SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD RIHANNA, the Bajan Rythm and Blues singer, is exceeding expectations in the music world.
A few weeks after her first single, Pon De Replay, was released to United States radio stations before it hit music stores across the country, the song has not only made Billboard's Hot 100 chart, but the music industry's leading publication is predicting it will propel her to stardom.
"Mixing powerful vocals and pulsating beats, her song is sure to heat up dance floors this summer," stated Billboard in a profile of the singer.
And Evan Rogers, the top-flight and highly successful music producer in the United States who first spotted her while on a trip to Barbados last year said Rihanna's style, and the reaction of radio stations to her music, was "simply unbelievable".
"In all my years in the music business, I have not seen this kind of phenomenal success so quickly," said Rogers, who is married to a Barbadian, Jackie Rogers.
"Radio stations across the country are simply falling head over heels for the song, playing it over and over, making it one of the hottest singles on the radio. We expected success but nothing like this. She is on her way," he said.
The skyrocketing on the Billboard Charts tells the story about radio
station reaction. After entering the Hot 100 Chart last week, Pon De Replay has shot up to the 40th spot this week and is expected to climb even higher by the time Rihanna sets out on an international tour, in about two weeks, that will take her to England and Japan so she can be introduced to the international media.
"It's all happening so fast that it's unbelievable," Rihanna told the SUNDAY SUN.
"I always believed that I was going to do well, but the response of the radio
stations is simply fantastic. I am happy, my mother is happy, and the Rogers
family is ecstatic. They have been like parents to me.
"I understand that the radio stations in Barbados are also playing the song; and that makes me feel very good. You know I am proud of where I am from, no questions asked," she said.
In the meantime, Rihanna's video of Pon de Replay is due to have its premiere broadcast on BET (Black Entertainment Television) in about two weeks, and then on MTV, almost guaranteeing outstanding sales when the song is officially released to the public. Her debut album is due out in August and the video will include a shot of a broken trident, a tribute to Barbados.
"The trident is her way of recognising Barbados," said Jackie Rogers.
The teenager, who a year ago was in a Combermere School classroom studying math, a foreign language and other subjects while dreaming of one day making it big as a singer, and who is on the verge of doing so in the highly-competitive international music industry, said that persistence, hard work, help from others and inner confidence were all paying off.
