Rihanna

Her debut album, Music of the Sun, was first released later that month and went on to sell over two million copies worldwide and received a Gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of over 500,000 units to retailers in the United States. The album received mixed reviews by music critics. Rolling Stone magazine gave it 2.5 out of 5 stars and described as lacking the replay value, ingenuity and rhythm of the single with "generic vocal hiccups and frills" of US R&B inflecting upon her "Caribbean charm". Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine described the album as a "glut of teen R&B chanteuses " and described her lead single "Pon de Replay" as "a dancehall-pop mixture that owes plenty of its sweat and shimmy to Beyoncé's "Baby Boy". A second single, "If It's Lovin' that You Want", was not as successful as its predecessor. Read Less

A month after the release of her debut album, she began working on her second studio album. The album contained production from Evan Rogers, Carl Sturken, Stargate, J. R. Rotem and label-mate singer-songwriter Ne-Yo. A Girl Like Me was released in April 2006, less than eight months after its predecessor. Its lead single, "SOS", was an international success following its March 2006 release as it charted in the top five in Canada, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom and reached number one in the U.S. and Australia. Critical response to the album was mixed; Rolling Stone magazine commented "Like her filler-packed debut album, this similar but superior follow-up doesn't deliver anything else as ingenious as its lead single." The album entered charts across the world, peaking at number one in Canada and at number five in both the UK and the U.S., where it sold 115,000 copies in its first week. "Unfaithful", the album's second single release, charted in various territories, reaching number one in Portugal, Canada and Switzerland. "We Ride" and "Break It Off", which featured Sean Paul, were also released as singles. Following the release of the album, Rihanna embarked on her first headlining tour, the Rihanna: Live in Concert Tour, as well as supporting The Pussycat Dolls on the PCD World Tour and performing alongside Jay-Z and Ne-Yo on the Rock Tha Block Tour. Read Less

On June 22, 2009, Brown pled guilty to the felony assault. In exchange for his plea Brown received five years probation and was ordered to stay fifty yards away from Rihanna, unless at public events, which then would be reduced to ten yards. However, in February 2011, at the request of Brown's lawyer, Judge Patricia Schnegg modified with Rihanna's consent the restraining order to a "level one order," allowing both singers to appear at awards shows together in the future. Read Less

Commenting on Rihanna's controversial music videos, Charne Graham of the Houston Press stated, "Why should Rihanna's music videos get everyone riled up when others' equally sexual and controversial videos are in rotation?" and that "she just like to make music videos that give us something to talk about". The video for "Where Have You Been" broke the VEVO record for the most views in a 24-hour period, with 4.93 million views, surpassing the previous record held by Nicki Minaj's "Stupid Hoe" with 4.8 million. A few days later the record was broken again by Justin Bieber's "Boyfriend", which gained over 8 million views. Rihanna is also the first woman to pass 2 billion views on the website YouTube.

While performing at the Ottawa Bluesfest, Denis Armstrong of Canadian Online Explorer commented on her performance saying "her show was a Disney-esque choreographed fantasy of non-stop hip-swiveling, sassy attitude and personal endearments and a string of funky, sugar-free hits." Her performance of "Disturbia" at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards was ranked tenth best ever on the MTV Video Music Awards, according to poll by Billboard. Her revealing leather costumes during her Good Girl Gone Bad Tour were highly criticized when Malaysia's conservative Islamic party recommended that her concert tour should be banned from performing due to her skimpy outfits during each show. Whilst commenting on her third album's accompanying tour, The Times compared Rihanna's stage wardrobe styling to that of Janet Jackson and "a vision of Ann Summers couture in thigh-high boots and a few scraps of black PVC." Read Less