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 Houston’s 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 — 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 Gaga’s (117.5 million), but behind Katy Perry’s (121 million).
Say It
Rihanna Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I'm a tell ya 'bout me ('bout me)
You should tell me your deepest thoughts
And I'ma make it easy (easy)
You should tell me what's buggin' you
And I'm a tell ya 'bout me ('bout me)
You should tell me your deepest thoughts
And I'ma make it easy (easy)
Emotions running wild
I could feel it when I'm next to you
Something's on ya mind
You wanna stay but won't tell me
It's about of secrecy
So what are you tryin' to hide?
I know what the look means
You hold my hand so tightly
Whenever we say goodbye
Standing by the door
I can tell you can't take no more
Blow your secret open wide
So baby, if you say it (say it)
Tell me what it is you like (like)
Baby, baby, don't be shy
Maybe you can spend the night
If you say it
But if you playin' (oh baby)
'Cause you know what I wanna hear (hear)
say it, that'll make it more clear (clear)
I need to know how you feel
So, baby, won't you (say it), say it, (say it), say it?
Won't, won't you tell me what, what's going on?
Why, why you waitin' on it, what you waiting for?
Soon you should tell me or I might be gone
But I'm here for you, baby, you should put me on
I won't shoot you down
Make you feel some kinda way
If you'll be honest with me
Put away your pride
I can see it in your face
You want me permanently (uh)
like how I whine when we dancing
I know how it happened
And I'm right there wit' you
But I won't be the first to put myself out there
The feeling is mutual
But I bet if you
So baby if you say it (say it)
Tell me what it is you like (like)
Baby, baby, don't be shy (shy)
Maybe you can spend the night (night)
If you say it
But if you playin' (oh baby)
'Cause you know what I wanna hear (hear)
say it, that'll make it more clear (clear)
I need to know how you feel
So, baby, won't you (say it), say it (say it) say it?
Your eyes steady talking
And you're tryin' to fight it
But some things, baby, are not worth hiding
And we can find heaven
If we go look together
So won't, won't you tell me
And get it off your chest?
Your eyes steady talking
And you're tryin' to fight it
But some things, baby, are not worth hiding
And we can find heaven
If we go look together
So won't, won't you tell me
And get it off your chest?
So baby, if you say it (say it)
Tell me what it is you like (what it is you like, like)
Baby, baby, don't be shy (shy)(oh, no, no)
Maybe you can spend the night (night)
If you say it
But if you playin' (oh baby)
'Cause you know what I wanna hear (you know what I wanna hear, hear)
say it, that'll make it more clear (so, boy, say it loud and clear)
I need to know how you feel
So, baby, won't you (say it), say it (say it), say it?
Your eyes steady talking
And you're tryin' to fight it
But some things, baby, are not worth hiding
And we can find heaven
If we go look together
So won't, won't you tell me
And get it off your chest?
Your eyes steady talking
And you're tryin' to fight it
But some things, baby, are not worth hiding
And we can find heaven
If we go look together
So why won't you tell me
And get it off your chest?
So baby, if you say it (say it)
Tell me what it is you like (like)
Baby, baby, don't be shy
Maybe you can spend the night
If you say it
But if you playin' (oh baby)
'Cause you know what I wanna hear (hear)
say it, that'll make it more clear (clear)
I need to know how you feel
So, baby, won't you (say it), say it, (say it), say it?
The lyrics to Rihanna's song "Say It" explore the idea of open and honest communication in a relationship. The singer encourages their partner to share their deepest thoughts and feelings with them, assuring them that they won't judge or reject them. The singer notes that they can sense something is on their partner's mind and that they want to know the truth. They urge their partner to break their silence and "blow your secret open wide." Throughout the song, the singer emphasizes the importance of honesty and communication in building a strong relationship.
At the same time, the lyrics acknowledge that speaking up can be difficult. The singer notes that their partner seems to be fighting against their own emotions and trying to keep something hidden. They end the song by repeating the call for honesty, urging their partner to "get it off your chest" and join them in finding "heaven" together.
