97 Fun Facts About Rihanna

Rihanna once turned down the Super Bowl halftime show in solidarity with which NFL quarterback?

Colin Kaepernick: she ended her boycott in 2023, when she headlined the Super Bowl halftime show herself.

What is Rihanna's first name?

Robyn: she performs under her middle name, and in 2019 she sued her own father over the Fenty name he used for his company, Fenty Entertainment.

Which future singer was Rihanna's drill sergeant when she joined her country's Cadet Corps at age 11?

Shontelle: years later, the former drill sergeant co-wrote Rihanna's song 'Man Down'.

Which rock legend recorded the 2015 acoustic single 'FourFiveSeconds' with Rihanna and Kanye West?

Paul McCartney: Kanye West said Rihanna heard a song he had made with McCartney and wouldn't be satisfied until it was on her album.

What was Rihanna's debut single, released in 2005?

Pon de Replay: Jay-Z at first thought the song was too big for a new artist, but he still invited her to audition.

What was the title of Rihanna's debut album?

Music of the Sun: Rihanna said the 'sun' stands for her Caribbean culture, so the album is music from where she comes from.

Which song gave Rihanna her first Billboard Hot 100 number one, in 2006?

SOS: co-writer Evan 'Kidd' Bogart has said he hid the titles of 1980s pop songs throughout its second verse.

Which 2007 Rihanna album featured her hit 'Umbrella'?

Good Girl Gone Bad: to shed her innocent image she cut her hair into an edgy bob and swapped Caribbean rhythms for sleek R&B.

Which streaming service sponsored Rihanna's 2023 Super Bowl halftime show?

Apple Music: Rihanna said becoming a mother made her feel she could take on the world, which is why she agreed to perform.

'Umbrella' was nearly given to which R&B singer before Rihanna got it?

Mary J. Blige: she said the writers made the song for her, but she was so busy during Grammy season that it went to Rihanna.

Which two Rihanna singles topped the Hot 100 in 2008?

Take a Bow and Disturbia: Chris Brown co-wrote 'Disturbia' but gave it to Rihanna, feeling the song didn't personally fit him.

Which darker, rock-influenced 2009 album did Rihanna record after Chris Brown assaulted her?

Rated R: when the label gave her 12 hours to turn it in, she drank some red wine, dimmed the lights and sang 'The Last Song'.

Which 2010 hit paired Rihanna's chorus with Eminem's verses?

Love the Way You Lie: Skylar Grey wrote the chorus, and said the abusive relationship she had in mind was her own with the music industry.

Which single from Rihanna's album Loud won the Grammy for Best Dance Recording in 2011?

Only Girl (In the World): after a dark previous album, Rihanna asked Stargate for happy, uptempo songs, and this was the first one they made.

In 2011, Rihanna set a record for a solo female artist with ten nights at which London venue?

The O2 Arena: demand for her Loud Tour tickets was so high that extra London dates were added until she reached ten nights.

Which DJ produced and featured on Rihanna's 2011 hit 'We Found Love'?

Calvin Harris: the video shoot in a Northern Ireland field was halted when the farmer objected to Rihanna appearing topless.

Which rapper's 2008 number one 'Live Your Life' featured Rihanna?

T.I.: he wrote its album, Paper Trail, under house arrest while awaiting trial on federal weapons charges.

Which was Rihanna's first album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200?

Unapologetic: it included a duet with Chris Brown, and the pair briefly got back together soon after.

Which Australian singer-songwriter wrote 'Diamonds' with producers Benny Blanco and Stargate?

Sia: it was the last song she worked on before leaving the session, writing it in minutes while her car waited outside.

What was the gimmick of Rihanna's 777 Tour, promoting her seventh album?

Seven shows, seven countries, seven days: fans and journalists flew with her on one plane, but many complained of delays and scant access to her.

In which 2012 film, based on a board game, did Rihanna make her feature acting debut?

