In this thread, I will discuss Rihanna’s resilience being her greatest strength as a public figure, I will highlight significant moments in her career where she was faced with adversity from her label, critics and naysayers and how her resilience persevered every single time.

Chapter 1: Fairy Tale Beginnings (or not).

After a successful audition at Def Jam Records, Rihanna is signed to a SIX album deal in 2005 the same day.

She isn’t the only new female face on the roster however, Teairra Mari also joins Def Jam in 2005.

Label Woes:

Rihanna & Teairra both hit the studio immediately.

Def Jam funds Teairra’s project with veteran R&B producers (Darkchild & Sean Garrett)

Rihanna’s project doesn’t receive the same budget although, she scores features from veteran Caribbean artists

L.A. Reid published a memoir confirming that Def Jam initially neglected Rihanna in favor of Teairra.

“We thought Teairra Mari would be the big star. We spent more time on her, did more work on her, paid more attention to her.”

https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/magazine-feature/6836012/la-reid-on-meeting-rihanna-for-first-time-jay-z-beyonce

Def Jam continues to assist Teairra with a stimulus package, she’s introduced by Jay-Z as the “new princess of the roc” on her debut single.

Despite the assist, Rihanna’s debut single & album outperforms globally and domestically. Teairra Mari is dropped shortly after.

In 2007, Rihanna discussed in Peach Magazine being neglected by her label for Teairra.

“I always remained humble, I was just the little Caribbean girl. I could very easily say it’s karma. God has favor on me and has blessed me.”

Ending Chapter 1 of Rihanna’s resilience.

Chapter 2 of Rihanna’s Resilience will highlight Rihanna’s battle with her label over her image, her sound and fighting off comparisons to other female singers during 2005-2006.

Chapter 2: Individuality.

Rihanna’s 2005 debut happened in the midst of labels attempting to package black female singers as mini Beyoncé’s due to her successful debut album; “Dangerously In Love”. Call it the Beyoncé effect; (s/o to @MrBeyonceFan.)

Many of the mainstream female singers didn’t recover from their label’s attempt at branding them after Beyoncé but, Rihanna took charge and forged her own path as a black female artist, a path separate from the standard pop female act of the 2000’s at the time.

Good Girl Gone Bad:

Rihanna quickly found herself bored of comparisons to other female singers both sonically and visually and with her third studio album Rihanna took control of her sound and image.

In this clip, Rihanna discusses individuality, the desire to do things her own way and, comparisons to other female singers.

Ursula Stephens; Rihanna’s hairstylist talks to @billboard about that game-changing bob:

“RiRi knew that she wanted a sharp contrast from her familiar chestnut locks -- a look that received too many comparisons to her other R&B compatriots.“

https://www.billboard.com/amp/articles/news/lifestyle/7816586/rihanna-good-girl-gone-bad-haircut-bob-hairstylist-interview

“Good Girl Gone Bad” still holds up as a pivotal moment in Rihanna’s career.

With an edgier sound and bold new look all comparisons to her peers ceased.

@digitalspy noted that the album was the closest to “Thriller” that 2007 would produce.

Chapter 3 of Rihanna’s Resilience will touch on the signifance of 2009 for Rihanna; the release of her career-defining album #RatedR and how it a modern renaissance era for the 21st century pop-star.

Chapter 3: Rihanna’s Renaissance.

2009 was a madhouse for Rihanna and, that’s a severe understatement.

At 21 years old, she was forced to deal with public humiliation, slut shaming, xenophobia, loss of a lover and misogyny all in front of the entire world.

#RatedR was Rihanna’s response to all of the hardship 2009 brought her. #RatedR tackled themes of womanhood, sexual liberation, individuality, rage and heartbreak in a way that the standard pop female act hadn’t tackled in the 21st century.

Rihanna faced adversity from her label during the recording process of #RatedR

As the executive producer, she fought to keep “Rude Boy” on the album when the label didn’t believe in it.

Rihanna’s confidence in a record should never go questioned, “Rude Boy” became a #1 hit.

#RatedR was Rihanna’s Renaissance era.

The standard 21st century pop female act had never as bold, unapologetic, liberated and, bad-ass as Rihanna.

With explicit lyrics, vulgar imagery and gritty records Rihanna blazed a new trail that would cement her as a rockstar.

To quote @blavity:

“Rihanna’s best and boldest to date — #RatedR remains a dark portrait of a Black woman’s journey to self healing and a template for the bold, unapologetic pop star we know today.”

https://blavity.com/blavity-original/ten-years-later-rihannas-rated-r-album-remains-a-mini-movie-magnum-opus-and-masterclass-in-misogynoir

End of Chapter 3.

Chapter 4 will discuss Rihanna being one of the 21st century’s public female pioneers and, how she was often ahead of the curve on significant female empowerment topics such as body positivity and sexual liberation.

Chapter 4: “I may be bad but, I’m perfectly good at it.”

By the early 2010’s Rihanna’s image had become synonymous with sex but, society has not yet caught up with Rihanna’s idea of sexual liberation and how it directly correlated to women’s empowerment.

Most people remember the early 2010’s as the time when Rihanna had a song on the radio every 3 minutes, others of us remember that time as a prime time slut shaming war against Rihanna.

She was consistently under attack on television, social media and radio.

For example:

Do my tits bother you?

Rihanna usually found herself in controversy over her no-fucks-given attitude towards people’s opinions over her body positivity.

Her videos were consistently banned, she lost endorsements and found herself labeled “unfit” as a role model for young girls.

Rihanna sent out a tweet in 2011 in response to the overwhelming negative comments she received.

“I’m a 23 year old rockstar with NO KIDS!”

Before #FreeTheNipple became a worldwide phenomenon, Rihanna consistently used different mediums to do so.

Rihanna touched on being ahead of the movement:

“have always freed the nipple," she said. "It was never to get attention. Never sexual. Never in desperation.“

In conclusion, I’ve highlighted significant moments where Rihanna’s resilience championed over the adversity in front of her. Adversity came from her label, critics, social media, the media in general but; she preserved throughout it all. Every tongue fell and she still stands.