She has attained fourteen Billboard Hot 100 number ones thus far and is the second Barbadian artist to win a Grammy Award. She is also a cultural ambassador for Barbados. In 2021 Rihanna was named a "National Hero" in her home country, earning her the title "The Right Excellent."
Rihanna was born in Saint Michael, Barbados to Ronald Fenty, a warehouse supervisor, and Monica Fenty, an accountant. Her mother, a native of Guyana, is Afro-Guyanese and her father is Bajan and Irish. She is the oldest of three siblings; two younger brothers, Rorrey and Rajad Fenty. She began singing at around the age of seven. Her childhood was deeply affected by her father's addiction to crack cocaine and parent's rocky marriage, which ended when she was fourteen years old. Rihanna attended Charles F. Broome Memorial School, a primary school in Barbados, and then the Combermere School, where she formed a musical trio with two of her classmates at the age of fifteen. In 2004 she won the Miss Combermere Beauty Pageant. She was an army cadet in a sub-military programme that trained with the military of Barbados and Shontelle was her drill sergeant.
At the age of 15, she formed a girl group with two of her classmates. In 2003, friends introduced Rihanna and her two bandmates to record producer Evan Rogers, who was vacationing in Barbados with his wife. The group auditioned for Rogers, who said that "the minute Rihanna walked into the room, it was like the other two girls didn't exist." While auditioning for Rogers, Rihanna sang Destiny's Child's cover of "Emotion". Over the next year, Rihanna and her mom shuttled back and forth to Rogers home in Stamford, Connecticut. Then, shortly after turning 16, she relocated in the United States and moved in with Rogers and his wife. Carl Sturken helped Rihanna record a four-song demo, which included the ballad "The Last Time," a cover of Whitney Houstonβs hit "For the Love of You" and what would become her first hit, "Pon de Replay" to send to various recording companies. It took a year to record the demos, because she was going to school and would only record during summer and Christmas school breaks. Rihanna's demo made its way to Def Jam, which invited her to audition for the label's then-president, Jay-Z, who quickly signed her.
Rihanna broke into the recording industry in 2005 with the release of her debut album Music of the Sun, which features the number 2 hit single "Pon de Replay". Less than a year later, Rihanna released album artist=Rihanna]A Girl Like Me and earned her first number-one single, "SOS, which sampled the popular 80s track "Tainted Love". "Unfaithful" was also released and was fairly successful.
Rihanna released her third album Good Girl Gone Bad in June 2007. Prior to the release of the album, she spent the week of the Grammys writing songs for the album with Ne-Yo. She adopted a more sexual image while recording the album, eventually dying her hair black and cutting it short. Rihanna worked with Timbaland and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, as well as previous musical collaborators such as Stargate, Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers to re-imagine her album compositions with uptempo dance tracks. Rihanna commented, "I want to keep people dancing but still be soulful at the same time. You feel different every album, and [at] this stage I feel like I want to do a lot of uptempo [songs]."
The album topped the charts in countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Brazil, Russia and Ireland, and peaked at number two in the United States and Australia. Unlike previous work, the album featured a more dance-pop sound instead of the dancehall, reggae and ballad styles. The album received positive reviews by critics, becoming her most critically acclaimed album at that time compared to her previous efforts.
It yielded eight hit singles - "Umbrella" "Shut Up and Drive", "Don't Stop The Music" "Hate That I Love You" "Rehab" "Disturbia" "Take A Bow" "If I Never See Your Face Again" - all singles reaching the top twenty on the Billboard Hot 100 β including the worldwide number-one hit "Umbrella," featuring Jay-Z.
In addition to reaching number one in various countries, "Umbrella" was the number one single in the United Kingdom for ten consecutive weeks, making it the longest-running number-one single since Wet Wet Wet's single "Love Is All Around" spent fifteen weeks at the top in 1994. The song is listed number three on the 100 Best Songs of 2007 published by Rolling Stone magazine. In 2008, "Umbrella" earned Rihanna and Jay-Z a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration in addition to receiving nominations for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. It managed to stay at number one in the United Kingdom for 10 weeks, the longest time spent by a female and in the 21st century, on this chart.