Battleship: director Peter Berg said he knew she could act after watching her in a comedy sketch on Saturday Night Live.

On which streaming service was Anti released exclusively in January 2016?

Tidal: Samsung bought one million copies and gave them away free, so the album was certified platinum within days.

Which single from Rihanna's album Anti topped the Billboard Hot 100?

Work: PartyNextDoor, who wrote it, said people think it's a party song, but it's really a breakup song.

In 2014, Rihanna left her first record label for which company?

Roc Nation: Jay-Z's company had managed her career since 2010, so the move put her records and her management under one roof.

Which pop star featured on the 2011 remix of Rihanna's 'S&M'?

Britney Spears: combined sales of the remix and the original sent 'S&M' to number one on the Hot 100.

Which guitarist played on Rihanna's song 'Rockstar 101'?

Slash: in the song's video Rihanna dresses up as him, and he said the video was better with her being him than with him being him.

Which store chain sold Fenty Beauty at its 2017 launch?

Sephora: the line launched with 40 foundation shades, and rival brands soon widened their own shade ranges to keep up.

Which luxury conglomerate partnered with Rihanna on Fenty Beauty and later the Fenty fashion house?

LVMH: Rihanna became the first Black woman to lead one of its fashion houses, but the Fenty label was halted in 2021.

What is the name of Rihanna's lingerie brand, launched in 2018?

Savage X Fenty: its debut collection sold out within a month of the brand's launch.

Rihanna's charity, the Clara Lionel Foundation, is named after whom?

Her grandparents: Clara and Lionel Braithwaite, and a Barbados cancer centre Rihanna funded also carries her late grandmother's name.

What title did her home country confer on Rihanna in 2021?

National Hero: Prime Minister Mia Mottley conferred it during the ceremony at which Barbados became a republic.

In 2021, Forbes reported that Rihanna had reached what financial milestone?

Billionaire status: most of her $1.7 billion fortune came from her Fenty businesses rather than from music.

In which all-female heist film did Rihanna star in 2018?

Ocean's 8: its crew robs the Met Gala on screen, and a month before the film opened, Rihanna co-chaired the real 2018 gala.

'Lift Me Up', Rihanna's first solo release after Anti, was recorded for which film?

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: the ballad is a tribute to the franchise's late star, Chadwick Boseman.

What did Rihanna reveal during her Super Bowl LVII halftime show?

That she was pregnant: her representative confirmed it right after the show, and she gave birth to her second son later that year.

Rihanna voiced Tip in which 2015 DreamWorks animated film about an alien invasion?

Home: Rihanna also made a concept album for the film, which was released as its soundtrack.

Whose Super Bowl halftime viewership record did Rihanna's 2023 show overtake?

Katy Perry's: her 2015 show gave the internet 'Left Shark', a backup dancer whose off-beat moves turned him into a meme.

Which rapper is the father of Rihanna's children?

ASAP Rocky: during the pandemic, the couple took a road trip across America together, driving from Los Angeles to New York.

Which character did Rihanna voice in the 2025 animated film Smurfs?

Smurfette: Rihanna also recorded original songs for the film, releasing 'Friend of Mine' in May 2025.

Which sportswear brand named Rihanna creative director of its women's line in 2014?

Puma: her first sneaker for the brand sold out online within hours of its pre-sale.

Which Nigerian singer co-wrote Rihanna's 2022 ballad 'Lift Me Up'?

Tems: she said she wrote it to feel like a warm embrace from all the people she had lost in her own life.

Which 2017 DJ Khaled single featured Rihanna and Bryson Tiller?

Wild Thoughts: it was DJ Khaled's first song with Rihanna, after he had spent years trying to get her on one of his records.

Which classic Hitchcock character did Rihanna play in the final season of Bates Motel in 2017?

Marion Crane: unlike Janet Leigh's Marion in Psycho, she leaves the motel alive, and Norman kills her lover Sam in the shower instead.

Alongside whom did Rihanna star in the 2019 film Guava Island?

