Ep. 144: Rihanna – Top 5 Songs
Intro
Hello and Welcome to this episode of the podcast, "The Mnemonic Tree", where we add a single mnemonic leaf to our Tree of Knowledge.
I’m Jans your Mnemonic Man and today's episode will be on the megastar of the music industry Rihanna.
It’s hard to know where to start with Rihanna because there is just so much, and it is a true rags to riches story. She grew up in Bridgetown, Barbados and is the daughter of Monica an accountant, and Ronald Fenty a warehouse supervisor. Her father is Barbadian, of African, Irish, English, and Scottish descent, while her mother is Afro-Guyanese.
Unfortunately, she grew up in an abusive environment due to her father’s abuse of both alcohol and crack cocaine which eventually led to her parents’ separation. She served some time as a cadet in Barbados’s Cadet Corps and instead of finishing high school, at just age 16 she decided to pursue a musical career instead, and as they say the rest is history.
She is now according to most sources the richest female singer in the world with multiple business empires including Fenty Beauty (which includes many brands), the Clara Lionel Foundation, her musical empire, and her charitable humanitarian involvement. She has won numerous music awards, serves as an ambassador, is a national hero, and probably one of the most influential figures in pop history.
Today’s mnemonic will be on Rihanna’s top five songs.
So, with that being said, we will begin with a summary from Wikipedia.
Wikipedia Summary
Robyn Rihanna Fenty (/riˈænə/ ⓘ ree-AN-ə;[2][3][n 1] born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman and actress. She is regarded as one of the most prominent recording artists of the 21st century. Rihanna 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 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 pop icon. Its lead single "Umbrella" peaked atop the US Billboard Hot 100 and won her first Grammy Award.
Rihanna continued to blend pop, dance, and R&B influences on her next albums, Rated R (2009), Loud (2010), Talk That Talk (2011), and Unapologetic (2012)—the latter of which peaked the Billboard 200. The albums spawned the Billboard Hot 100-number one singles "Rude Boy", "Only Girl (In the World)", "What's My Name?", "S&M", "We Found Love", and "Diamonds". Her eighth album, Anti (2016), showcased new creative control following her departure from Def Jam in favor of Jay-Z's label, Roc Nation. Becoming her second US number one album, it was supported by the chart-topping single "Work". Throughout her career, Rihanna has worked with artists including Coldplay, Drake, Eminem, Kanye West, Ne-Yo, and Shakira.
With sales of over 250 million records worldwide, Rihanna is the second-best-selling female music artist of all time and the highest-certified female artist of all time on the RIAA's Top Artists (Digital Singles) ranking; she has the most U.S. diamond certified singles for any female artist (7). She has achieved 14 number-one singles, 32 top-ten singles in the US, and 31 top-ten entries in the UK. Her accolades include nine Grammy Awards, 13 American Music Awards (including the Icon Award), 12 Billboard Music Awards, six Guinness World Records, the NAACP's President's Award, and an Academy Award nomination. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2012 and 2018. Forbes ranked her among the top ten most powerful celebrities in 2012 and 2014. As of 2024, she is the wealthiest female musical artist with an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion.[4][5]
Aside from music, Rihanna is recognized for her humanitarian involvement, entrepreneurship, and fashion industry influence. She established the Clara Lionel Foundation, cosmetics brand Fenty Beauty, and fashion house Fenty under LVMH, becoming the first black woman to lead a luxury brand for LVMH.[6] Rihanna has acted in major roles in Battleship (2012), Home (2015), Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017), and Ocean's 8 (2018). In 2018, she was appointed as an ambassador by the Government of Barbados and declared a National Hero of Barbados in 2021.[7]
Extracted from: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rihanna]
Mnemonic
Rihanna – Top 5 Songs Mnemonic – We SOS Umbrella
(Picture Rihanna as the only girl in the world stuck outside in the pouring rain, so we SOS for an umbrella)
1. We Found Love (feat. Calvin Harris) - 2010
2. SOS - 2006
3. Only Girl (In the World) - 2010
4. Shut Up and Drive - 2007
5. Umbrella (feat. Jay-Z) - 2007
Five Fun Facts
1. Rihanna’s real name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty. She has used the surname Fenty for her multiple business empires including Fenty Beauty, Fenty Skin, Fenty Hair, Fenty Fragrance, Fenty fashion house, and Savage X Fenty.
