dropped in August 2005. That was a big hit of Rihanna, but her great break came with the 2006 release of her first #1 hit single "S.O.S." and the full album called “A Girl Like Me”. Sampling Soft Cell's "Tainted Love," the single became one of the most commercially popular and critically acclaimed songs of that year.
In spite of Rihanna’s basic move away from the dancehall, she moved toward a new aesthetic marrying R&B, hip-hop and synth-pop. She continued moving in this direction with “Good Girl Gone Bad” from 2007, which has featured six hit singles with four worldwide #1 singles including the infectious "Umbrella", "Take a Bow", "Don't Stop the Music" and “Disturbia".
Rihanna is the first artist from Barbados to win a Grammy Award. She cites Brandy, Gwen Stefani, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Alicia Keys, Beyoncé Knowles, Bob Marley, Mariah Carey, Fefe Dobson as well as her Caribbean background as major musical influences.