The Evolution of Rihanna
Follow the rise of this 'Rock Star Award' recipient.
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Rihanna attends a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors at Staples Center March 6, 2016, in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using the photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
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Island Beauty - Rihanna was born Feb. 20, 1988, in St. Michael, Barbados. In high school, she formed a musical trio with a couple of friends.(Photo by Scott Gries/Getty Images for Universal Music)
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Def Jam Princess - By 16 years old, Rihanna had auditioned for then Def Jam president Jay Z, who quickly signed her to a six-album recording contract. With her first single, "Pon de Replay," she almost immediately became a global household name — the song charted in the Top 5 in 15 countries around the world.(Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for NARAS)
Photo By Larry Busacca/Getty Images for NARAS
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Music of the Sun - Rihanna released her debut album, Music of the Sun, in September 2005. It quickly rose to the top 10 of Billboard's weekly tracking of the 200 best-selling albums and eventually sold more than two million copies. Around this time, RiRi also landed her first professional acting gig in Bring It On: All or Nothing, starring Solange Knowles. (Photo: Courtesy Def Jam Recordings)
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Pop Star Shine - Rih has cited Madonna, Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson as having influenced her musical style. (Photo: Evan Agostini/Getty Images for Tempo)
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A Girl Like Me - Rihanna's second album, A Girl Like Me, was released in 2006, spawning the hit records "S.O.S." and "Unfaithful," collaborations with Sean Paul, and her first headlining tour.(Photo: Courtesy Def Jam Recordings)
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Good Girl Gone Bad - By 2007, Rihanna cut her hair and unleashed Good Girl Gone Bad, which came equipped with the sassy "Shut Up and Drive" and a Jay Z feature on "Umbrella," which won her her first Grammy award and became her first of nine (to date) Guinness World Records' best-selling singles.(Photo by ShowBizIreland.com/Getty Images)
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Style Icon - Rihanna's also become quite the fashion figure. She was named as one of People's 10 best-dressed stars of 2008. She gained even more fans that year when she went out on the road with Kanye West's Glow in the Dark tour and recorded with one of her idols, Mariah Carey, for a special single for a Stand Up to Cancer campaign.(Photo by Gregg DeGuire/PictureGroup)
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Love Hurts - With a rumored relationship lingering in the media, Chris Brown and Rihanna confirmed suspicions that they were dating each other at the 2007 MTV VMAs when they performed "Umbrella" together. In 2009, however, a highly publicized domestic dispute abruptly ended their two-year relationship. (They would later engage in a series of on-again-off-again moments, but have since called it "off" ... again.)(Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
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Photo Friendly - Rihanna became a paparazzi dream as the cameras followed her everywhere from city to city in the wake of the Chris Brown scandal, but for the most part, she made no comment.(Photo by Brad Barket/PictureGroup)
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Out of the Darkness - Rihanna emerged from that time with an even darker image and a hot single, "Russian Roulette." She released her Rated R album not too long after.(Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)
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Loud - Rihanna's fifth studio album, Loud, was released in 2010, debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard Top 200 album charts. With the single "S&M," she picked up her 10th No. 1 song, tying Janet Jackson's record in the female soloist category. (Photo: Samir Hussein/Getty Images)
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'Love the Way You Lie' - Also in 2010, Eminem recruited Rihanna to sing the chorus on "Love the Way You Lie," a song that debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Top 100 charts. With RiRi at the height of her career and Eminem in the midst of a triumphant comeback, the song was one of the year's biggest. The duo would later collaborate again for Em's "The Monster" in 2013; it would be their fourth track together and Rihanna's 13th No. 1 song — tying her with Michael Jackson's record.(Photo: Vince Bucci/PictureGroup)
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Rihanna and Drake - The musical chemistry between Rihanna and Drake has been undeniable as well. The two artists collaborated on the hit "What's My Name," and later performed the song at the Grammy Awards. They've also been rumored to have dated, with Rih even being the reported cause of a bloody scuffle between Chris Brown's and Drake's entourages at a nightclub in 2012.(Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
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Reunited - In the face of public criticism, Rihanna rekindled things a bit with Chris Brown, three years after their ill-fated romance came to an end. Brown appears on the remix to Rih's sexual sizzler "Birthday Sex," while RiRi adds her vocals to a re-up of Brown's high-energy cut "Turn Up the Music." Later, Rihanna admitted in an interview with Oprah that she was still in love with Brown, but the two have most recently maintained their separate ways. (Photos from left: Larry Busacca/Getty Images, Thibault Monnier/PacificCoastNews.com)
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Unapologetic - In November 2012, Rihanna released Unapologetic, featuring the No. 1 hit "Diamonds," and the Diamonds World Tour, which spawned sold-out venues around the globe and, tangentially, the documentary 777.(Courtesy: Island Def Jam)
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'Stay' - The Unapologetic collection also yielded one of Rihanna's most vulnerable songs and videos to date, "Stay," and one of her most strip-club-ready singles, "Pour It Up." Her sex symbol status was officially secured. Months after the drop of the LP, she became the first woman to land on the cover of GQ magazine's "Men of the Year" issue and the following year she was named one of VH1's "100 Sexiest Artists."(Photo: Island Def Jam Music Group)
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Battleship - Rihanna's next major acting gig was, of course, major. She landed a starring role in the 2012 big-budget action movie Battleship.(Photo: Universal Pictures)
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Phresh - A brand herself, if Rihanna lends her name to something, it will be noticed. She's had endorsement partnerships with Cartier, H&M and MAC cosmetics.(Photo: Rihanna via Instagram)
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Guts and Glory - It's not all basking in self-glory for Rih. She gives back to the community with her philanthropy, performing benefit concerts, donating money and even leveraging her partnership with MAC Viva Glam to raise awareness and funds for men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS.(Photo: WENN.com)
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What Now? - According to most recent tallies, by now, Rihanna has sold more than 30 million albums and 120 million singles worldwide. Word is, she's already got her eighth studio album in the works. No telling what the transformation will look like this time, but whatever it is, the powerhouse will continue to be the trend-setting Bajan beauty that she is. Respect.(Photo: Gregg DeGuire/PictureGroup)
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She's a Fashion Killa - If you recall, 2013 was a huge fashion year for Ms. Fenty starting with her collaboration with the British street wear brand River Island. Working in conjunction with her personal stylist, Adam Selman, the duo created four collections between the months of February and November.(Photo: Simone Joyner/Getty Images)
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Double C's - Is your fave CCCertified? I think not, but Rihanna is! In June 2013, Rih was officially CCCertified and released the news via Instagram. Flooding timelines with flawless shots in the Chanel Paris apartment, you know, the one she has the key for? Yes, that happened too. (Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
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Iconic - Rihanna sure knows how to make a double statement and November 2013’s American Music Awards is a shining example. Rih had the honor of being the first ever ICON award winner at the AMAs, as well as introducing a doobie to the rest of the world. Her hair wrap with pearl and rhinestone studded statement bobby pins shocked many who weren’t familiar with the “post-Dominican-wash and set” style. So she received… two…awards?(Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
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