Overall, "Say It" is a love song that emphasizes the importance of communication and honesty in building a successful relationship. The song encourages listeners to speak up and share their feelings with their partner, acknowledging that this can be difficult but also rewarding.
Line by Line Meaning
You should tell me what's buggin' you
You need to open up and share what's bothering you.
And I'm a tell ya 'bout me ('bout me)
I'll reciprocate and tell you about my own experiences.
You should tell me your deepest thoughts
Feel free to share your innermost feelings with me.
And I'mma make it easy (easy)
I'll listen without judgment and make it comfortable for you.
Emotions running wild
There's a lot of emotional intensity between us.
I could feel it when I'm next to you
I can sense the emotions emanating from you when we're close.
Something's on ya mind
I know there's something you're thinking about.
You wanna stay but won't tell me
You seem hesitant to share your thoughts with me, even though you want to stay with me.
It's about of secrecy
Whatever is on your mind seems to be a closely guarded secret.
So what are you tryin' to hide?
I'm curious about what you're keeping from me.
I know what the look means
I can tell from your facial expression what you're feeling.
You hold my hand so tightly
I can feel the physical tension in your grip.
Whenever we say goodbye
When we part, I get the sense that you're holding something back.
Standing by the door
I notice you lingering near the exit.
I can tell you can't take no more
It's apparent that you're struggling with something and can't handle it alone anymore.
Blow your secret open wide
It's time for you to reveal what you're keeping inside and lay it all out in the open.
Won't, won't you tell me what, what's going on?
Can you please tell me what's happening inside your mind?
Why, why you waitin' on it, what you waiting for?
What's holding you back from sharing your thoughts and feelings with me?
Soon you should tell me or I might be gone
If you don't open up soon, I might not stick around much longer.
But I'm here for you, baby, you should put me on
I'm willing to support you, so you should take advantage of that and share with me.
I won't shoot you down
I won't judge you or make you feel bad for sharing your thoughts with me.
Make you feel some kinda way
I'll listen with empathy and understanding.
If you'll be honest with me
As long as you're truthful with me.
Put away your pride
It's time to set aside your ego and share your true feelings with me.
I can see it in your face
Your facial expressions give me clues as to what you're thinking.
You want me permanently (uh)
You want us to be together for the long haul.
like how I whine when we dancing
You appreciate my dance moves and the way I move my body.
I know how it happened
I understand how we got to this point in our relationship.
And I'm right there wit' you
I'm on the same page as you and ready to move forward together.
But I won't be the first to put myself out there
I'm not going to be the one to make myself vulnerable without knowing you feel the same way.
The feeling is mutual
We're both experiencing the same emotions towards each other.
But I bet if you
However, I have a feeling that if you...
Your eyes steady talking
I can read a lot about what you're thinking from your eyes.
And you're tryin' to fight it
You're struggling with your emotions.
But some things, baby, are not worth hiding
Some things are better out in the open, than kept bottled up inside.
And we can find heaven
We can reach a place of happiness and contentment together.
If we go look together
But we have to do it as a team and work together to achieve it.
So won't, won't you tell me
Please do me a favor and let me know what you're thinking.
And get it off your chest?
It's time to unburden yourself.
So why won't you tell me
I'm still waiting for you to open up and share your feelings.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Makeba Riddick, Qaadir Atkinson, Ewart Brown, Clifton Dillon, Brian B. Thompson, Sly Dunbar, Handel Tucker, Leroy Romans, LEROY ROMAN, BRIAN THOMPSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Flawless lawless
You should tell me what's buggin' you
And I'm a tell ya 'bout me ('bout me)
You should tell me your deepest thoughts
And I'mma make it easy (easy)
You should tell me what's buggin' you
And I'm a tell ya 'bout me ('bout me)
You should tell me your deepest thoughts
And I'mma make it easy (easy)
Emotions running wild
I could feel it when I'm next to you
Something's on ya mind
You wanna stay but won't tell me
It's about of secrecy
So what are you tryin' to hide?
