In turn, Swift hasn’t just become one of the biggest artists of all time — she’s changed pop music altogether. Since then, she’s released 12 studio albums, re-recorded four as “Taylor’s Version,” and cultivated one of the most feverish fan bases in music. Furthermore, the deluxe edition consists of 16 tracks, half of which topped the Dance Club Songs chart — smashing the record (previously held by Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream) for the most No. 1s from a single album. “Same Ol’ Mistakes” is a cover of psychedelic rock band Tame Impala’s “New Person, Same Old Mistakes” — her first time remaking another artist’s song for her own album since “You Don’t Love Me (No, No, No)” on Music of the Sun. The album feels like one big celebration of life, as evidenced by Rihanna’s fire-engine red hair and No. 1 singles “Only Girl (In the World)” and “What’s My Name?” (the latter of which was Rih’s first collaboration with Drake). Despite being Good Girl Gone Bad’s lowest-charting single, Timberlake heralded the song as “the bridge for her to be accepted as an adult in the music industry.”
Filmography
“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.
It May Just Be Swift’s Most Romantic Album To Date
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.
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.
Early life
- 1989 was lauded by critics for its infectious synth-pop that was reminiscent of the 1980s, yet still had a contemporary sound.
- With the glorious “Lift Me Up,” she found herself in the top 10 for the first time since 2017’s “Wild Thoughts.”
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
Taylor Swift: Finding Her Place In Music
Swift opted to lean more into radio-friendly hits, which resulted in songs like “Style,” “Wildest Dreams,” “Blank Space,” and “Shake It Off,” all of which became singles. Often mentioned as a record that inspired a generation of artists from Troye Sivan to Conan Gray, Swift’s confessional, soul-bearing authenticity set a new standard for straightforward pop music. Much like her previous two albums, Swift included songs that were both inspired by her own life and being a fly on the wall. During her NYU commencement speech in 2022, she reflected on this era of her life as one of intense fear that she could make a mistake and face lasting consequences, so the songs were masked in metaphors rather than directly addressing adult themes in her music. Serving as a snapshot of Swift’s life and teenhood, she avoided songwriting stereotypes typically found in country music.
- 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.
- Despite being Good Girl Gone Bad’s lowest-charting single, Timberlake heralded the song as “the bridge for her to be accepted as an adult in the music industry.”
- What is most apparent on the album, though, is just how much Swift embraces every aspect of who she is.
- While Sister Nancy needn’t be reminded of her influence — “I’m the woman who created dancehall … on the mic system, around the sound system. I’m the one who did all of that, first” — the past 15 years have seen the artist receive her flowers on a global stage.
- In addition to being a talented recording artist, Rihanna is a billionaire entrepreneur with multiple successful business ventures.
- The movie has moved up the charts by 179 places since yesterday.
- Following three multi-platinum albums in a three-year span, Rihanna’s rebranding as a rebel at heart reached its apex.
Rihanna has received multiple Grammy Award nominations for her albums, winning Best Urban Contemporary Album for Unapologetic in 2014. Two years later, she nearly doubled this feat, producing a whopping five No. 1 hits in 2010, including “Love The Way You Lie” with Eminem, “Rude Boy,” “S&M,” the Grammy-winning “Only Girl (In The World),” and “What’s My Name” featuring Drake. Known for her sexually provocative imagery and wild style, Rihanna made headlines for the sheer dress she wore to the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) awards ceremony in June 2014. On her Grammy-winning 2012 album Unapologetic, Rihanna turned out such hits as the No. 1 Sia-written tune “Diamonds” and “Stay,” featuring Mikky Ekko.
To celebrate Taylor Swift’s newest era with The Life of a Showgirl, GRAMMY.com looks back on all of her albums (Taylor’s Versions not included) and how each era shaped her remarkable career. Swift has become one of music’s most notable shapeshifters by refusing to limit herself to one genre, moving between country, pop, folk, and beyond. Oh, and she’s also won 14 GRAMMY Awards, including four for Album Of The Year — the most ever won by an artist. Upon the arrival of Taylor Swift’s ‘The Life of a Showgirl,’ take a deep dive into her discography and see how each album helped her become the genre-shifting superstar she is today. And “Haunted,” a poetic lament to unrequited love (“Rose perfume, low-lit room/ I’ll pretend you’ll stay forever”) soundtracked by shuffling bossa nova beats and sultry strings, casts its most potent musical spell.
