Rihanna

Singer

Name at birth: Robyn Rihanna Fenty

Rihanna's tom-tom-driven single "Pon De Replay" was one of the dance hits of 2005. Rihanna was only 17, but the next year she was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award as best new artist and her career was off and running. Her first album, Music of the Sun (2005, including "Pon De Replay"), mixed reggae-tinged pop with slick R&B grooves and sold over a million copies. Her second album, A Girl Like Me, included the upbeat single "S.O.S." and was released in 2006. Rihanna also dipped her toe in the acting world in 2006, with a small part as herself in the direct-to-DVD cheerleader flick Bring It On: All or Nothing. In 2007 she again had big summer singles with the slow-stepping "Umbrella" (with rapper Jay-Z) and the club-happy hymn "Don't Stop the Music," both from her album Good Girl Gone Bad.

Other performers who hit it big as teens: R&B crooners Chris Brown and Beyoncé, pop star Jessica Simpson, and actress Judy Garland.

Blog posts mentioning Rihanna:
Generation Gap