Cool, Interesting Things About Rihanna You Never Knew
You've probably been pronouncing her name wrong.
According to multiple videos of the singer, Rihanna actually pronounces her name "ree-ANN-uh" not "ree-AH-nuh."
Her full name is also Robyn Rihanna Fenty.
She had a cameo in "Bring It On: All or Nothing."
Rihanna played herself in the 2000s cheerleading film.
She appeared as a judge at the final tournament where she announced the winning cheer team who got to perform in her music video.
Rihanna won a beauty pageant in high school.
In 2004, a year before her first hit single "Pon de Replay" was released, Rihanna won her high-school beauty pageant. She was crowned Miss Combermere, in part, because of her performance of Mariah Carey's "Hero" in the talent portion.
She told The Daily Mail in 2007 that she'd joined the pageant on a dare.
She received military training in Barbados.
Before she became a worldwide phenomenon, Rihanna was an army cadet in a sub-military program in Barbados, the singer's home country.
In the same Daily Mail interview, she told the publication that her military training actually helped her to compete in the beauty pageant.
"My military training came in handy for learning to balance books on my head for the catwalk," she said.
Her drill sergeant, singer-songwriter Shontelle, told BBC News in 2009, that she had to order Rihanna around.
"That's what drill sergeants do. We boss cadets around, we make them do push-ups ... especially when they show up on the parade square late," she said.
Rihanna signed her first record deal at 16 years old, and Jay-Z played a role in the offer.
After an audition for record producer Evan Rogers in 2003, Rihanna produced a demo in 2004 and was later flown to New York to meet with Jay-Z, the then-president of the Def Jam record label.
He wanted to sign Rihanna so badly that the label's meeting with her reportedly went until 3 a.m. while the lawyers ironed out all the details.
At the age of 16, Rihanna signed a contract with the label.
"Umbrella" wasn't originally written for Rihanna.
Rihanna's hit song almost wasn't hers.
According to Vice, the song was originally written for Britney Spears, who rejected the offer. It was then offered to both Mary J. Blige and Def Jam Records.
Blige wasn't able to finalize the deal, so the record label was able to purchase the song for Rihanna.
Rihanna sometimes sneaks into her audience before shows.
Rihanna's preshow rituals include a diluted shot and sometimes sneaking into the audience to watch the opening act.
She told Esquire in 2011 that she takes the shot to calm her nerves before every show.
"My personal assistant slash bartender brings me a shot that she dilutes with a little something so it's not so harsh, like orange juice or soda water and lime," she said.
While she's sipping her drink, she watches the opening act from her dressing room or from the audience if she has the proper attire.
"Sometimes I go out into the audience. I put on a really big hoodie and sneak out there," she told Esquire.
Rihanna wasn't allowed to wear makeup growing up.
Although she's now a beauty mogul, Rihanna wasn't allowed to wear makeup growing up.
"My mom wasn't flexible. I wore no makeup," she told InStyle in 2017.
Rihanna also said her love of all things beauty-related came from watching her mother work at a beauty counter when she was growing up.
Rihanna has gotten vocal lessons from fellow musician Ne-Yo.
Although she never received formal vocal training, Rihanna did take informal lessons from fellow R&B singer Ne-Yo in 2007.
"When I'm in the studio, he'll tell me how to breathe and stuff," she told MTV that year.
The pair were reportedly working on new music together when the lessons occurred.
There are several wax figures of her displayed around the world.
As of 2013, Rihanna had eight different wax figures displayed in Madame Tussauds wax museums around the world.
The most recent, which can be seen at the New York Times Square location, took four months to create.
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