The star parlayed her musical success into a make-up and fashion empire, with earnings that now dwarf those of other megastars such as Madonna and Beyonce.įorbes in August estimated she was worth $1.7 billion, around $1.4 billion of which comes from the value of her cosmetics company Fenty Beauty, a partnership with French fashion giant LVMH. Rihanna, 33, grew up in a troubled home in Barbados and was propelled to fame after American producer Evan Rogers recognized her talents. Mottley paid tribute to the humble origins of Rihanna, who was born in Saint Michael and raised in the capital Bridgetown. "May you continue to shine like a diamond and bring honor to your nation by your words, by your actions, and to do credit, wherever you shall go," she said, with a nod to the singer's hit "Diamonds." "On behalf of a grateful nation, but an even prouder people, we therefore present to you the designee for national hero of Barbados, Ambassador Robyn Rihanna Fenty," Mottley said, inviting the singer up to stand alongside her. The "Umbrella" songstress commanded "the imagination of the world through the pursuit of excellence with her creativity, her discipline, and above all else, her extraordinary commitment to the land of her birth," Prime Minister Mia Mottley told the assembled dignitaries at the "Pride of Nationhood" celebrations on Tuesday. Rihanna had just been declared a national hero by the Barbadian government and bestowed with a title, “the right excellent,” as the island bade farewell to Queen Elizabeth II as head of state and celebrated becoming a republic for the first time in history.īarbados had already conferred the title of ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary on the billionaire multiple Grammy-winning singer and businesswoman in 2018 and tasked her with encouraging education and tourism. While this probably isn’t the first cover “Umbrella” fans are going to flock to, we had to give credit to Postmodern Jukebox (and American Idol alum Casey Abrams!) for making a pop/R&B song of the ’00s sound like something that would be performed at a jazz festival.Īlthough lead singer Tom Higgenson had to use a lyric sheet while covering Rihanna’s hit - for Virgin Radio Sessions, talk about a throwback - the tone of his voice worked well with an acoustic version of the tune.Bridgetown, Barbados: As Barbados became the world's newest republic, its prime minister's first act was to officially declare the island's most famous citizen, Rihanna, a national hero. These guys have literally made a living out of taking hit songs and making them their own, so obviously their strictly acoustic version of “Umbrella” is fantastic. Moore was capable of whipping up some irresistible bubblegum pop jams in her hey day, so when she opted for Rihanna’s “melodic” (as Moore says) song, of course it was going to result in a version that sounds straight out of 1999 - in the best way. And when a drumming icon joins forces with someone like RiRi (AND Jay Z), you can’t not give it some sort of recognition. Okay, so this isn’t quite a cover, but the Blink-182 drummer definitely brought out the rock elements that were much more subtle in the original. But then add in some acoustic guitar and the YouTube stars’ harmonies (as well as some unexpected falsetto) and you’ve got yourself a winning combination. Needless to say, the “Let Her Go” singer-songwriter served up a pleasant surprise with his rendition.Īs the only version on this list to feature a piano as a primary instrument, this one is already a standout. Digby opted for a more stripped down version, which served her voice well - and besides, even if you can, why even try to battle RiRi?Ĭonsidering Passenger is practically as far in the other direction as you can get from an artist like Rihanna, one wouldn’t exactly expect his take on “Umbrella” to work. ?For whatever reason, “Umbrella” seems more to be a favorite cover among male artists than female, despite one of pop’s reigning queens being the original artist. This Punk Goes Crunk cover was one of the many gems to come out of the greatness that was those compilation CDs, and one of the first indications that “Umbrella” is a tune that could translate across virtually any genre. If you played a part in the emo/punk days of the early ’00s, the Punk Goes… series was probably all the rage for you. That’s pretty much what happened with “Umbrella,” but when it really turns into a Train jam is the bridge and the closing melody.
There is just something about Pat Monahan’s voice that makes basically any song sound like it was written by Train as soon as he begins singing. In no particular order, take a look at our picks. In honor of the 10th anniversary of “Umbrella,” we rounded up the 10 best covers of the song.