2. At age 11, Rihanna was a cadet in Barbados’s Cadet Corps. At age 15 she started a girl group with two friends. From there she was spotted by Evan Rogers an American record producer who helped her record a demo. This led to an audition with Jay-Z who ended up signing her to the Def Jam record label.
3. One of the songs on the original demo was “Pon de Replay” which means “Play it again” in Bajan Creole, which is one of the official languages in Barbados. It was Rihanna’s first song and was released in May 2005 and sold a whopping 2 million copies.
4. Rihanna is that big in her home country of Barbados that in 2018 she was made an ambassador of Barbados. She quickly trumped this and in 2021, she received ‘The Order of National Hero’. She is the countries 11th national hero following such greats as Bussa, Sir Frank Walcott, and Sir Garfield Sobers who is actually still alive.
5. Finally, Rihanna fans will soon be very happy as there is a Rihanna documentary that is due to be released. To this point it has been roughly eight years in the making and just waiting for Rihanna’s final tick of approval. Peter Berg is the director and apparently it has already been sold.
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Three Question Quiz
Q.1. What was Rihanna’s first album called?
Q.2. What was the name of the movie where Rihanna played Petty Officer Cora Raikes?
Q.3. What was Rihanna’s backup plan if music failed? Options are Flight Attendant, Psychology, or Teaching
Bonus Q. On what album was Rihanna’s huge hit in 2007 “Umbrella”? Options are “Good Girl Gone Bad, “Loud”, or “Talk That Talk”
Bonus Q. Rihanna has a number of tattoos. Which Egyptian goddess does she have on her chest? Hint: It starts with an I
Bonus Q. Why did Rihanna abandon the Catholic faith?
Mnemonic Recap
Rihanna – Top 5 Songs Mnemonic – We SOS Umbrella
(Picture Rihanna as the only girl in the world stuck outside in the pouring rain, so we SOS for an umbrella)
1. We Found Love (feat. Calvin Harris) - 2010
2. SOS - 2006
3. Only Girl (In the World) - 2010
4. Shut Up and Drive - 2007
5. Umbrella (feat. Jay-Z) - 2007
Three Question Quiz Answers
Q.1. What was Rihanna’s first album called?
A. Music of the Sun
Q.2. What was the name of the movie where Rihanna played Petty Officer Cora Raikes?
A. Battleship released in 2012
Q.3. What was Rihanna’s backup plan if music failed? Options are a Flight Attendant, Psychology, or Teaching
A. Psychology
Bonus Q. On what album was Rihanna’s huge hit in 2007 “Umbrella”? Options are “Good Girl Gone Bad, “Loud”, or “Talk That Talk”
A. Good Girl Gone Bad and that song “Umbrella” was Rihanna’s first song to win a grammy award
Bonus Q. Rihanna has a number of tattoos. Which Egyptian goddess does she have on her chest? Hint: It starts with an I
A. Isis – Who was supposed to be the ideal mother and wife
Bonus Q. Why did Rihanna abandon the Catholic faith?
A. She found love in a Popeless place!
Word of the Week
beek
[ beek ]
verb
to bask or warm in sunshine or before a fireplace, stove, or bonfire.
Example
Rihanna no longer lives in her humble childhood home, rather a lavish beachfront apartment where she can no doubt be found beeking in the beautiful Barbadian sun
Extracted from: [https://www.dictionary.com/]
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References
https://hellorayo.co.uk/kiss/entertainment/celebrity/rihanna-facts/
https://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Music/Rihanna-231442.html
https://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Music/Rihanna-Mania-277609.html
https://www.beano.com/posts/the-ultimate-rihanna-quiz