Eventually, her bold move to the United States at 16 years old marked the beginning of her journey to stardom, as she pursued her passion for singing and songwriting with determination. Despite these difficulties, Rihanna showcased resilience and creativity from a young age, channeling her personal experiences and pain into music. She is the eldest of three siblings, navigating a childhood fraught with challenges, including her father’s struggles with substance abuse and her parents’ tumultuous marriage, which ultimately ended in divorce when she was just 14. Rihanna, born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on February 20, 1988, in St. Michael Parish, Barbados, is a globally renowned pop star, singer, and fashion icon.
Nancy was largely unaware of its popularity as a hip-hop sample, and didn’t receive royalties for the tune (itself owned by producer Winston Riley, who died in 2012). She never stopped performing, and while Sister Nancy traveled as far as betista casino Israel to sing, she was often relegated to multi-artist bills — and not in the largest text. It’s been used in film and television, including prominently in 1998’s Nas- and DMX-featuring Belly. Multiple sources consider it the most sampled reggae song ever (WhoSampled.com counts 155 samples), with Beyoncé, Madlib, Run D.M.C., Lauryn Hill, Chris Brown, Alicia Keys, Ariana Grande, and Buju Banton and many others pulling from Nancy’s crisses lyrics. Sister Nancy wouldn’t perform the song on a Jamaican stage for eight years, until she featured at 1990’s Sting competition. “I went with Yellowman to Harry J’s Studio. Yellowman did a ‘Bam Bam,’, and I had to finish my One, Two album, and I just said I am going to do a tune like Yellowman did. And I did ‘Bam Bam,’ my way,” Nancy recalls.
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 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.
She scored another No. 1 hit with the single “Rude Boy,” while the tracks “Hard” and “Russian Roulette” landed squarely in the top 10. Good Girl Gone Bad remains her best-selling album with over 10 million copies sold worldwide. Her lead single “Umbrella,” featuring Jay-Z, lead the Billboard Hot 100 for a whopping seven weeks and later won the Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration in 2008. Her sophomore effort, A Girl Like Me, followed in April 2006, incorporating reggae, rock, and pop influences.
Released on November 20, Rated R marked a shift away from the upbeat sound of Rihanna’s earlier albums, embracing a darker, more introspective tone with rock influences. The case garnered widespread media attention, particularly after TMZ published a leaked police photograph showing Rihanna with visible injuries. In 2008, she announced her romantic relationship with singer Chris Brown and topped the Hot 100 once again with a feature on rapper T.I.’s song “Live Your Life”. Having sold nine million copies as of 2023, Good Girl Gone Bad is her best-selling album worldwide. In support of the album, Rihanna embarked on the worldwide Good Girl Gone Bad Tour in September 2007, performing 80 concerts across five continents.
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.
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.
Content on this site does not reflect an endorsement or recommendation of any artist or music by the Recording Academy and its Affiliates. And with that tour having celebrated her life’s work up to now, The Life of a Showgirl feels like the exhale before a brand new beginning. “That always chokes me up because it transports me right back to that actual memory of standing on that stage for the last time on that tour that was so important to me, and the tour that really inspired this album. So it’s the last track of the album and a really special one to me.” For a project about being a showgirl, introducing people to the concept of the album at the end was puzzling for some. For her, finding a balance between her career and love, and realizing that they can coexist, makes this album one of Swift’s most — if not the most — romantic to date. Yet these songs admit that she doesn’t want to carry it all alone; she wants partnership, to build something with someone else.
And Eminem that appeared on albums of theirs; many felt her vocals on the latter’s “Love the Way You Lie” (2010) lent resonance to the song’s depiction of an abusive relationship. With the assistance of such high-profile collaborators as Timbaland and Justin Timberlake, she abandoned the tropical rhythms that had adorned her first two albums and recorded a collection of sleek R&B that presented her as a fiercely independent and rebellious woman. He helped Fenty record a demo that led to an audition with the rapper Jay-Z, who at the time headed the Def Jam record label, and he soon signed the budding vocalist. Rihanna exclusively uses her surname for ventures outside of music to keep her business and artistic identities separate. In November 2015, Rihanna partnered with Benoit Demouy to launch Fr8me, a Los Angeles-based beauty and stylist agency supporting artists with commercial bookings, photo shoots, campaigns, and red-carpet appearances. In March 2015, Rihanna was announced as a co-owner of the music streaming platform Tidal, alongside several other artists.