No longer was she the girl writing songs like „Fifteen“ in her bedroom — now she was working through becoming a highly publicized figure. Although Swift’s eponymous debut is underappreciated now — even lacking its own set on Swift’s Eras Tour — Taylor Swift’s forthcoming rerecording is arguably the most anticipated by fans, who are eager to hear the songs with the singer’s current and more refined vocals. The album’s lead single, „Tim McGraw,“ an acoustic country ballad inspired by Swift knowing her relationship was going to end, represents an intricate part of Swift’s songwriting process; meticulously picking apart her emotions to better understand them. As a songwriter, Taylor Swift set the tone for what would be expected of her future recordings — all songs were written by her, some solely and others with one or two co-writers.

• In June 2010, she collaborated with rapper Eminem on the single „Love the Way You Lie“.
• „The Fate of Ophelia“ might be Swift’s best lead single since „Mine“ in 2010, thanks to its infectious beat and memorable chorus.
• Her first hit single was „Pon de Replay,“ which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard singles chart in 2005.
• Vulnerability is explored on the pop and synth-pop record Unapologetic (2012), which Vulture described as an „act of defiance … to sort out her feelings about her … ex-boyfriend Brown and her public image“.
• Rihanna has eight number-one singles on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, seven on the Airplay chart, and sixteen on the Rhythmic chart.

Rihanna, who has not released a full album since 2016’s „Anti,“ voices Smurfette in the film. The songstress herself shared a sweet note on Friday, Aug. 29, thanking her fans and those who „gave me a chance over the years.“ To celebrate her success in the music business and beyond, Rihanna is releasing „R20″ merch and a vinyl album boxed set, which are available for pre-order on her official online store.

Fenty

Redefining its titular term, the four-week chart-topper finds the husky-voiced T-Boz freely admitting to straying from an unaffectionate relationship, proving that the playa anthem wasn’t solely the reserve of their male counterparts. But the song itself did pip fellow superstars Prince, Billy Joel and Lionel Richie to the Best Male Pop Vocal Performance crown. Backed by some fast and furious fiddles, „The Devil Went Down to Georgia“ tells the tale of a young musician named Johnny who bumps into Beelzebub himself during a jam session in the Peach State.

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• In August 2018, Billboard ranked Rihanna as the tenth-most successful Hot 100 artist of all time and it also named her the top Hot 100 artist of the 2010s.
• No longer was she the girl writing songs like „Fifteen“ in her bedroom — now she was working through becoming a highly publicized figure.
• Rose is a high-society young woman who is being forced into a loveless marriage with a wealthy man.
• Rihanna has been described by the media as a pop and fashion icon, particularly since the release of Good Girl Gone Bad (2007).
• Jay-Z was immediately captivated, signing her on the spot and launching her career in the music industry.

