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).
James Cameron’s epic love story starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet
- Performing hit after hit while unveiling a baby bump, her 13-minute set became one of the most-watched halftime shows of all time with over 121 million viewers.
- Jess Cartner-Morley of The Guardian called her wardrobe «the most talked-about, influential and dissected in pop», stating that whatever she wears is quickly reproduced in mainstream fashion.
- The reissue of Good Girl Gone Bad, subtitled Reloaded, was released on June 2; selling 63,000 copies in its first week, it helped the original album rise to number seven in the US.
- From becoming the first woman and only artist to win a GRAMMY for Album Of The Year four times, to dealing with heightened media scrutiny, to breaking records with her Eras Tour, no one understands the highs and lows of being a showgirl like Swift.
- 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.
- 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.
Only eight months later, in August 2005, she released her first single, “Pon de Replay,” a reggae-influenced club track that reached No. 2 on the Billboard singles chart and announced Rihanna as the next up-and-coming pop star. Rihanna soon followed with the album A Girl Like Me (2006), featuring the up-tempo club-oriented “S.O.S.” The song, which was built around a sample of Soft Cell’s 1981 new-wave hit “Tainted Love,” became Rihanna’s first to top the Billboard singles chart. Rihanna has fourteen number-one singles on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, placing her third for the most chart-topping songs in its history. The songs «Man Down», «California King Bed», and «Cheers (Drink to That)» were released as singles from Loud in 2011. The project yielded a string of successful songs, including the US number-one singles «Umbrella», «Take a Bow», and «Disturbia».
In the United States, it is currently more popular than Come and See but less popular than Shutter. The movie has moved up the charts by 179 places since yesterday. The pair meet and fall in love on the Titanic, the greatest ship to sail the oceans. Rose is a high-society young woman who is being forced into a loveless marriage with a wealthy man.
Early Life
And on Aug. 13, she opened up about the concept and creation of the record on her now-fiancé Travis Kelce’s podcast, «New Heights.» To help explain this chapter of her life, Swift brings together a myriad of collaborators — from Stevie Nicks as fellow poetess, to duets with Florence Welch and Post Malone — and leans on real and fictional characters, like Clara Bow, Peter Pan («Peter»), and Patti Smith. It pokes fun at so-called fans who overstep with her personal life («But Daddy I Love Him»), says goodbye to a city that gave her a home («So Long London»), and muses on how her own celebrity has stunted her growth («Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me?»). As a result, there had arguably never been more excitement for a Taylor Swift album than for The Tortured Poets Department — especially because the announcement came on the heels of her lucky 13th GRAMMY win in February.
And yet, she has still come out the other side, sparkling, self-assured and ready to revel in a career built on resilience and reinvention — something only a true showgirl could achieve. When she announced the album, she declared, «And baby, that’s showbiz for you.» No one knows that better than someone who has been through the ringer in the industry like Swift has. What is most apparent on the album, though, is just how much Swift embraces every aspect of who she is.
Rihanna and A$AP snuggle up leaving Cannes carpet
Though it’s been close to a decade since Rihanna’s last studio album, 2016’s ANTI, she reminded the world of her reign with her 2023 Super Bowl halftime show — which also marked her first time taking the stage in five years. She has sold over 60 million albums worldwide, landed 14 Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers, and won nine GRAMMY Awards. As Rihanna’s debut album, ‘Music of the Sun,’ turns 20, take a deep dive into the superstar’s catalog and her evolution from teen idol to beloved icon. Though a new album still eludes the Rihanna Navy, their fearless leader hasn’t been completely musically absent in the years since ANTI‘s release.
- Rihanna has fourteen number-one singles on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, placing her third for the most chart-topping songs in its history.
- With estimated worldwide sales exceeding 250 million records as of 2023, Rihanna is one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
- In a genre dominated by men, the odds were already stacked against Swift when she first broke into country music as a teenage female artist.
- She’d see visceral images in her mind — from battleships to tree swings to mirrored disco balls — and turned them into stories, sometimes weaving in her own personal narrative throughout, or taking on a narrator role and speaking from the perspective of someone she had never met.
