Facebook favourite Rihanna is on way
Worldwide superstar Rihanna – the number one person on Facebook with over 71 million likes – will bring her Diamonds World Tour to Birmingham's LG Arena on Monday.
Her gig will be the first of two at the venue, with the other following on July 18.
The recipient of six Grammy Awards and seven Billboard Music Awards, Rihanna has sold more than 37 million albums and 146 million digital tracks worldwide.
She currently holds the record as the top-selling digital artist of all time and Forbes named her the world's top social media star with over around three billion views on YouTube/VEVO, the most ever for any female artist.
She has more Facebook and Twitter fans than any other performer.
The Barbadian star began her career after meeting record producer Evan Rogers in late 2003.
Soon after, she signed a contract with Def Jam Recordings after auditioning for its president and CEO, rapper Jay-Z.
Her debut studio album, Music of the Sun (2005), featured the Billboard Hot 100 top three hit single Pon de Replay, which peaked at number ten on the Billboard 200 chart.
Her second album, A Girl Like Me (2006), peaked at number five in the United States, and included her first Hot 100 number one single, SOS.
More success followed as Rihanna's third album, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007), spawned the international hit singles Umbrella, Don't Stop the Music, Take a Bow, and Disturbia. The album was nominated for nine Grammy Awards, winning Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for Umbrella.
Further hits have followed including Rated R, Rude Boy, Loud, Talk That Talk, We Found Love, Unapologetic, Diamonds, and Stay.
She has sold more than 100 million balbums worldwide and achieved 12 number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
She was rated by Forbes as being the fourth most powerful celebrity of 2012, with earnings of a staggering USD 53 million between May 2011 and May 2012. The same year, American magazine TIME named Rihanna one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.
The star said she manages to cope with stardom, even though people are constantly talking about her.
"Everybody wanted to know what was happening in my life. Is she a drug addict? No. Is she an alcoholic? No. Is she a victim? No. That's when I got the gun. It was a symbol of strength. I'll never be a victim. That's why I'm posting pictures of myself smoking pot, to tell the truth about myself.