"Umbrella" has also been recognised in various forms of accolades by the music press. The song is listed number three on the 100 Best Songs of 2007, published by the music magazine Rolling Stone. Time magazine also listed the song number three on their Top 10 Songs of 2007. The song is listed number one on Entertainment Weekly magazine's list of the 10 Best Singles of 2007, while topping the magazine's poll for the best single of 2007. Blender magazine awarded the song Song of the Year in their Readers' Poll 2007. The music press has considered "Umbrella" as 2007's Song of the Summer, while The New York Times writer Kelefa Sanneh regarded it as "arguably 2007's signature slow jam".
In August 2009, Rihanna collaborated with Jay-Z and Kanye West on "Run This Town." The song peaked at number two on Billboard Hot 100 and also reached the top ten in five other countries. She appeared on the cover of Vogue Italia for the September 2009 Issue. The shoot was influenced by Rihanna's hair, which she had cut for the shoot into a mohawk-like style. The style of the shoot was Extreme Couture and very dark, and in one shot she appeared semi-nude. Rihanna performed "Run This Town" along with Jay-Z and West for the "Answer the Call" concert at Madison Square Garden in September 2009, making it her first musical performance since the altercation with Brown. The trio also performed "Run This Town," on the premiere of The Jay Leno Show on September 14, 2009.
In November of 2009, Rated R was released in the wake of a physical altercation with romantic interest Chris Brown, who pled guilty to felony assault. The album's lead single, "Russian Roulette" -- written with Ne-Yo - was one of the year's most controversial singles. The album also includes collaborations with Tricky, The-Dream, Stargate, and SRP.
One year later, Rihanna released her fifth studio album called Loud. It's lead single, "Only Girl (In the World)", reached number one in more than ten countries. The song also won a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording.
Talk That Talk was released one year after Loud. With the song "We Found Love", Rihanna became the fastest solo artist in the chart's history to achieve twenty Hot 100 top-ten singles, breaking the previous record set by Madonna. The song later became her eleventh number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100. "You Da One" became the second single from the album but was not as successful as "We Found Love". The third single from the album, "Talk That Talk" featuring Jay-Z, was announced on Rihanna's Twitter. The fourth single, "Where Have You Been", peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100.
On February 20, 2012, Rihanna and Chris Brown released 2 remixes, one featuring the "Talk That Talk" album track "Birthday Cake" and the other featuring Chris Brown's "Turn Up The Music"
In April 2012, the singer appeared in the movie "Battleship", which is based on the game of the same name.
Rihanna's seventh album Unapologetic was released on November 19, 2012; it was preceded by the lead single Diamonds, which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 becoming Rihanna's twelfth number one single on the chart and tying her with Madonna and The Supremes for the fourth-most number ones in the chart's history.
On January 28, 2016, Rihanna released her eighth studio album ANTI exclusively through streaming service Tidal. The album peaked at number one on the US Billboard 200, becoming Rihanna's second number one and eighth top ten album on the chart. The album was supported by the release of four singles including the lead single "Work" featuring Drake, which topped the Billboard Hot 100. Further platinum singles "Needed Me" and "Love on the Brain" both peaked inside the top ten of the Hot 100. In 2016, Rihanna was featured on several singles. The first collaboration was Calvin Harris' "This Is What You Came For," which reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two in the United Kingdom. Rihanna was also featured on Drake's "Too Good" from his album Views and Mike Will Made It's single, "Nothing Is Promised". On June 27, 2016, Rihanna released "Sledgehammer", the lead single from the Star Trek Beyond soundtrack. On August 28, Rihanna was honored with the MTV Video Vanguard Award at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards. Rihanna was elected artist of the decade of 2010 by Pitchfork, Insider, Lofficiel among other major music magazines.