I know what the look means
You hold my hand so tightly
Whenever we say goodbye
Standing by the door
I can tell you can't take no more
Blow your secret open wide
So baby, if you say it (say it)
Tell me what it is you like (like)
Baby, baby, don't be shy
Maybe you can spend the night
If you say it
But if you playin' (oh baby)
'Cause you know what I wanna hear (hear)
say it, that'll make it more clear (clear)
I need to know how you feel
So, baby, won't you (say it), say it, (say it), say it?
Won't, won't you tell me what, what's going on?
Why, why you waitin' on it, what you waiting for?
Soon you should tell me or I might be gone
But I'm here for you, baby, you should put me on
I won't shoot you down
Make you feel some kinda way
If you'll be honest with me
Put away your pride
I can see it in your face
You want me permanently (uh)
like how I whine when we dancing
I know how it happened
And I'm right there wit' you
But I won't be the first to put myself out there
The feeling is mutual
But I bet if you
So baby if you say it (say it)
Tell me what it is you like (like)
Baby, baby, don't be shy (shy)
Maybe you can spend the night (night)
If you say it
But if you playin' (oh baby)
'Cause you know what I wanna hear (hear)
say it, that'll make it more clear (clear)
I need to know how you feel
So, baby, won't you (say it), say it (say it) say it?
Your eyes steady talking
And you're tryin' to fight it
But some things, baby, are not worth hiding
And we can find heaven
If we go look together
So won't, won't you tell me
And get it off your chest?
Your eyes steady talking
And you're tryin' to fight it
But some things, baby, are not worth hiding
And we can find heaven
If we go look together
So won't, won't you tell me
And get it off your chest?
So baby, if you say it (say it)
Tell me what it is you like (what it is you like, like)
Baby, baby, don't be shy (shy)(oh, no, no)
Maybe you can spend the night (night)
If you say it
But if you playin' (oh baby)
'Cause you know what I wanna hear (you know what I wanna hear, hear)
say it, that'll make it more clear (so, boy, say it loud and clear)
I need to know how you feel
So, baby, won't you (say it), say it (say it), say it?
Your eyes steady talking
And you're tryin' to fight it
But some things, baby, are not worth hiding
And we can find heaven
If we go look together
So won't, won't you tell me
And get it off your chest?
Your eyes steady talking
And you're tryin' to fight it
But some things, baby, are not worth hiding
And we can find heaven
If we go look together
So why won't you tell me
And get it off your chest?
So baby, if you say it (say it)
Tell me what it is you like (like)
Baby, baby, don't be shy
Maybe you can spend the night
If you say it
But if you playin' (oh baby)
'Cause you know what I wanna hear (hear)
say it, that'll make it more clear (clear)
I need to know how you feel
So, baby, won't you (say it), say it, (say it), say it?
AnIvKiYuKiBlæckU BlacKuYuKi Ķį
Jada L
this song is so underrated ❤
(🧡💯Definitely yes, like it gets ignored on purpose. Looking for Rihanna singing this live, looking for an instrumental, looking for a Karaoke, but no show of everything🥺 Many People I introduce to this song ask me: Who Is This? Rihanna? How's it called? Or just enjoying the song without border or question. That for me is proof for what I already knew: and that is that this song is so filled with the joy of love and sweetness that's for me foretelling i it's Greatness. That this is a hidden gem, speaks also a silence so LOAD that speaks this Song: As Song That Speaks humbleness of a cry for Just wanna love and to be loved without fear of being or getting hurt.
If you love: just say it
If you playin: just say it
Just be honest in every way to prevent hurt in another
As hurting an other is hurting
This other called: you in yourselves💯🧡
💯🧡💯)
j
how is this not more popular? this is pretty much her best song.
tragicmulatto
she never released it as a single thats why
Lolly231_
You ain't lying , I always liked this song , so smooth and laid back .
The Family Of Hope
This was my favourite Rihanna song. I miss this RiRi.
atlnikka
Still my favorite song on the album so underrated it should have been a single still in heavy rotation 2020
Kaitlin Kiyan
Can’t believe this song isn’t more well known. It’s a jam for sure.
Jean-Didier MK Malou
Woke up with it in my mind this morning…had to play it !! 👑💯♥️
Zykiah Stafford
Same !
Jamba Dez Dollarz
this is song is so underrated ❤️
Billy Diggs
mangonectar
Right