Role of the Performer – Rihanna

Biography: Rihanna was born in Barbados in 1988. She was discovered at the age of 15 when she was performing an improvised show for two music producers named Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken, both who were vacationing from New York at the time in Barbados in 2003. The next year she recorded demos for the then president of Def Jam Recordings, Jay-Z. He liked what he heard and decided to sign the young artist. Rihanna’s first breakthrough was with her “Music of the Sun” album in 2005 which shot all the way up to top 10 of the U.S. Billboard 200. Her third album “Good Girl Gone Bad” was released in 2007 and earned her a grammy award in 2008. This is when her career really took off. Since then she has become the best selling digital artist of all time with more than 100 million gold and platinum song certifications. She’s sold more than 54 million albums and 210 million tracks worldwide. Considering all this, it is quite amazing as she’s only been around for about 10 years. One of the things that made her music so popular was the decision to make her music more of a dance-pop genre which is what you’ll hear in the two videos shown.

Beat: One of the elements that makes this song so good is the beat. It is hard to not tap your foot along or nod your head. The beat is one of the really great characteristics of the song. It would be a great beat to dance to with a group of friends because it is easy to find and hear.

Repetition: The constant “Bum bum be-dum bum bum be-dum bum” are what draw me in. It goes along great with the beat as well. The two compliment each other in way that makes the song danceable to, like in a club. The repetition makes me look forward to the next verse and so on. It is nice knowing that there is part of the song that is almost simple with a few notes. You can focus on the beat really well while listening to the repetition.

Tempo: The tempo is spot on in this song. It is not too fast nor too slow. Just like the other elements it contributes a lot to being able to dance to. If it was a little faster it might sound much like electronic or edm, in my opinion.

Dynamics: The song seems to get louder and softer and just the right times. There is clear build up to the music getting louder and that is the part where people would be jumping up and down in the club! You can hear it in her voice as well especially when she sings the lyrics “I want you to make me feel like… ” you can hear her voice get louder.

Theory: Rihanna brings fashion and style, not just in clothing, but to music as well. In other words, her role is making lyricists songs into something that someone can play in the club and everyone can dance along to with her easy to find beat and great tempo. She has an aesthetic that is both pleasing to the eyes, if you watch her music videos, and ears. In her music videos shown above, you can clearly see with no doubt that she proves this.

Opinion: Rihanna is great at what she does. Her talent to combine and use musical elements with what she is passionate about makes her great at what she does. For example as mentioned above, her desire to use a more upbeat genre really worked out well. Her voice goes well with the elements that make her music, like the ability to bring lyricists songs to life with beautiful art and a pizzazz that wows those who listen or watch her. She definitely found her calling and she will probably continue to amaze us all in the many more years to come.

Sources:

“Bio – Rihanna”. Rihanna, 2019, http://www.rihannanow.com/bio/. Accessed 23 Mar 2019.

Cunningham, John M. “Rihanna | Biography, Music, Movies, & Facts”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rihanna. Accessed 23 Mar 2019.

“Disturbia (Song)”. En.Wikipedia.Org, 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disturbia_(song)#Composition. Accessed 23 Mar 2019.

“List Of Songs Recorded By Rihanna”. En.Wikipedia.Org, 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_recorded_by_Rihanna. Accessed 23 Mar 2019.

“Only Girl (In The World)”. En.Wikipedia.Org, 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Only_Girl_(In_the_World)#Composition. Accessed 23 Mar 2019.

“Rihanna”. En.Wikipedia.Org, 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rihanna. Accessed 23 Mar 2019.