Unit3-Part1-Reading

Rihanna the Young Diva

The popular pop and R &B singer Rihanna is one of the best -selling singers of all time.

She has sold over 30 million albums and 120 million singles worldwide.

She has won numerous awards, including six Grammy Awards, 22 Billboard Music Awards,

and four MTV Video Music Awards.

Rihanna was born in Barbados in 1988.

As a school girl, she often sang to her family and friends for fun and amusement.

At age 15, she sang Mariah Carey's songs on stage with a girl group, which she formed with two classmates.

Her life changed completely when she was introduced to producer Evan Rogers, who was in Barbados on vacation.

Roger was impressed by her voice.

He knew she would be a great singer and sent her to New York to work with Jeff Jam records.

Rihanna began her singing career at age 16 in New York.

She quickly achieved fame with her debut studio album, Music of the Sun, in 2005.

A year later, she released her second album, A Girl Like Me, which peaked to the top five of the Billboard charts,

and which produced her first US No. 1 hit single, SOS.

Her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad, 2007, was nominated for seven Grammy Awards in 2008 and won two MTV Music Awards.

It also produced four No. 1 hits, including Umbrella, which topped the UK charts for ten weeks.

This was the longest -running No. 1 single of the 21st century.

Rihanna doesn't miss Barbados at all.

I never look back on those days, she says.

Rihanna's idol and biggest inspiration was Madonna, who had influenced her especially at the beginning of her career.