Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong, known professionally as Dido, is an English singer and songwriter. She attained international success with her debut album No Angel (1999). Hit singles from the album include "Here with Me" and "Thank You". It sold over 21 million copies worldwide, and it won her several awards, including two Brit Awards; additionally, she won Best British Album and Best British Female as well as the MTV Europe Music Award for Best New Act. The first verse of "Thank You" is sampled in "Stan", a critically acclaimed collaboration with American rapper Eminem. Her next album, Life for Rent (2003), continued her success with the hit singles "White Flag" and "Life for Rent". In 2004, Dido performed with other British and Irish artists in the Band Aid 20 version of the charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?".
Robyn Rihanna Fenty is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, actress, and songwriter. Widely regarded as one of the most prominent recording artists of the 21st century, she signed with Def Jam Recordings in 2005 and found mainstream recognition following the release of her first two studio albums, Music of the Sun (2005) and A Girl Like Me (2006). Both influenced by Caribbean music, the albums quickly earned commercial success and peaked within the top ten on the US Billboard 200 chart. Her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007), incorporated elements of dance-pop, and established her status as a major icon in the music industry. Its lead single, "Umbrella" peaked atop the US Billboard Hot 100, won her first Grammy Award from three nominations, and remains one of the best-selling songs of all time.
A Girl Like Me is the second studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on April 10, 2006, by Def Jam Recordings. For the production of the album, Rihanna worked with Evan Rogers, Carl Sturken, Stargate, J. R. Rotem, and label-mate Ne-Yo, who wrote the album's second single. Described as a "deft mixture of island rhythms, contemporary R&B, and balladry", A Girl Like Me is a pop, reggae and R&B album influenced by Rihanna's Caribbean roots. The album also incorporates elements of dancehall, dub-pop, hip hop, club, dance and rock music as well as ballads, which music critics were ambivalent towards.
"What's My Name?" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna, for her fifth studio album Loud (2010). Featuring guest vocals from Canadian rapper Drake, the song was released as the second single from Loud on October 25, 2010, through Def Jam Recordings and in Germany on January 21, 2011, as a single through Universal Music Group. The dancehall-infused electro-R&B song was produced by the Norwegian production duo Stargate, and was written by the duo along with Ester Dean, Traci Hale, and Drake. Lyrically, it incorporates themes of romance and sex.
"Take a Bow" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna for Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded (2008), the re-release of her third studio album Good Girl Gone Bad (2007). The song was written and produced by Tor Erik Hermansen, Mikkel Eriksen, and Shaffer Smith under their stage names StarGate and Ne-Yo. "Take a Bow" was released as the first single on April 15, 2008, from the re-release and the fifth single overall from the two releases. It is an R&B song that contains elements of dance-pop. Critical reception of "Take a Bow" was mixed, with some critics praising the song's lyrics and powerful balladry, while others criticized StarGate's production as unoriginal.
Tiffany Evans is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Evans rose to fame in 2003 as a contestant on Star Search, she became the first contestant in Star Search history to earn a perfect score on all of her performances. Following Evans' victory, she signed a record deal with Columbia Records in the same year. Her self-titled debut album was released in 2008 and included the singles "Promise Ring" featuring Ciara and "I'm Grown" featuring Bow Wow.
"Disturbia" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna for Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded (2008), a re-release of her third studio album Good Girl Gone Bad (2007). It was written by Andre Merritt, Chris Brown, Brian Kennedy and Rob. A!, with the production of the song helmed by Kennedy. The song was released as the third single from the reloaded edition of the album, and seventh overall. "Disturbia" was sent to US contemporary hit radio on June 17, 2008, and was released as a CD single in the United Kingdom on July 22, 2008.
Victoria Louise Lott, better known by her stage name Pixie Lott, is an English singer, songwriter, actress, and former ballet dancer. Her debut album, Turn It Up, released in September 2009, reached number six on the UK Albums Chart and sold over 1.5 million copies. It also spawned six consecutive top twenty singles on the UK Singles Chart, including two number-one singles, "Mama Do " and "Boys and Girls".
Rated R is the fourth studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on November 20, 2009, by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. Recording sessions for the album began in March 2009 and took place at recording studios throughout United States and Europe. Rihanna was the executive producer of the album alongside Antonio "L.A." Reid and The Carter Administration. It features additional production by various record producers, including Chase & Status, Stargate, The-Dream, Ne-Yo, and Brian Kennedy. The record features several vocalists and instrumentalists, including Young Jeezy, will.i.am, Justin Timberlake and Slash, who played the guitars in "Rockstar 101".
"Hard" is a song by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna from her fourth studio album, Rated R (2009). The song features a guest verse from American rapper Young Jeezy, credited only as "Jeezy" on the album. The artists co-wrote the song with its producers, The-Dream and Tricky Stewart. "Hard" was sent to radio by Def Jam Recordings on November 10, 2009, as the second United States single from Rated R. It is a hip hop song and features military horns, hissing synthesizers, sharp beats and piano chords.
"Wait Your Turn" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna for her fourth studio album, Rated R (2009). It was written by Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Saul Milton, Will Kennard, James Fauntleroy II, Takura Tendayi, and Rihanna herself. Stargate and Chase & Status produced the song. "Wait Your Turn" was released on November 13, 2009, as the second international and third overall single from Rated R.
