MySpace Hottie of the day - Rihanna

Today, let's meet the island beauty who's had a huge year, Rihanna, an R&B singer from Saint Michael, Barbados. Rihanna's musical career began in high school, where she formed a musical trio with two of her classmates. In 2004, she won the Miss Combermere Beauty Pageant and performed in the Colours of Combermere School Show, singing Mariah Carey's "Hero". At the age of 15, Rihanna received her big break when one of her friends introduced her to music producer Evan Rogers, who was vacationing in Barbados with his wife. Rogers, along with his partner, Carl Sturken, helped Rihanna record material in the U.S. which was sent to various recording companies. One copy of Rihanna's work was sent to hip-hop superstar Jay-Z, who eventually signed her to Def Jam Records.

Rihanna's released her debut album, Music of the Sun, on August 30, 2005 after her first single, "Pon de Replay", rose quickly up the Billboard charts. The song reached number 2 on both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart due to considerable airplay and gained several #1 positions in various other charts. The single, which was co-written by Rihanna herself, was described by Rolling Stone magazine as a "poppy piece of dancehall reggae with slapping, syncopated beats recalling big-band jazz." The album reached the top 10 in both the US and Canadian charts, gaining gold certification from the RIAA from selling 500,000 units and subsequent platinum certifications for selling 2 million units in various other countries. To further promote the album, Rihanna toured as an opening act for American pop singer Gwen Stefani.

The second single, "If It's Lovin' That You Want", was considerably less successful than its predecessor, peaking at position #36 on the U.S Billboard Hot 100 and position #11 in the UK. A third single, "Let Me", was released only in Japan, where it was a big hit, reaching #8 on the charts.

In 2006, Rihanna participated in several endorsement deals, including for Nike and J.C. Penney. She released her second album, A Girl Like Me, in April 2006; less than eight months after the release of her first album. The album debuted at number five in the U.S. and number four in the UK thanks to the strength of her lead single, "SOS", which was also used in her endorsement deal with Nike. The song was a monster hit, becoming Rihanna's first number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it also debuted at number one on the Hot Digital Songs chart. "SOS" peaked at number one in Australia and number two in the UK. The second single, entitled "Unfaithful", was written by R&B singer Ne-Yo, and it became her third top ten hit in the U.S. and the UK. The third single, "We Ride", wasn't as successful as her previous releases, failing to chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100; however, it became her fifth UK top 20 single, where it peaked at number 17 on that chart and peaked number one on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart. Rihanna's fourth single from the album, "Break It Off" featuring Sean Paul, had already climbed to number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 based solely on airplay. It was released as a digital download on February 19, 2007, which made the song jump from number fifty-two to number ten and then eventually peak at number nine.

When Rihanna received an endorsement deal from Clinique, she recorded a song written by Ne-Yo entitled "Just Be Happy" as part of the deal to promote their Happy fragrance. Rihanna also recently recorded a song called "Winning Women" with Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger for P&G’s female deodorant Secret.

Rihanna made her acting debut in a cameo role in Bring It On: All or Nothing, which was released on August 8, 2006; she also appeared on an episode of the daytime soap opera All My Children and primetime drama Las Vegas.

Rihanna went into the studio in early 2007 with Ne-Yo, Stargate, and Timbaland among others to record her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad. The first single, "Umbrella", featuring Jay-Z, was released on March 29, 2007, reaching number one in various countries, including the U.S. "Umbrella" was the #1 single in the UK for 10 consecutive weeks, becoming the longest running #1 single since "Wet Wet Wet's¹" single "Love Is All Around" in 1994, and the longest running #1 by a female artist since Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You", which also topped the chart for 10 weeks in 1992.

The album Good Girl Gone Bad was released on June 5, 2007. Her second single, "Shut Up and Drive", peaked at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100. Her club airplay third single, "Don't Stop The Music" was premiered on BET's 106 & Park on July 20, 2007 and was released in Canada, the UK and parts of Europe, where it peaked at #1 in Germany, France, The Netherlands and Austria. However, in the U,S., the third single released from the album was "Hate That I Love You" featuring Ne-Yo, and it peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Rihanna her sixth top ten hit. According to Billboard magazine, the next single which is scheduled for release is "Breakin' Dishes"; however due to the high surge in airplay and digital sales of "Don't Stop the Music", which was never released in the US, it may replace "Breakin' Dishes" as the next single in the U.S.

As for her first single from her latest album, "Umbrella" landed at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart, behind Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable". However, "Umbrella" is the most successful song of 2007, getting 8,160,000 points on the United World Chart. The song helped Rihanna win World's Best-Selling Pop Female Artist & Entertainer of the Year at the 2007 World Music Awards. On November 18, 2007, she won Favorite Female Artist - Soul/R&B at the 2007 American Music Awards. She also received six Grammy Awards nominations: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (for Umbrella), Best R&B Song, Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals (for Hate That I Love You) as well as Best Dance Recording (for Don't Stop the Music).

On September 12, 2007, Rihanna toured Canada and the United States in support of the album with several shows and then crossed over to Europe. She is expected to release her Good Girl Gone Bad Tour on DVD in early 2008, which will feature the show performed at the Manchester Evening News Arena on December 6, 2007.

If you would like to know more about this ***y island songbird or listen to tracjks from her latest album, Good Girl Gone Bad, check out her profile at http://www.myspace.com/rihanna.