Donald Glover: though both stars are singers, the film never has Rihanna sing.

Which pop icon has Rihanna called her biggest inspiration?

Madonna: Rihanna admired her constant reinvention and once said she wanted to be 'the black Madonna'.

Which pop star co-wrote Rihanna's 2008 single 'Rehab'?

Justin Timberlake: he said the song was 'the bridge' for Rihanna to be accepted as an adult in the music industry.

In 2018, the government of Barbados appointed Rihanna to which diplomatic post?

Ambassador: Prime Minister Mia Mottley said Rihanna's deep love for Barbados showed in her philanthropy on health and education.

Where did a farmer stop Rihanna filming 'We Found Love' in his barley field over her skimpy outfit?

Northern Ireland farmer Alan Graham, 61, withdrew his permission mid-shoot near Bangor, County Down. The row made headlines across the country before the video was even released.

The cover of Rihanna's 2016 album Anti carries a poem by Chloe Mitchell printed in which writing system?

Braille dots spell out the poem 'If They Let Us' across Roy Nachum's red, black and white painting. Rihanna said of the choice that those with sight are sometimes the blindest.

Rihanna co-chaired the 2018 Met Gala in a pearl-encrusted robe and headdress modelled on which Catholic figure?

The Pope was her model: the jewelled Maison Margiela robe came with a matching papal mitre, on a night themed around fashion and the Catholic imagination.

Rihanna's 'Don't Stop the Music' borrows its chanted hook from a 1983 single by which pop star?

Michael Jackson's 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'' supplied the chant, and Cameroonian musician Manu Dibango later sued both stars, saying it came from his 1972 song 'Soul Makossa'.

Rihanna's 'Umbrella' spent ten weeks at number one in which country amid a summer of floods?

The United Kingdom press joked about a 'Rihanna curse' as the song's reign coincided with unseasonal downpours. She said the weather definitely helped it stay on top.

Which pop star, credited as Nils Sjöberg, co-wrote the 2016 Rihanna-sung hit 'This Is What You Came For'?

Taylor Swift chose the pseudonym because Nils and Sjöberg are two of the most popular names for Swedish men, and at first she was credited only under it.

Rihanna accepted the CFDA Fashion Icon Award in 2014 in a sheer fishnet gown covered in what?

Swarovski crystals, more than 200,000 of them, were embedded in the see-through Adam Selman gown. On stage, Rihanna told the crowd that fashion rules are made to be broken.

Rihanna says her fan base gave itself which name, shared with a branch of the armed forces?

The Navy took shape online, where by 2015 Rihanna was among the ten most-followed people on Twitter. She said the name was simply one her fans came up with.

Which Ivy League university named Rihanna its Humanitarian of the Year in 2017 for her charity projects?

Harvard honoured a record that included a scholarship programme and an oncology centre she funded at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados.

Which electronics giant paid for a million free downloads of Rihanna's album Anti in a $25 million deal?

Samsung's purchase let the album be certified platinum within two days of release, though Billboard refused to count the giveaway copies toward its chart.

Rihanna grew up in which Caribbean capital, where she helped her father sell clothes at a street stall?

Bridgetown was where the family's three-bedroom bungalow stood, and she later named her own label, Westbury Road Entertainment, after that childhood address.

Which rapper guested on Rihanna's number one 'What's My Name?' and later had her sing on his own 'Take Care'?

Drake also helped write 'What's My Name?', a dancehall-infused track produced by the Norwegian duo Stargate.

Which British band featured Rihanna on 'Princess of China' and performed it with her at the Grammy Awards?

Coldplay recorded the duet for their fifth album, Mylo Xyloto, and the single climbed back into the Hot 100 once the joint Grammy performance was announced.

Which Colombian singer duetted with Rihanna on the 2014 single 'Can't Remember to Forget You'?

Shakira wrote the track with Rihanna and four other writers, and it appeared on her self-titled tenth studio album.

