Forth One

To celebrate Rihanna’s 24th birthday today (20th February), we present 24 reasons why we love the Barbadian superstar! Happy birthday RiRi!

1. Rihanna survived a tough childhood in Barbados before hitting the big time. Her dad was a crack cocaine, alcohol and marijuana addict who allegedly abused her mum. The couple split when Rihanna was 14 years old.

2. Since her breakthrough in 2005, Rihanna has been nominated for an astonishing 407 music awards across the globe and has won 187. Wow!

3. All of Rihanna’s 15 tattoos have a meaning very dear to her. The Roman Numerals on her shoulder is her best friend Melissa Forde’s birthday (11th April 1986) while the ‘Never A Failure, Always A Lesson’ tattoo on her chest is for self motivation.

4. Rihanna does a LOT for charity! In 2006 she set up her Believe Foundation to help terminally ill children, she performed at Madonna’s Raising Malawi fundraiser in 2008, she supported the Fashion for AIDs campaign in New York and in 2009 played at Jay-Z's ‘Answer the Call’ concert in honour of the emergency services who died in the September 11 terrorist attacks. With many more charitable deeds to her name, these examples are just the tip of the iceberg.

5. Today is officially ‘Rihanna Day’ in the songstress’ home nation of Barbados. She was given the honour in 2008 by the then Prime Minister David Thompson for her services to music.

6. That same year Rihanna was made the Honorary Youth and Cultural Ambassador in Barbados.

7. Rihanna has sold a phenomenal 20 million albums and 60million singles across the globe making her one of the best selling artists of all time. In fact she’s ahead of Beyoncé, Green Day and The Spice Girls.

8. Not just a mega successful artist in her own right, Rihanna has lent her vocals to a number of huge tracks. Choice songs include Eminem’s ‘Love The Way You Lie’, David Guetta’s ‘Who’s That Chick?’, Jay-Z’s ‘Run This Town’, Nicki Minaj’s ‘Fly’, Drake’s ‘Take Care’ and Coldplay’s ‘Princess of China’.

9. She’s one sexy lady! In fact Esquire magazine crowned her the Sexiest Woman Alive for 2011 back in October while FHM magazine listed her in third spot last May.

10. Multi-talented, Rihanna recently designed a clothing range for legendary Italian house Armani’s Spring/Summer collection 2012.

11. Rihanna is always out to please her fans. Last autumn she surprised fans by hopping onto a packed London underground train to travel to her London O2 Arena gig. Amazing!

12. A true sign of superstardom, Rihanna has her own range of dolls!

13. In October 2011, a Rihanna waxwork was unveiled at Madame Tussauds in London. The famous waxworks makers also have Rihanna creations in Berlin and Washington DC.

14. Rihanna has been part of three charity singles – ‘Just Stand Up’ raising money for the Stand Up to Cancer campaign, ‘Redemption Song’ (a cover of the Bob Marley classic) for the 2010 Haiti earthquake relief campaign and ‘Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)’ for Hope Haiti.

15. Rihanna has amazing hairstyles! From the current 80’s hair metal look to her red curls to her undercut and pixie crop, RiRi is a trendsetter with her bold looks.

16. Rihanna was discovered by US record producer Evan Rogers while he was on holiday in Barbados in 2003. The pair met via mutual friends before Rogers invited Rihanna to perform for him – she sang Destiny’s Child’s ‘Emotion’ and Mariah Carey’s ‘Hero’ and an impressed Rogers took the teenager under his wing.

17. Aged 16, Rihanna and Rogers sent a demo to Def Jam Records supremo Jay-Z who invited her to audition at the label HQ in New York. She won the execs over with a version of Whitney Houston’s ‘For the Love of You’ and her own tracks ‘Pon de Replay’ and ‘The Last Time’. The rest, they say, is history.

18. Rihanna’s early signature tune ‘Umbrella’ almost didn’t happen at all. The song was originally written by Christopher ‘Tricky’ Stewart for Britney Spears whose label rejected it. Doh!

19. Rihanna is not afraid to make bold fashion statements. Just like all the great music icons, she’s constantly evolving and believes her image is all about “taking a risk.”

20. Another string to her bow, Rihanna makes her silver screen debut this May in the big budget sci-fi movie Battleship. She stars as Petty Officer Rakes, a weapons specialist aboard the naval ship the USS John Paul Jones.

21. Put simply, Rihanna is a phenomenal live performer. Her three global jaunts – Good Girl Gone Bad Tour, Last Girl on Earth Tour and Loud Tour - have seen her dazzle in an array of provocative outfits, impress with huge backdrops and wow with her flawless LIVE voice. Respect!

22. She’s one of the most prolific stars in music. Almost unrivalled in the pop sphere, Rihanna has released six albums and 27 singles in the last seven years. Impressive.

23. Her music videos are awesome! From the very risqué ‘S&M’ to the absolutely terrifying ‘Disturbia’ to the hard-hitting and highly controversial ‘We Found Love’, each and every Rihanna video has been a big talking point.

24. Her music is awesome!

Tags: Rihanna | Jay-Z |