The secret ingredient to the speed-of-lightning success that is pop artist Rihanna’s career is evident in her perpetual high-energy spark on a photo shoot. Fresh from an early-morning shuttle from Boston, where she performed the night before, the 18-year-old singer endures hair, makeup and costume changes with the composure of a seasoned pro, then proceeds to dance and ham it up for the camera as the strains of Bob Marley filter through PM Lounge.
Five hours later, the only sign of fatigue is her switch from heels to flats. And the girl still hasn’t eaten a bite.
“It’s been crazy,” she admits of her whirlwind year, ignoring the intermittently buzzing Sidekick in front of her. “When I look back, I’m like, ‘Wow, I really did that. And I accomplished this.’ ”
If Rihanna seems a bit awestruck by her rise, it’s understandable. Since hitting the scene last summer with her number-one single, “Pon de Replay” (off her debut album Music of the Sun), a disco-ready riff on the familiar refrain “Hey Mr. Deejay Play a Song for Me,” the Caribbean teenager has been going full-throttle. Eight months later, she released her second album, A Girl Like Me, with the single “S.O.S.” (a take-off of Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love”), hitting the top spot on the charts again. She’s fresh off her first headlining tour this summer, sponsored by Clinique Happy fragrance, for which she has recorded a specially written song, “Just Be Happy,” to make its debut this December.
“We chose Rihanna because we were writing a new song, and going through the avenue of music because music is everything to the younger generation,” explains Lynne Greene, global president of Clinique. “Rihanna, as a voice, fit the bill absolutely perfectly.”
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