Role of the Performer.

                 Role of the Performer: Rihanna

Biographical Information

Early Life

Rihanna (Robyn Rihanna Fenty) was born in 1988 on February 20. She grew up in St. Michael Parish on the Caribbean Island, Barbados. Her parents, Monica Fenty and Ronald Fenty, had three children of which she was the oldest. Her mother, and accountant and father, a warehouse supervisor, divorced when she was fourteen years old due to building marital issues. Ronald Fenty had struggles with alcoholism as well as an addiction to crack cocaine which is believed to contribute to the strain on his marriage with Monica Fenty. 

Musical Introduction

The young girl lived a life heavily influenced by music and her love for it. She won a talent show singing a cover of a Mariah Carey song while in highs school, this happened around the time she and her two friends created a girl group that did not last. In 2004 her and her group were noticed by an American producer by the name of Evan Rogers. To the dismay of the other two girls, Rogers took an interest only in young Fenty. The meeting of the two led to a creation of a demo that would be shown to Jay-Z (at the time he was the head of Def Jams Records) and at this point Rihanna was born. As she was signed to this record label, she took on her middle name and moved to the United States for her new life. In 2005 she debuted with "Pon de Replay" which kickstarted her career into massive mainstream and international success. Her song was R&B mixed with Caribbean beats that was a new change that millions of people adored.  

Role of the Performer

I think the Role of the Performer is to bring life to the art that they are performing. They serve as a connector from the art to the audience. One of the most famous songs known by Rihanna was actually written by Sia, the song in question being "Diamonds". I think that the song would have had a completely different feel had Sia sung the song. Another song is "Umbrella" this song was a song I loved growing up, I found that the song was originally written for Britney Spears. When I imagine the song being performed by someone else it gave the song a different meaning and I feel like I would not have liked it as much. Her voice and performative style made the song something completely different than it would have been if Britney Spears had sung and performed it. The role of the performer is to not only give it life but personality that is unique to that specific performer.

Musical Selections

"Umbrella". This song hit the scene in the summer of 2007. It hit number one in early June and remained in the spot for seven weeks. At this point Rihanna was nineteen years old. This song served as the lead single from her third album "Good Girl Gone Bad". This song has a tempo of 174 beats per minute and can be used at half-time 87 beats per minute. This song is in the key of B minor. The vocal range is B3-B4.

"Disturbia". This song is a dance-pop/electropop song that was nominated for "Best Dance Recording" at the 51st edition of the Grammys. It was also ranked number nine on Billboard's "Songs of the Summer of 2008" and number two of Time Magazine's "10 Best Songs of the Summer" list. It was a super hit internationally and its rankings across the globe can be found here. "Disturbia" has a tempo of 125 beats per minute. This song is in the key of B minor as well. The vocal range is F#3-D5. 

Sources

~“Rihanna.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 20 Nov. 2023, www.britannica.com/biography/Rihanna.

~Umbrella by Rihanna (Featuring Jay-Z) - Songfacts, www.songfacts.com/facts/rihanna/umbrella. Accessed 25 Nov. 2023.