History of Rihanna as an artist

Rihanna became famous following the release of her debut album Music of the Sun in 2005.

Less than a year after that, she released her second studio album, A Girl Like Me in 2006.

Rihanna's third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad was released the following year in May 2007.

•Rihanna’s fourth studio album was titled Rated R and was released in 2009 and her fifth album, Loud was released in 2010. Rihanna's sixth studio album was Talk That Talk which was released in late 2011. She is currently working on her seventh studio album, Unapologetic.

•Rihanna has stated that Madonna is one of her idols and biggest influences, and said she wants to be the "black Madonna”. She said: "I think that Madonna was a great inspiration for me, especially on my earlier work. If I had to examine her evolution through time, I think she reinvented her clothing style and music with success every single time. And at the same time remained a real force in entertainment in the whole world."

•Rihanna’s image has been seen as one of the best constructed celebrity images of all time. It is evident from her 6 album covers that she has differentiated and broken boundaries and expectations. She has challenged what is perceived as normal with her lyrical content and her style and fashion. New York magazine described Rihanna's early look as that of a “cookie-cutter teen queen” however she remained able to diversify and look edgy. Rihanna began as a sweet good girl and typical teenager who sang songs about young love, dance and having fun. She was often likened to looking and dressing like Beyoncé.

 

•Music-wise, her second album differed to her first album because it wasn’t just up-tempo fun songs and love songs. She showed that she was maturing. Her goal on the album was supposedly to present songs that express many things young women want to say, but might not know how. In an interview, Rihanna said, "Now I'm singing about experiences that I've gone through and stuff that other 18-year-old girls go through, so it's all about progression."

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Her third studio album presented a completely new image and it was supported by its title, Good Girl Gone Bad. Rihanna said "it shows people I'm not trying to look or be anybody else. I basically took the attitude of the bad girl and I really got rebellious and just did everything the way I wanted to do it—I didn't want to listen to anybody. I didn't consult with anybody. I just want to have a little more fun with my music and be a little more experimental in terms of my image and my sound."

•Rated R was released after Rihanna's assault by her then-boyfriend, singer Chris Brown. Larry Meyler of the Sun stated that "Rihanna going bad is very good" and that she had "shaken off any 'teen pop' image." Rated R features different types of songs and embodies an angry tone in terms of her musical and lyrical presentation, and the album incorporated more elements of hip hop and rock than any of her previous albums that were more reggae and pop and R&B. This album was perceived to be presenting her feelings about the assault and her new attitude.

 

•Her fifth album, Loud, offered more flirtatious, sassy and sexual songs and that was presented with her image as well. Rihanna was growing up into a young woman and it was definitely presented through her music and lyrical content.

In October 2011, Esquire declared Rihanna as the Sexiest Woman Alive for 2011. Rihanna has been named the best-selling digital artist of all time in the United States, having sold 47,571,000 million singles and albums.

Furthermore, technology has had a lot to with Rihanna's change in attitude, music and music videos. Rihanna is one of the artists that spend a lot of time on social networks. She has recently advertised the making of her new video 'Diamonds' and claims she was inspired by her fans and what they have told her they wanted from twitter and instagram.
Rihanna's music videos have conveyed an 'I don't care' message more and more over time. This is because she has grown up - age wise and mentally - and it is portrayed through her music by the props she has used more over time (drugs, sexual references/toys, alcohol) which are for an older audience. Also, as mentioned before, the fact she was abused by fellow singer Chris Brown changed her attitude because she became a victim of the media. Despite the fact the situation happened three years ago, Rihanna and Chris Brown have been seen together more and more recently and this has put her back into the focus of the media so her music videos again are conveying the message of not caring and keeping a positive attitude.
I believe that Rihanna's music video history is so distinct and varied because of her personal life and she has presented her feelings and moreover, herself, through her music videos. We've been able to see her on a more personal level due to her opening up Behind The Scenes videos for fans.
Nevertheless, although she has began to use explicit content/lyrics I think she still aims for the same target audience - young teenagers to young adults, this is because they can relate to her, no necessarily all her music videos but to her as a person.



Popular Culture

Popular culture is associated with "mass culture" and ideas. This is seen as a commercial culture, produced in bulk for the majority of the population by popular media. For example, certain parts of pop culture may originate from, (or deviate into) a subculture, representing viewpoints with which the mainstream popular culture has only limited acquaintance or understanding. Items of popular culture most typically appeal to a wide range of the public.

 

 

Adorno:

 

Adorno proposed that popular culture is akin to a factory producing standardized cultural goods— films, radio programmes, magazines, etc. — that are used to manipulate mass society into passivity. Consumption of the easy pleasures of popular culture, made available by the mass communications media, renders people docile and content, no matter how difficult their economic circumstances. He believed that the inherent danger of the culture industry is the cultivation of false psychological needs that can only be met and satisfied by the products of capitalism, and that rue psychological needs are freedom, creativity, and genuine happiness. So in this day and age, Adorno would assume listening to pop music would be wouldn’t be educative.

 

Hebdige:

 

Hebdige disagreed with Adorno. He believed Adorno’s view was cynical and flippant of mass audiences as inactive and effortlessly manipulated. He argued back that when people are listening to music, they are aware and active; however, an audience’s social and ethical beliefs and backgrounds lead to diverse interpretations of the same product.

 

Because R&B ballads are usually very narrative and expressive, I believe my subculture conforms more too Hebdige's argument. People understand the same product/song in different ways due to their different backgrounds. For example, I enjoy the song 'Runaway Love' by Ludacris feat. Mary J. I enjoy is because I sympathise with it. However, I do not relate to it because I have never been abused or lived through any hardship, but somebody else who has experienced these things will relate to and understand the song differently to me.

 

Target Audience Reactions

R&B subculture questionnaire about what they expect from their genre.

Who, out of these artists, is your favourite?

1)     Rihanna?

2)     Beyonce?

3)     Usher?

4)     Kanye West?

5)     Ab-Soul?

What sort of things catches your attention in a music video?

1)     The sort of cars driven?

2)     The video vixens/actors used?

3)     The storyline or concept being portrayed?

4)     Whether or not the video relates to the lyrics?

5)     Whether the video is simply eye-catching and enjoyable?

Do you think it is important for an artist to portray his/her wealth in a music video?

1)     Yes

2)     No

What sort of clothing would you expect to be worn in a video?

1)     Tracksuits?

2)     Designer jeans and shirts?

3)     Bikini’s/minimal clothing from ladies?

4)     A variety of clothing, not necessarily expensive but stylish?

Where would you expect a video to be shot?

1)     A luxury home?

2)     A club?

3)     On the street?

4)     In a budget studio?

Do you expect all males to have tattoos?

1)     Yes

2)     No

Do you think videos are acceptable for young teens?

1)     Yes

2)     No

Do you think videos glamorize...

1)     Drugs?

2)     Sex?

3)     Money is everything?

4)     None of the above.