In October 2022, Rihanna released "Lift Me Up" from the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, marking her first solo single since 2016's "Love On The Brain". It reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 in the UK. The song was nominated for a Golden Globe and Academy Award, making it Rihanna's first nomination in both awards. On February 12, 2023, she performed at the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show, marking her first performance since the 2018 Grammy Awards. Her Halftime show became the second most watched Halftime show of all time with 118.7 million viewers, just after Lady Gagaβs (117.5 million), but behind Katy Perryβs (121 million).
Numb
Rihanna Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I don't care
Can't tell me nothing
I'm impaired
No worse for wear
'Cause I'm going numb, I'm going numb
I'm going numb, I'm going numb
I'm going numb, I'm going numb (let that man get cash)
I'm going numb, I'm going numb
I'm going numb, I'm going numb
I'm going numb, I'm going numb (let the champagne splash)
I'm going numb, I'm going numb (let that man get cash)
I'm going numb
Can't you see
Ain't it clear
I don't care
Get closer to me
If you dare
I double dare
'Cause I'm going numb, I'm going numb
I'm going numb, I'm going numb
I'm going numb, I'm going numb (let the champagne splash)
I'm going numb, I'm going numb (let that man get cash)
I'm going numb, I'm going numb
I'm going numb, I'm going numb
I'm going numb, I'm going numb (let the champagne splash)
I'm going numb, I'm going numb (let that man get cash)
I'm going numb
I'm plastered, dry wall
Look me in my eyeball
Do I look high, no
I love the way you lie girl
Yeah, yeah, yeah, come here dear
Trying to get closer to you
I'm motioning you to pull over boo
I'm the siren that you hear
I'm the butt police, and I'm looking at your rear, rear, rear
But odds are I'ma end up in the back of a squad car
By the end of tonight, I'm a rock star
Get your wind up, it's attack of the Oddball
Homie can you show me where the gosh darn bath salts are
'Cause I'm sick of sniffing asphalt
Every thought scarred got my pants off at the crosswalk
In suspenders, and I can't feel my limbs cause
'Cause I'm going numb, I'm going numb
I'm going numb, I'm going numb
I'm going numb, I'm going numb (let the champagne splash)
I'm going numb, I'm going numb (let that man get cash)
I'm going numb, I'm going numb
I'm going numb, I'm going numb
I'm going numb, I'm going numb (let the champagne splash)
I'm going numb, I'm going numb (let that man get cash)
I'm going numb
The lyrics to Rihanna's song Numb convey a sense of intoxication, both with alcohol and perhaps drugs, and the freedom and carelessness that comes with such a state. The singer seems to be living in the moment, not caring about anyone's opinion or judgment. She's fully immersed in her own pleasure, and nothing else matters. The repetition of "I'm going numb" is like a mantra, a declaration of her state of mind.
The second verse introduces a more playful tone, with the singer daring the listener to get closer to her, and referencing the song "Love the Way You Lie" by Eminem, who Rihanna collaborated with in the past. The chorus repeats, but with more explicit references to drug use, and a tongue-in-cheek nod to police, as though the singer is aware of the consequences of her actions but doesn't care.