"Rude Boy" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna, taken from her fourth studio album, Rated R (2009). It was released as the album's fourth overall and third international single on February 5, 2010, through Def Jam. Rihanna co-wrote the song with Ester Dean, Makeba Riddick, and producers Rob Swire and Stargate. "Rude Boy" is a clubby midtempo reggae, dancehall and R&B song which incorporates elements of raggamuffin. The song received mixed to positive reviews from critics; some have called it the highlight of the album, but others criticized Rihanna's "monotone" and "icy" vocal performance. However, opinion of the song has improved over time, and several critics have retrospectively ranked it as one of the strongest releases in her discography.
"Te Amo" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna from her fourth studio album, Rated R (2009). The song was written by Rihanna, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, James Fauntleroy II, with production helmed by Eriksen and Hermansen under their production name Stargate. "Te Amo" impacted radio in Italy on May 28, 2010, and was released via digital download on June 8, 2010, in Australia, Italy and New Zealand, as the album's sixth and final single. "Te Amo" incorporates elements of music of Latin America and conveys Rihanna's struggles as the object of another woman's desires.
"Only Girl (In the World)" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna from her fifth album, Loud (2010). Serving as the album's lead single, it was released on September 10, 2010. Crystal Johnson wrote the song in collaboration with producers Stargate and Sandy Vee. Rihanna contacted Stargate before Loud's production and asked them to create lively, uptempo music. "Only Girl (In the World)" was the first song composed for the album, and the singer decided to include it on the track list before she recorded her vocals. Backed by strong bass and synthesizer, it is a dance-pop, Eurodance and "rave" R&B song that has an electronic composition. Its lyrics describe Rihanna demanding physical attention from her lover.
"Fading" is a song by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna from her fifth studio album, Loud (2010). The song was written by Darnell Dalton, Jamal Jones, Lamar Taylor, Quinton Amey and William Hodge, with production by Kuk Harrell, Willy Will, Veronika Bozeman and Jones under his production moniker Polow da Don. Originally, the song sampled Irish instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Enya's "One by One", though this was later removed post-album release. Lyrically, the song is about leaving a man in a relationship. After Loud had strong digital download sales in the United Kingdom, "Fading" charted at number 187 on that country's singles chart in November 2010. The song received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised da Don's production, but one critic criticized Rihanna for copying herself and failing to create something different. Some critics also compared it to one of Rihanna's previous singles, "Take a Bow". The song has also been performed on select dates of the Loud Tour (2011).
Loud is the fifth studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on November 12, 2010, by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. The album was recorded between February and August 2010, during the singer's Last Girl on Earth tour (2010-2011) and the filming of her first feature film Battleship (2012). Rihanna and L.A. Reid were the executive producers of Loud and worked with various record producers, including Stargate, Sandy Vee, The Runners, Tricky Stewart and Alex da Kid. The album features several guest vocalists, including rappers Drake, Nicki Minaj and Eminem, who is featured on the sequel to "Love the Way You Lie", titled "Love the Way You Lie ".
"Talk That Talk" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna for her 2011 studio album of the same name. It features a rap verse by American rapper Jay-Z, who had previously collaborated with Rihanna on her song "Umbrella" in 2007 and "Run This Town" in 2009. The song was written by Jay-Z, Ester Dean, together with the Norwegian production duo Stargate. Def Jam Recordings serviced the track to urban contemporary radio in the United States on January 17, 2012, as the third single from Talk That Talk. It was released in France as a CD single on March 26. "Talk That Talk" is a hip hop song with R&B beats, rough drums and unrefined synths, and has a similar style to Rihanna's 2010 single "Rude Boy". It contains a brief sample of "I Got a Story to Tell" by the Notorious B.I.G. Therefore, the Buckwild, Sean Combs, Chucky Thompson, and the Notorious B.I.G. are credited as songwriters despite the Notorious B.I.G's death in 1997.
Rated R: Remixed is the second remix album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on May 8, 2010, in Brazil and Europe and on May 24, 2010, in the United States by Def Jam Recordings. It contains remixes from her fourth studio album, Rated R (2009). The songs were solely remixed by Chew Fu. The majority of the remixes were remastered to incorporate influences from the genre of house music, and incorporate heavy usage of synthesizers as part of their instrumentation.
"Jump" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna for her seventh studio album, Unapologetic (2012). It was written by Kevin Cossom, M. B. Williams, Stargate and Chase & Status, with production done by the latter two and Kuk Harrell. It samples the lyrics of the 1996 single "Pony", performed by Ginuwine. Its composition and structure received comparisons to not only Justin Timberlake's song "Cry Me a River" and Magnetic Man's "I Need Air", but also to some of Rihanna's previous songs, including "Rude Boy" and "Red Lipstick". A remix of the song called "Jump " by rapper Theophilus London was leaked onto the internet. "Jump" was serviced to Australian radio on January 24, 2014 as the album's sixth single.
Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded is the reissue of Barbadian singer Rihanna's third studio album Good Girl Gone Bad (2007). It was first released digitally in selected countries on June 2, 2008, by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. Launched to mark the first anniversary of the original album, Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded features three newly recorded songs and a DVD showing exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of Rihanna's worldwide tour, the Good Girl Gone Bad Tour (2007–2009). For the new material, she worked with past collaborators Ne-Yo, Stargate, and C. "Tricky" Stewart, as well as Brian Kennedy, Mark Endert, Mike Elizondo, Mark "Spike" Stent and Maroon 5.