Which singer-songwriter wrote Rihanna's ballad 'Unfaithful' and duetted with her on 'Hate That I Love You'?

Ne-Yo later became her vocal coach too, teaching her breathing techniques when she began formal training during the recording of her third album.

Which rapper featured Rihanna on 'Fly' from Pink Friday and rapped on Rihanna's own 'Raining Men'?

Nicki Minaj traded verses with her on the 2010 album Loud, the same year 'Fly' appeared on the rapper's debut.

Which rapper's 2017 track 'Loyalty', featuring Rihanna, won the pair a Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Performance?

Kendrick Lamar put the track on his album Damn, where one critic praised her eight bars of sung rap as being as fluent as they are brief.

In 2015 Rihanna became the first Black woman to be the face of which French fashion house?

Dior was one of several labels she teamed up with before founding her own, alongside the sock maker Stance and the shoe designer Manolo Blahnik.

Rihanna plays herself in which 2013 comedy about Hollywood stars caught in a biblical apocalypse?

This Is the End has Seth Rogen, James Franco and Jonah Hill playing fictionalised versions of themselves as Los Angeles falls apart around them.

Whose rendition of 'For the Love of You' did a teenage Rihanna sing at her 2005 Def Jam audition?

Whitney Houston was a childhood idol: Rihanna credits the star's version of 'I Will Always Love You' with sparking her passion for singing.

Rihanna says which singer's 1990 debut single 'Vision of Love' inspired her to pursue a career in pop?

Mariah Carey also supplied the ballad Rihanna picked when she sang at her high school talent show in Barbados.

Which French DJ featured Rihanna on 'Who's That Chick?' and later co-produced her own track 'Right Now'?

David Guetta's track came with two Jonas Åkerlund videos: a bright daytime one made for a Doritos campaign and a darker night-time one.

Rihanna joined a supergroup of female stars on the 2008 charity single 'Just Stand Up!' to fight which disease?

Cancer research received the proceeds: the all-star group sang it live on the Stand Up to Cancer telethon, which raised over $100 million.

Rihanna's mother, Monica Braithwaite, is an accountant with roots in which South American country?

Guyana is the source of her mother's Afro-Guyanese heritage, while her father, a warehouse supervisor, is Barbadian with African and European ancestry.

Rihanna's sharp 2007 bob haircut was inspired by which actress's look in the sci-fi film Æon Flux?

Charlize Theron's cropped black hair as the film's title character became the template for the cut that marked Rihanna's break from her innocent early image.

Rihanna's 2016 ballad 'Sledgehammer' was released to promote a film in which science-fiction franchise?

Star Trek Beyond put the track in a new trailer that came out the same day as the single.

Which band re-recorded 'If I Never See Your Face Again' as a duet with Rihanna for a 2008 album reissue?

Maroon 5 first released the track without her; frontman Adam Levine asked Rihanna to add her vocal because he wanted to try something different for the re-release.

Which 2013 Eminem chart-topper features Rihanna, who plays the rapper's therapist in its music video?

The Monster entered the British singles chart at number one despite having two fewer days on sale than that week's other new releases.

Which 2010 single, whose video features a stuffed lion and zebra, became Rihanna's sixth US number one?

Rude Boy came with a green-screen video by Melina Matsoukas, who had also directed the clip for Rihanna's previous single, 'Hard'.

Rihanna sings the hook on which Kanye West single, backed by a choir of stars including Elton John and Alicia Keys?

All of the Lights credits fourteen background vocalists, Rihanna among them, and Elton John plays the piano part as well.

Which French director cast Rihanna as a shape-shifting cabaret performer in his 2017 space epic Valerian?

Luc Besson's film calls her character Bubble, an entertainer who helps the title agent slip into hostile territory and is fatally wounded during the escape.

Rihanna's first screen role was a cameo as herself in the 2006 sequel All or Nothing from which teen film series?

Bring It On: All or Nothing has her host the climactic cheerleading competition and announce the two finalist squads.