On „Father Figure,“ she flips the power dynamic between a „showman,“ someone who thought they were pulling the strings, and a showgirl. On stage, fans were seeing the same steadfast, resilient showgirl they were seeing throughout the tour perform three-hour sets. After The Tortured Poets Department provided insight into how she coped during the beginning of the tour while dealing with two relationships breaking down, producing tracks like „The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived“ and „loml,“ The Life of a Showgirl is a sharp turn in the other direction. The 12-track record is an amalgamation of what was going on behind the scenes throughout the latter half of The Eras Tour. Take a look at how tracks like „The Fate of Ophelia“ and „The Life of a Showgirl“ hint that Swift is happier and more inspired than ever.
Rihanna became the youngest and fastest solo artist in Billboard Hot 100 history to accumulate ten number-one singles. In late 2008, she released „Rehab“, the fifth and final single from Good Girl Gone Bad; it peaked within the top 20 of the charts in both the US and UK. The following singles, „Shut Up and Drive“ and „Hate That I Love You“, saw moderate success, while the album’s fourth single, „Don’t Stop the Music“, peaked at number three in the US.
The line debuted in a Paris pop-up on May 22 before a worldwide online release seven days later, featuring clothing, accessories, and footwear. It included an array of products including foundations, highlighters, bronzers, blush compacts, lip glosses, and blotting sheets, and was praised for offering shades that catered to all skin tones. The $10 million partnership produced a wide range of beauty products, with the first collection released on September 8, 2017, in stores and online across more than 150 countries. Over the next two years, she released a variety of footwear in different styles and colourways, all receiving positive responses from critics and consumers alike. Rihanna went on to collaborate with numerous fashion houses, including Dior, Stance, and Manolo Blahnik. She also established a photography agency, A Dog Ate My Homework, representing photographers Erik Asla and Deborah Anderson.
Retrospective and reflective, Speak Now is an album about the speeches she could’ve, would’ve and should’ve said. The album’s title track pulled from the saying, „Speak now or forever hold your peace,“ inspired by a friend’s ex-boyfriend getting engaged; meanwhile, „Mean“ was everything Swift wanted to say to a critic who was continuously harsh about her vocals. Along with having more eyes on her, Swift also felt pressured to maintain her persona as a perfect young female role model amid a time when her peers like Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato were attempting to rebrand to be more mature and sexier. But this meant that she faced more publicity and criticism, from naysayers who nitpicked her songwriting and vocals to the infamous Kanye West incident at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.
Elizabeth Taylor has appeared as a character in Swift’s songs before, particularly in rep’s „Ready For It…?“ where she compares herself to the famous actress and entertainer. Comparatively, „Eldest Daughter“ — track five, a spot Swift notoriously reserves for the most emotional song — is a love song about the masks we wear and the selves we choose to reveal. Throughout the record, dynamic and layered pop soundscapes mimic the same energy Swift was feeling both on and off stage. „I thought who better to ask to be a part of this song than the ultimate showgirl Sabrina Carpenter.“ Instead of writing songs akin to „I Can Do It With A Broken Heart,“ a song about performing in the midst of heartbreak and grief, Swift opted to focus on what people don’t necessarily see when they buy a ticket to a show. Now that the curtain is up and The Life of a Showgirl is out, read on for five key essential insights from Taylor Swift’s new album.
Following the success with folklore and evermore, Swift’s intrigue was at a then-all-time high upon the release of Midnights. Although the album is a departure from the two pandemic sister albums, the overall creation process didn’t differ too much. On Midnights, Swift leaves behind indie folk sounds and returns to the pop production of 1989 and Lover. After coming out of the folklorian woods following folklore and evermore, fans and critics alike were intrigued to see what direction Swift would take on her next studio album. Even so, its poetic lyricism and mystical storytelling cleverly foreshadowed what was to come with subsequent albums, particularly The Tortured Poets Department.
She especially enjoyed singing and won a high-school talent show with a rendition of a Mariah Carey song. As a child, she listened to Caribbean music, such as reggae, as well as American hip-hop and R&B. Rihanna (born February 20, 1988, St. Michael parish, Barbados) is a Barbadian pop and rhythm-and-blues (R&B) singer who became a worldwide star in the early 21st century. In 2022, Rihanna advocated for reforming the global financial system to better address climate change betista casino and poverty, including providing aid to nations most affected by climate-related crises. In October 2019, she stated that she declined to perform at the 2020 Super Bowl halftime show in support of Colin Kaepernick following the controversy surrounding his role in the national anthem protests. Proceeds from the single supported the fundraiser, which ultimately helped raise $100 million for cancer research.
The Western-themed „Desperado“ lends itself particularly well to covers by country artists, while the Dido-sampling „Never Ending“ conveys the uncertainty she feels about entering a new relationship. Subsequently, Rihanna held the No. 1 spots on the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 simultaneously, her second time achieving such an impressive feat. But the dancehall masterpiece is one of a kind for Rih’s refusal to water down the Jamaican patois (different from her native language of Bajan Creole) — proving that she is fully aware of her impact as one of the biggest Caribbean-born artists to make it in the U.S. ANTI lives up to its name in its first 40 seconds, via opening track „Consideration.“ The minute she declares, „I got to do things my own way, darling,“ it’s apparent that ANTI is not your average Rihanna album. But that shift began with 2015’s criminally underrated „American Oxygen.“ Her most political statement at the time, the goosebump-inducing lyrics detail Rihanna’s journey as an immigrant, foreshadowing her then soon-to-be massive Fenty Beauty success.

