Rihanna Pictures
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Def Jam
Rihanna Storm
Like a rainstorm that comes out of nowhere -- and then soaks you until you can't even REMEMBER a sunny day -- 19-year-old beauty Rihanna has taken the world over in a very short time. Luckily, we all have her big 'Umbrella' for cover. But huge success doesn't come overnight: Here's her road to fame.
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Def Jam
The Big Break
Rihanna got her first big break at age 15 when one of her friends introduced her to a music producer who was on holiday in Barbados. She had a demo for him, which made its way to the powerful hands of Jay-Z. And when she won a beauty pageant the following year, she also proved she was stage-worthy.
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Nathan Shanahan, WireImage.com
Place in the Sun
Just one year later, Rihanna released her first album, 'Music of the Sun,' and promptly had a hit with 'Pon de Replay,' which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, plus picked up steam in the U.K. On this momentum, she hit the road as an opener on Gwen Stefani's '05 tour.
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Scott Gries, Getty Images
A Girl Like Rihanna
As if one hit-making debut album wasn't enough, less than 10 months later, Rihanna dropped her sophomore effort, 'A Girl Like Me.' And who was that girl? She was one from the Caribbean, who included dancehall (club reggae) songs -- and who was suddenly catapulted to the musical spotlight. Sales were almost double that of 'Music' in the first week alone, and suddenly, Rihanna was a household name.
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Pamela Littky for AOL Music
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Frank Micelotta, Getty Images
The 'S.O.S.'
Apart from the Nike deal, 'S.O.S.' became one of the biggest songs of 2006, hitting #1 on at least four U.S. pop charts and on multiple charts worldwide. It's rumored that Def Jam had originally asked Christina Milian to perform the song, but she declined. Oops! Rihanna went global overnight, and Milian has since been dropped from the label.
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Frazer Harrison, Getty Images
Award Times
Having blown the music charts to bits with her first #1 single, Rihanna spent much of summer '06 looking hot on various red carpets (OK, not so unlike summer '07) and collecting the awards that started rolling in. Here, she's pictured at the Teen Choice Awards, where she was honored as Music R&B Artist of the year and Music Breakout star. As the spotlight was heating up, so was her career.
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Scott Gries, Getty Images
More Love
Less than two weeks later, the rising princess of pop (aka Rihanna) appeared with Ne-Yo at the MTV VMAs, where she was nominated for Best New Artist. Ne-Yo's written several songs for Rihanna, including one that was exclusive for her Clinique endorsement deal, but he's not the only star she's worked with -- others include Sean Paul, Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzginer and of course, Jay-Z.
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Universal
Screen Gem?
So as if mega-success as a music artist, endorsement contracts and increasing spotlight time weren't enough, Rihanna's also tried her hand on the silver screen -- usually appearing as herself. Some of her more prominent appearances have been on TV shows like 'Las Vegas' and (our personal fave) alongside Hayden Panettiere in 'Bring It On: All or Nothing.'
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Ethan Miller, Getty Images
Pop Princess
Let's see, now ... in 2006, Rihanna rolled onto pop royalty turf with multiple hit songs, high-profile collaborations and a few awards. To cap off a stellar year, she stopped by the Billboard Music Awards and, of course, had to make a little more room on her trophy shelf for Female Artist of the Year and Pop 100 Artist of the Year (whatever that is).
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The Good Girl?
So what does a hugely popular new artist do after so much success? We'd thought she might opt for a few months in Tahiti with some boy toys fanning her as she polished her awards. Instead, though, Rihanna put out a new album, 'Good Girl Gone Bad,' in June '07. By now, 'Umbrella' has been seared on all of our brains for all time, so this one needs no further discussion.
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Jive Records | Getty Images
UmbrellaBack
The insane success that has followed the release of 'Good Girl Gone Bad' wasn't so surprising after the kind of year Rihanna had in 2006. But it was even less surprising with Justin Timberlake as one of the producers. We already know this man creates pop gold, so the Midas touch for Rihanna was an added bonus. We're waiting for the next hit, 'UmbrellaBack,' or 'SexyUmbrella.'
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Evan Agostini, Getty Images
R.Ha?
Rihanna's won some big awards, but recently they veered into the weird. In addition to her many Best New Artist titles, she was also just honored by a razor company, which named her the 2007 Venus Breeze Celebrity Legs of a Goddess. Taking a page out of the J.Lo book, she reportedly insured her legs for $1 million following the win.
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Scott Gries, Getty Images
Hang Time
She's been a very busy girl, but Rihanna recently took some time to hang at the BET studio for a taping of video countdown show '106th & Park.' We're pretty sure there's not an event or show that wouldn't welcome a little visit from her. (Rihanna -- we'll give you our address. Just call us!)
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Koichi Kamoshida, Getty Images
Touch the Sky
Riding her wave of success, Rihanna's been bopping around the globe this summer, including this performance at July 2007's Live Earth concert in Tokyo. But we didn't need this pic to show us that she's clearly reaching for the stars. (We know, we're cheesy.)
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