Rihanna plays a hacker with which billiards nickname in a 2018 heist film about robbing the Met Gala?

Nine Ball, whose real name is Leslie Jordan, blinds the museum's security cameras for the crew and spends her share on opening a pool hall.

Rihanna won a 2013 court case against which British retailer for selling a T-shirt bearing her image?

Topshop lost because shoppers might assume she had endorsed the shirt, and the Court of Appeal unanimously rejected the chain's challenge in 2015.

Rihanna showed her first women's clothing collection at London Fashion Week in 2013 for which British chain?

River Island went on to release three more collections designed by Rihanna and her personal stylist, Adam Selman.

Which Chinese couturier made the trailing yellow gown Rihanna wore to the China-themed 2015 Met Gala?

Guo Pei's creation needed three attendants to carry its train, and Rihanna had found it on the internet while researching the gala's theme.

Rihanna's singing voice, with a range of more than three octaves, is classed as which vocal type?

Mezzo-soprano is how her voice is classed: it runs from B2 up to C-sharp 6, and Rolling Stone ranked her among its 200 greatest singers in 2023.

Which career honour did MTV give Rihanna at its 2016 VMAs, where she performed medleys of her hits?

The Video Vanguard Award had gone almost entirely to American and British acts; Rihanna was its first Caribbean winner.

Which US ceremony made Rihanna the first recipient of its Icon Award in 2013?

The American Music Awards created the honour that year, and voters also named her Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist on the same night.

Which civil rights organisation gave Rihanna its President's Award in 2020 for her activism and philanthropy?

The NAACP's president, Derrick Johnson, handed over the prize at its Image Awards, pointing to her business achievements as well as her giving.

Rihanna's 'Shut Up and Drive' is built on the 1983 single 'Blue Monday' by which British band?

New Order's four members, among them Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook, all received songwriting credits on Rihanna's 2007 track.

Which American singer duets with Rihanna on the piano ballad 'Stay', a US top-three hit?

Mikky Ekko also appears in the video, and he was one of the musicians recruited while Rihanna's seventh album was being made.

Which singer co-wrote Rihanna's 'Consideration' and performed it with her at the 2016 Brit Awards?

SZA wrote the track with Rihanna and its producer, Tyran Donaldson, and it went on to join the set list of the Anti tour.

Rihanna raps a verse on 'Lemon', a 2017 single by which band fronted by Pharrell Williams?

N.E.R.D put the track on their fifth album, No One Ever Really Dies, and also cut a version without her in which Pharrell raps a similar verse.

Rihanna's 'Cheers (Drink to That)' samples the 2002 ballad 'I'm with You' by which Canadian singer?

Avril Lavigne called being sampled really exciting, since the ballad is one of her favourites among her own songs, and she is credited as a writer on the track.

Which songwriter, later an R&B star himself, co-wrote Rihanna's 'Umbrella' and sang on its demo?

The-Dream came up with it in January 2007 at Triangle Studios in Atlanta, in a session with producers Tricky Stewart and Kuk Harrell.

Rihanna's album Anti includes a cover of 'New Person, Same Old Mistakes' by which Australian band?

Tame Impala's management was told that Rihanna loved the track and wanted to re-record it; her version is titled 'Same Ol' Mistakes'.

Nuno Bettencourt, Rihanna's touring lead guitarist from 2009, made his name in which Boston rock band?

Extreme's guitarist stayed with her for several tours and later played the electric solo on her Anti track 'Kiss It Better'.

Which director made more than a dozen music videos with Rihanna, beginning with 'Unfaithful' in 2006?

Anthony Mandler counts Rihanna as his most frequent collaborator, and he also shot the advertising campaigns for her first two fragrances.

Which dancehall star duets with Rihanna on 'Break It Off', which she flew to his homeland to record?

Sean Paul recorded the 2006 track with her in Kingston, Jamaica, where he was born, and both singers are among its four credited writers.