Southern Plug Magazine: Leaders of the New School 2017 Volume 2 Issue 1 A | Page 69

Rihanna established her dance-pop credentials in summer 2005
with her debut smash hit, "Pon de Replay," and continued to
demonstrate hit potential in subsequent years ("S.O.S." in 2006;
"Umbrella" in 2007; "Disturbia" in 2008). However, it was the
singer's third album, Good Girl Gone Bad, that made her a full-
fledged international pop star with a regular presence atop the
charts. Born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on February 20, 1988, in Saint
Michael, Barbados, she exhibited a certain star quality as a young
child, often winning beauty and talent contests. Because she lived
on the fairly remote island of Barbados in the West Indies,
however, she never foresaw the sort of stardom she would later
attain. That stardom came courtesy of a fateful meeting with Evan
Rogers. The New Yorker was vacationing in Barbados with his wife,
a native of the island, when he was introduced to Rihanna. Rogers
had spent years producing pop hits for such superstars as *NSYNC,
Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, and Rod Stewart, and he
offered the talented Rihanna a chance to record. Along with
Rogers' production partner, Carl Sturken (the other half of
Syndicated Rhythm Productions), Rihanna recorded several demos
that sparked the interest of the Carter Administration -- that is, the
newly appointed Def Jam president Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter. This led
to an audition, and Rihanna both received and accepted an on-the-
spot offer to sign with Def Jam. Come summer 2005, Def Jam
rolled out "Pon de Replay," the lively leadoff single from Music of
the Sun. Produced almost entirely by Rogers and Sturken, the song
synthesized Caribbean rhythms with urban-pop songwriting. "Pon
de Replay" caught fire almost immediately, climbing all the way to
number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and contesting that
summer's reign of Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" atop the
chart. The debut album spawned one other hit, "If It's Lovin' That
You Want," which also broke the Top 40. Rihanna's follow-up
effort, A Girl Like Me, saw even greater success and spawned three
sizable singles: a chart-topper ("S.O.S.") and two Top Ten hits
("Unfaithful," "Break It Off").Rihanna's third album, 2007's Good