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The thing that differentiated her from other writers — and still does to this day — is her songwriting. The world now knows Taylor Swift as a global pop superstar, but back in 2006, she was just a doe-eyed country prodigy. Despite its ghoulish title, artificial intelligence appears to be the object of terror in what many, including the GRAMMY voters who awarded it Best Pop Duo/Group Performance in 2024, regard as the highlight of SZA’s sophomore. But four years after the Team Edward vs Team Jacob saga wrapped up, folk hero Jason Isbell proved mythical bloodsuckers weren’t a barrier to awards success. David Bowie fans may well feel aggrieved that his post-punk classic „Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)“ was entirely ignored by GRAMMY voters, while the bro-step banger it inspired was showered with awards. It’s a bold feminist act that helped power parent album CrazySexyCool to diamond status and was deservedly rewarded with Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal at the 1996 GRAMMYS (where CrazySexyCool was also crowned Best R&B Album).
The doo-wop-infused ballad soared to No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 back in 2017, and its new certification helps Rihanna extend her record as the female artist with the most Diamond singles in RIAA history. In 2007, Rihanna transformed from a teen pop star into a serious artist with her groundbreaking album „Good Girl Gone Bad,“ which featured the iconic single „Umbrella,“ featuring Jay-Z. Notable songs from her early career, including „Pon de Replay,“ „Unfaithful,“ and „SOS,“ showcased her versatility and unique sound, quickly establishing her as a prominent figure in the music industry. Incorporating an assortment of genres, the record featured the singles “Pour It Up,” “Stay” with Mikky Ekko, and “Diamonds,” which topped Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for three weeks. Debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, the pop and R&B album produced her longest-charting No. 1 hit, “We Found Love” with Calvin Harris, which topped the song chart for a whopping 10 weeks straight. The album, which mixed pop and electronic music, peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart.

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Although Jay-Z initially thought „Pon de Replay“ was too big for a new artist, he invited her to audition. Rihanna’s demo was sent to rapper Jay-Z, who had just become the president and CEO of the record label Def Jam Recordings. In 2005, she became the first artist to sign with Syndicated Rhythm Productions, the production company founded by Rogers and Carl Sturken. Unnamed and without original material, the girl group auditioned for American producer Evan Rogers, who recalled that „the minute Rihanna walked into the room, it was like the other two girls didn’t exist“. Though she initially planned to finish high school, she ultimately dropped out at age 16 to pursue a music career. Signed to Def Jam Recordings, she debuted with the Caribbean-inspired records Music of the Sun (2005) and A Girl Like Me (2006), both of which reached the top ten of the US Billboard 200.
The two officially dated again for a time, with Rihanna maintaining in a Rolling Stone interview that Brown had changed and that any form of abuse would be unacceptable. In 2009, Rihanna was the center of a media firestorm after a domestic violence incident in which her then-boyfriend Chris Brown assaulted her before an awards show. Prior to that, she was in an on-again-off-again romance with longtime collaborator Drake for more than 7 years, starting in 2009. Most notably, she owns the popular cosmetics line Fenty Beauty, which she launched in 2017.
This initial success paved the way for her subsequent albums and chart-topping singles, solidifying her status as a pop powerhouse. Just months later, Rihanna released her first single, „Pon de Replay,“ which quickly climbed the charts and established her as a formidable newcomer in pop music. The pop star has an impressive 64 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including 14 No. 1 hits and 32 tracks in the top 10.

Swift still remained in the pop lane with reputation, largely leaning on Antonoff and the Martin/Shellback team. She stayed away from public appearances, didn’t do any press, and missed the album schedule fans became accustomed to. For years, Swift was on a strict two-year cycle — she’d release an album one year, tour the next, and then release a new album the following year. In turn, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa and more pop stars have refused to conform or stick to what they’ve done prior.
Seven years into an already extraordinary career, 2012’s Unapologetic became Rihanna’s first album to debut at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart. With this feat, she became the youngest artist to attain the most chart-toppers in a five-year span. That same carefree spirit can be heard in the feminist track „Raining Men,“ which features Nicki Minaj — their first of two collabs, as they joined forces again for „Fly,“ the final single off the rapper’s iconic Pink Friday album. While „What’s My Name?“ may not outshine Rih and Drizzy’s other collabs — including 2011’s „Take Care“ or 2016’s „Work“ — the second she sings, „Hey, boy, I really wanna see if you can go downtown with a girl like me,“ it’s impossible not to whine your waist to the riddim. Through lead single „Russian Roulette“ and bitingly catchy anthems „Stupid in Love,“ „Fire Bomb,“ „Photographs,“ „Cold Case Love,“ and „The Last Song,“ Rihanna explored her angst and confusion. Rihanna was a familiar face by 2007, but with the arrival of her third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad, she graduated from cookie-cutter pop star to bonafide icon.

Highly regarded as Swift’s magnum opus, Red sees the singer shed the fairytale dresses and the girl-next-door persona to craft a body of work that has now been deemed as her first „adult“ record. Writing the entire album herself, Swift used Speak Now to prove her songwriting prowess to those who questioned her capabilities. For the first time since becoming an artist, she was forced to reckon with the concept of celebrity and how turning into one — whether she wanted it or not — informed her own writing and perception of herself. On the album’s liner notes, Swift says Fearless is about „living in spite“ of the things that scare you, like falling in love again despite being hurt before or walking away and letting go.