After forming a girl group with two classmates, Rihanna, 15, auditions for veteran producer Evan Rogers, who tells Entertainment Weekly, "The minute Rihanna walked into the room, it was like the other two girls didn't exist." She eventually moves to Connecticut to live with Rogers and his wife, while cutting a four-song demo. "When I left Barbados, I didn't look back," Rihanna adds. "I wanted to do what I had to do, even it meant moving to America."(2003,December)
Rihanna's demo makes its way to Def Jam and the budding star is invited to audition for rapper turned Def Jam president Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter. "I was in the lobby just shaking," Rihanna, who sings Whitney Houston's "For the Love of You," tells Rolling Stone. "I signed her in one day," Jay-Z adds. "It took me two minutes to see she was a star."(2004)
Eight months after the release of her debut album, Rihanna releases her sophomore album, A GirlLike Me. The album boasts Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers "S.O.S." and "Unfaithful," and earns her four Billboard Music Awards, including Female Artist of the Year. But the success is paired with gossip that Rihanna is romantically involved with her mentor Jay-Z, who is dating pop star Beyonce. "At first I was like, 'Ha ha, it's funny,'" Rihanna tells the AP. "Now I just ignore it and I'm numb to it...You cannot stop people from saying what they want to say."
After making a splash with an even shorter do Rihanna performs "Umbrella" and "Don’t Stop the Music" at the 2008 Grammy Awards. The 19-year-old singer also goes home with her first Grammy for Best Rap/Song Collaboration with Jay-Z for her hit "Umbrella." During her acceptance speech, Rihanna says, "Dad, I know I promised you I'd give you my first Grammy, but we're going to have to fight for this one!"(2008,Feb 10)
After adamantly denying being involved with actor Josh Hartnett Rihanna is romantically linked to 18-year-old R&B star Chris Brown (pictured at Clive Davis' Pre-Grammy Party). "He's one of my closest friends in the industry," Rihanna tells Allure in January. "He makes me feel like a teenager. I have to act and think like an adult so much. He makes me feel young again." In February, the pair is spotted awfully close in a pool in Jamaica. (2008)
Rihanna and Brown are embroiled in a domestic violence drama that results in Brown, 19, being charged with two felonies in the alleged beating of Rihanna. "Words cannot begin to express how sorry and saddened I am over what transpired," Brown says a statement. In June, Brown is sentenced to five years probation and 180 days of community labor. (2009,Feb 08)
Rihanna wins her second Grammy award for "Run This Town," a collaboration with Kanye West and Jay-Z. "I just want to thank Kanye and Jay-Z for giving me the opportunity to be apart of such a wonderful song," she says in her acceptance speech. In 2008, she won her first Grammy in the same category with Jay-Z for the hit, "Umbrella." (2011,Jan 31)
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After her traumatic relationship with Brown, Rihanna finds love again with Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp. "I have such a chaotic life, but at the end of the day, that is just my peace," she says of her "easy" relationship with Kemp. "It keeps me sane, really, talking to him and talking to my family." By the end of the year, the couple calls it quits..jpg)
Almost a year after the release of her last effort, Rihanna tops the charts with Loud, which boasts hit singles, "What's My Name?" and the Grammy-winning dance recording "Only Girl (In the World)". "What Loud showcases best…is a star undefeated by her worst circumstances – and finding redemption in exactly the kind of pop nirvana that made her famous in the first place," raves EW of her fifth album, which earns her album of the year and best pop vocal album of the year Grammy nominations in 2011.
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