Line by Line Meaning
Ecstasy in the air
There is a feeling of intense excitement and happiness around me
I don't care
I am not concerned about anything
Can't tell me nothing
I am not open to any criticism or suggestion
I'm impaired
I am under the influence of drugs or alcohol
No worse for wear
I am not experiencing any negative effects from my impairment
I'm going numb, I'm going numb
I am losing sensation in my body due to my high state of intoxication
Let the champagne splash
I want to celebrate and be extravagant with my alcohol consumption
Let that man get cash
I encourage others to indulge in their own vices and pleasures
Can't you see
Why can't you understand
Ain't it clear
Isn't it obvious
Get closer to me
Come near me and enjoy the atmosphere
If you dare
If you're brave enough to join in my reckless behavior
I'm plastered, dry wall
I am extremely drunk and unable to function properly
Look me in my eyeball
Make direct eye contact with me
Do I look high, no
Despite my clear state of intoxication, I don't appear to be on drugs
I love the way you lie girl
I am drawn to people who are as reckless, dishonest and meaningless like me
Come here dear, trying to get closer to you
I want to continue to seduce others into participating in my behaviour
I'm motioning you to pull over boo
I am signaling for someone to come closer to me
I'm the siren that you hear
My behavior is attracting you but it could lead to grave consequences
I'm the butt police, and I'm looking at your rear, rear, rear
I am being crude and inappropriate in my behavior towards others
But odds are I'mma end up in the back of a squad car
I know that my reckless behavior could land me in legal trouble
By the end of tonight, I'm a rock star
I am living life recklessly and enjoying it
Get your wind up, it's attack of the Oddball
I am encouraging others to join me in my eccentric, reckless behavior
Homie can you show me where the gosh darn bath salts are
I am searching for and willing to use any drug regardless of the consequences
Cause I'm sick of sniffing asphalt
I am tired of the mundane, it's time to chase new highs
Every thought scarred got my pants off at the crosswalk
I am behaving inappropriately and don't care about consequences
In suspenders, and I can't feel my limbs cause
I am reaching a almost dangerous level of intoxication
Lyrics Β© Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, WARREN MUSIC PUBLISHING, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Warren Felder, Ronald Tyler Colson, Sam Dew, Robyn Fenty, Aldrin Davis, Kanye West, Marshall Mathers, Andrew Wansel, Connie Mitchell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@melisanursimsek9052
Ecstasy in the air
I don't care
Can't tell me nothing
I'm impaired
No worse for wear
'Cause I'm going numb, I'm going numb
I'm going numb, I'm going numb
I'm going numb, I'm going numb (Let the champagne splash)
I'm going numb, I'm going numb (Let that man get cash)
I'm going numb, I'm going numb
I'm going numb, I'm going numb
I'm going numb, I'm going numb (Let the champagne splash)
I'm going numb, I'm going numb (Let that man get cash)
I'm going numb
Can't you see
Ain't it clear
I don't care
Get closer to me
If you dare
I double dare
'Cause I'm going numb, I'm going numb
I'm going numb, I'm going numb
I'm going numb, I'm going numb (Let the champagne splash)
I'm going numb, I'm going numb (Let that man get cash)
I'm going numb, I'm going numb
I'm going numb, I'm going numb
I'm going numb, I'm going numb (Let the champagne splash)
I'm going numb, I'm going numb (Let that man get cash)
I'm going numb
I'm plastered, dry wall
Look me in my eyeball
Do I look high, no
I love the way you lie girl
Yeah, yeah, yeah, come here dear
Trying to get closer to you
I'm motioning you to pull over boo
I'm the siren that you hear
I'm the butt police, and I'm looking at your rear, rear, rear
But odds are I'mma end up in the back of a squad car
By the end of tonight, I'm a rock star
Get your wind up, it's attack of the Oddball
Homie can you show me where the gosh darn bath salts are
Cause I'm sick of sniffing asphalt
Every thought scarred got my pants off at the crosswalk
In suspenders, and I can't feel my limbs cause
'Cause I'm going numb, I'm going numb
I'm going numb, I'm going numb
I'm going numb, I'm going numb (Let the champagne splash)
I'm going numb, I'm going numb (Let that man get cash)
I'm going numb, I'm going numb
I'm going numb, I'm going numb
I'm going numb, I'm going numb (Let the champagne splash)
I'm going numb, I'm going numb (Let that man get cash)
I'm going numb
@suzienkambule54
This track I wanted so much to hear at the superbowl π₯
@anthonygraves9039
Very underrated ri track, top 5 my fav songs from herπ₯π₯π₯
@lydiamanda4669
Three was just a snippet
@khalida2645
You can hear the instrumental of it when pour it up is playing
@BADGIRLLTKT
This song underrated asf! My fav on this album! π₯π₯π₯π₯
@tararichardson7069
I come to this album when IΒ have a glass and when loved ones have hurt the soul and just I need strength
@taotaostrong
Sending you good energy and joy as I read this comment! β€οΈ
@stevebrodnik2775
can you read my mind? :) so true for me ...
@rosegolds9644
One of her best albums !!
@williamhoward8604
2012 huh? For whatever reason I woke up this morning going to work with Rihanna vibe....Hell, its friday! Love u Rihanna!!!