- 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.
- Yet these songs admit that she doesn’t want to carry it all alone; she wants partnership, to build something with someone else.
Her ability to captivate audiences across both music and film realms underscores her dynamic artistry and continued relevance in the entertainment industry. Her involvement in these projects demonstrated her ability to transition from pop music icon to a prominent figure in film. Her debut album, «Music of the Sun,» released in 2005, marked the beginning of her remarkable career, selling over two million copies worldwide. At the age of 15, she formed a girl group with school friends, which paved the way for her discovery by music producer Evan Rogers. With her distinct voice, groundbreaking style, and philanthropic contributions, Rihanna continues to leave an indelible mark on both the music industry and popular culture. Transitioning from a teen pop sensation to a mature artist, Rihanna’s work reflects her evolving artistic vision.
Currently certified sextuple Platinum, ANTI also remains the longest-charting album by a Black female artist on the Billboard 200, with more than 508 weeks and counting. Despite the success of singles here and there and a buzzy Super Bowl halftime performance in 2023, she has focused her attention on her beauty brand Fenty Beauty and lingerie brand Savage X Fenty. Twenty years after she released her debut album, Rihanna is back with new music. Yes, Rihanna has won multiple awards, including several Grammy Awards and MTV awards for her outstanding contributions to music.
“If you listen to the lyrics to that song, you know the depth and how far she’s come.” “The minute Rihanna walked into the room, it was like the other two girls didn’t exist,” he told Entertainment Weekly in 2007. The post featured a photo of Rihanna holding her new daughter, Rocki Irish Mayers, who was born on September 13. Rihanna is a Grammy-winning singer known for such No. 1 pop hits as “Umbrella,” “SOS,” “Diamonds,” and “Work.” In 2023 Rihanna revealed she was again pregnant by performing at the Super Bowl halftime show with a visible baby bump; her representatives subsequently confirmed that the singer was expecting her second child. Rihanna’s personal life attracted intense media attention.
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.
While the world is still anticipating her ninth studio album, Rihanna — now a mom of two boys — continues to make her own rules and move at her own pace. With the glorious «Lift Me Up,» she found herself in the top 10 for the first time since 2017’s «Wild Thoughts.» Ever since ANTI, Rihanna’s devoted fanbase has been begging for a new album, with Rih playfully trolling them with responses like «I lost it» and Instagram captions that read, «Me listening to R9 by myself and refusing to release it.» Accolades aside, ANTI is proof that magic happens when an artist of Rihanna’s caliber follows their own instincts in pursuit of creating a body of work — one that can outlast them and continue to inspire generations to come. For instance, «Sex with Me» is featured on the deluxe edition as a bonus track, but managed to crack the Hot 100 at No. 83 and reach No. 8 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. Elsewhere on ANTI, Rihanna drunk dials an ex («Higher»), compares smoking weed to her lover («James Joint»), and chastises a guy for getting emotionally attached after their fling («Needed Me»).
Rihanna also said that Carey’s «Vision of Love» (1990) was the song that inspired her to pursue a career in music. 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’s rock-imbued record Rated R (2009), released after the assault by her then-boyfriend, Chris Brown, had a much darker tone and was filled with various emotions she experienced since then.
Speak Now: Proving Her Songwriting Prowess
Armageddon —her first full-length since 2001’s Sister Nancy Meets Fireproof — was released this summer, seven years after it was recorded with Mad Professor in the U.K. In 2016, Sister Nancy received 10 years of back royalties as well as royalties going forward, which allowed her to retire from the bank and pursue music full time. Like many artists of her era who either had bad contracts or no contract at all, Sister Nancy did not benefit from the popularity of «Bam Bam» for the majority of her career. «And remember, I had songs before that like ‘One, Two’ and ‘Transport Connection’; they were playing, but I didn’t hear ‘Bam Bam’ until I come to the U.S.» Yet the song made its way to the States, where it found popularity in New York, New Jersey betista casino and Connecticut’s Caribbean diaspora and caught the ear of hip-hop innovators of the ’80s. She recorded the early dancehall anthem in 1982 when she was just 20 years old as a last-minute addition to her debut album, One, Two.
