Role of the Performer - Rihanna
Role of the Performer - Rihanna:
Rihanna began her musical career in 2003 when she was just 15 years old living in Saint Michael, Barbados. She later moved to the United States in 2004 to record demos and then signed with Def Jam Records in 2005. Rihanna rose to true fame in 2007 with many global hits.
Rihanna has won nine GRAMMY awards, and sold over 60 million albums worldwide.
Two of Rihanna’s most iconic songs/performances:
Umbrella by Rihanna featuring Jay-Z, released on March 29, 2007, as the lead single from her album Good Girl Gone Bad Rihanna - Umbrella (Orange Version) (Official Music Video) ft. JAŸ-Z
Umbrella is an R&B pop song that is one of Rihannas most famous songs. In this song, the timbre of Rihanna’s voice is so powerful and the rhythmic “ella, ella” portions really draw the listener in. The confident delivery of the song and production style really makes this song feel very hyped up in a good way. (This song always makes me think of my cross country team mates because we would listen to it right before our races)
Stay, the 2012 song featuring Mikky Ekko is on Rihanna’s Unapologetic album Rihanna - Stay ft. Mikky Ekko
In this song, the softness of the piano paired with Rihanna’s strong and raw sounding vocals makes for a strong emotional feel. The moderate tempo of this song along with the pauses also makes this song feel very genuine to me as the listener.
Rihanna’s role as a performer, specifically in these two songs, is to create two very different vibes/feelings for the listener. In Umbrella, she is creating a mix of R&B, Pop, and Rock. She gives the song an undeniable powerful strong feeling. In Stay, she is performing the song as an emotional piece. As a listener, you feel her emotions through the audio. Without a performer, a great song will never be delivered in a genuine way that matches the performer's interpretation. It would never be the same to just read the lyrics of a song, or read sheet music, without hearing it performed.
We can see Rihanna’s success as a performer in many ways. She was the first female musician to reach billionaire status, and she is the most-listened-to black woman on Spotify. Overall, Rihanna’s music and performances are complex, emotional, and great at engaging an audience.
Works Cited
Redkar, Surabhi. “Examining Rihanna’s musical career, net worth and business ventures.” Prestige Online, Prestige, 12 June 2025, https://www.prestigeonline.com/hk/people/rihanna-musical-career-net-worth-businesses/. Accessed 29 March 2026.
West, Kanye. “Rihanna.” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rihanna. Accessed 29 March 2026.
I had no clue Rihanna was the first female musician billionaire, but I'm not surprised. My friends and I still listen to her music on a daily basis, even though it is over 15 years old. I agree with what you said about the singer bringing great pieces to life. With "Umbrella," the song would look pretty boring on paper in my opinion, but she makes the song addictive and powerful. If you haven't already, I highly recommend watching Tom Holland's lip sync battle to this song, talk about bringing a song to life!
ReplyDeleteI think that Rihanna's pedigree and resumé speaks for itself when you want to talk about how impressive of a musical figure she is. Like you mentioned, the 9 grammies, the first female musician to reach billionaire status, the countless hit songs. However, I think her true role as a performer is something that needs to be seen to believe, she is one artist that when performing, truly captivates her audiences through both her amazing voice and her stunning dance moves. She has produced some of the most iconic performance moments in recent history. One that sticks out to me is the time that she performed the 2023 super bowl performance will being pregnant. She is very cool to watch.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your analysis on Rihanna, especially how you compared Umbrella and Stay. I agree with your points that these songs create completely different vibes. "Umbrella" feels very confident and energetic, while "Stay" feels much more emotional and vulnerable. I also really liked your example about listening to "umbrella" before races--- it really shows how music can connect to personal experiences.
ReplyDeleteYour section where you talk about the performer's role is strong, especially when you explain how Rhianna's voice changes depending on the mood of the song. I agree that without her performance, the songs wouldn't have the same impact.
One thing you an add is more detail about. dynamics and vocal control. For example in, "Stay," Rihanna uses softer and quieter movements that make the louder parts feel more powerful. You could also add how Jay Z added to Rihanna's performance helping her to shine.
I enjoyed reading your post, Rihanna is such a thoughtful and emotional performer which is hard to do especially when you perform a lot it has to get tiring and draining eventually. It's unique how she performs with different identities like vulnerability or confidence which helps with that emotional swing to pull the audience in. She definitely allowed herself to relevant longer because of her constant reinvention of things. You should read about her connection with Jay-Z, it was interesting to read about how he wasn't sure about signing her at first but because she performed and made a good impression, he did sign her.
ReplyDeleteRihanna is such a talented performer. I enjoyed your selection in songs that showcase exactly that. I agree that she is very capable of cultivating an atmosphere within her songs, no matter the message being portrayed. I also agree that most great songs would go unnoticed in the absence of a great talent performing them. Overall very informative!
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