Acting Career and Appearances
«Wood» and «Honey» capture the playfulness of true love, while songs like «WI$HLI$T» and «Elizabeth Taylor» see love not as a distraction from her life’s work but as the very thing that makes it feel meaningful. Many of the love songs on Swift’s more recent albums are brimming with anxiety, from Lover’s «Cornelia Street» («I hope I never lose you, hope it never ends») to folklore’s «Peace» («The rain is always gonna come if you’re standing with me»). One of the biggest takes by critics — that borderlines on sexist at times — is that Swift won’t be able to write good, reflective music that cuts deep like the songs that orbit around heartache and pain.
«And, baby, that’s show business for you,» Taylor Swift declared after announcing her 12th full-length album, The Life of a Showgirl. But with The Life of a Showgirl, it’s clear she’s closing the chapter — or should we say era — of her life that was the catalyst to the new one she’s stepping into. Yes, she is still the same artist who wrote the fairytale-tinged record Fearless, crafted the indie pandemic escape that was folklore, and dove into the depths of her sadness on The Tortured Poets Department. After the muted sonic tones of The Tortured Poets Department, The Life of a Showgirl is possibly Swift’s most jubilant album yet.
After exploring pop-leaning sonics she first found with Red, Swift worked with Martin and Shellback again on most of 1989. 1989 was lauded by critics for its infectious synth-pop that was reminiscent of the 1980s, yet still had a contemporary sound. She plays with time — speeding it up in «Starlight,» dabbling in the past in «All Too Well,» and reframing it in «State of Grace» — to better understand her experiences. In her liner notes, she references Pablo Neruda’s poem «Tonight I Can Write,» stating that «Love is so short, forgetting is so long» is the overarching theme for the album. From addressing the aforementioned VMA incident in the forgiving «Innocent» to a toxic relationship in «Dear John,» Speak Now also hinted that her rose-colored glasses were cracked, but Swift (and her songwriting) was only becoming stronger because of it.
Following the release of Unapologetic and the ensuing tour, she expressed a desire to take a break from recording, saying she wanted «a year to just do whatever I want artistically, creatively». That same month, the Official Charts Company reported she had sold 3.87 million records in the country over the past year, placing her at number one among the 2013 Brit Awards artist nominees. Rihanna’s seventh studio album, titled Unapologetic, was released on November 19, 2012. A dance-oriented pop and R&B album, Talk That Talk opened at number three on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 198,000 copies, while debuting atop the UK Albums Chart with 163,000 units sold. Rihanna aimed to explore more sexually expressive themes on her sixth studio album, Talk That Talk, which was released on November 18, 2011. A dance-pop record, Loud debuted at number three in the US with first-week sales of 207,000 copies.
In December, Nancy will headline a celebration of her career featuring female artists including Renée Neufville. In August, she released a new Mad Professor-produced album, Armageddon — her first LP in over 20 years. Rihanna comes out of left field with the Prince-inspired «Kiss It Better,» the album’s second single, which sees the superstar falling back on addictive sex that «feels like crack» to justify a destructive relationship. The black-and-white, red paint-splattered album cover signals a rebirth, featuring a real-life image of Rihanna as a child. Released four years after Unapologetic — her longest gap between albums at the time — ANTI illustrated Rihanna’s greater desire for quality over quantity. With 13 No. 1s and twice as many top 10 hits under her belt, Rihanna set out to create timeless music instead of chasing a radio-friendly formula with her 2016 magnum opus, ANTI.
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.
In addition to her musical career, Rihanna acted in the movies Battleship (2012) and This Is the End (2013). In 2023 she returned to the stage for the first time in some four years, performing at the Super Bowl halftime show. Included in the total were prominent collaborations with hip-hop artists T.I. The album that followed later that year, Rated R, much of which she cowrote, was marked by icily stark production and brooding lyrics that touched on revenge. With the effervescent dancehall-inflected single “Pon de Replay” (2005), Rihanna immediately captured an international audience.
