Rihanna knows a pop hit when she hears one—just check the Billboard charts. So what is the sexy songstress listening to these days? iTunes got a peek at her playlist, which includes a couple songs from her “bro” Jay-Z, a guilty pleasure by a teen sensation, and a newcomer’s mixtape smash that she considers one of the best hip-hop songs of the past decade.

1. “Best I Ever Had” – Drake
2. “Closer” – Kings of Leon
3. “Young Forever” – Jay-Z feat. Mr Hudson
4. “Venus vs. Mars” – Jay-Z
5. “Meet Me Halfway” – Black Eyed Peas
6. “La La La” – LMFAO
7. “Throw It in the Bag (Remix)” – Fabolous feat. Drake and The-Dream
8. “Party in the U.S.A.” – Miley Cyrus
9. “Thinking of You” – Katy Perry
10. “Umbrella” – Rihanna feat. Jay-Z
11. “Russian Roulette” – Rihanna
12. “Sweet Dreams” – Beyoncé
13. “Waiting on the World to Change” – John Mayer

credit: RapUp

• BBC News: …It follows a similar mistake last year, where Katy Perry accepted the trophy for best international song, which should have gone to Rihanna. That did not stop Rihanna from appearing this year, when she performed her single Russian Roulette. At the end of the song, she fell a short distance off a platform at the back of the stage but quickly got up and walked off.

• Ke$ha tweeted:

Cannes. Was a pleasure. Rihanna is my new crush. Jeeez she’s perfect.

X17Online: Rihanna was spotted arriving with her entourage at Voyeur in West Hollywood last night. She flipped her shaggy hair around and made a fast entrance through the back of the club. Watch the video below:

Thanks, OoOshii!

UPDATE: Join this facebook group and help the Macedonian Rihanna fans. If +10,000 fans join the group, a producer will try to bring Rihanna to the country. Help them!

Rihanna has hired a designer to style her bikinis for her. She is a fan of swimwear designed by Celeste Johnny and has asked her to create a one-off line of beach clothing for her, Contactmusic reported. RiRi boosted sales of the swimwear label after she wore one of their creations during a recent holiday in Mexico with new boyfriend, baseball star Matt Kemp. And Johnny, the owner of Johnny Vincent Swimwear, is now happy to help her celebrity client and will be designing a whole new line as per Rihanna’s demands.

“She looked great… and I just got an email that she wants a striped bikini, so I’m kinda going over things with her assistant as far as, like, the colours that she wants,” said Johnny.

Thanks, Deborah!

PerezHilton.com: Jamie King is the most prolific pop music tour director in the world, the mastermind behind Madonna’s last four tours as well as recent tours for artists including: Britney Spears, Celine Dion, The Spice Girls, Ricky Martin, Christina Aguilera, Avril Lavigne and currently Rihanna’s 2010 World Tour.

Thanks for the tip, Sandra!

(Read more… )

Rihanna didn’t attend this year’s annual Barbados Music Awards, but she did win two of the biggest awards for the night which her cousin Noella came up to accept on her behalf. She won “Song of the Decade” and “Entertainer of the Decade“. Congrats to Rih!

Shontelle, another very talented upcoming singer from Barbados, was honored that night for now being ranked Barbados’ 2nd best selling female of all time, after her debut album “Shontelligence” went platinum worldwide. The RD team is very supportive and wishes her all the best!

Here’s a little tidbit about Rihanna you may not know about…

None other than Roisin Murphy’s partner Simon Henwood is the creative force behind the brand and styling concept of Rihanna’s new album “Rated R.” Henwood is a celebrated painter, filmmaker, set designer and brand visionary who was enlisted by Rihanna’s team to be the overall creative director for the pop star’s global imaging. Henwood conceived the look and feel for the logo, album, videos and TV spots – and is now working on Rihanna’s forthcoming world tour, including the show’s stage design, costumes and background visuals.  Rihanna and Henwood worked closely together in the months leading up to the album release.

“We talked extensively for months before the album’s release, and looked at every aspect of the campaign-  from styling to stage ideas and visuals,” he tells ArjanWrites.com. “Everything comes from the music, and this is her most personal album to date – so everything draws from it in one way or another. There is a great story that will unfold through the campaign, and finally reveal on the tour, partly inspired by the film – The Omega Man (click here to read about the movie) and of course ideas from the songs – as well as Rihanna’s personal visions.“

Click read more to read about Henwood’s “R” logo idea and watch a video.

(Read more… )

As you may have realized, updates are kinda slow, and it’s not RD’s fault. There’s nothing new about Rihanna besides these news:

• After a 62% increase last week, Rihanna’s “Rated R” sales jumped from 81,548 copies to around 91,000 this week, which means Rihanna will be gold next week – the album is near 500,000 copies sold in the US (according to MTV)! More charts updates coming soon.

• Rihanna and her band have been rehearsing in Abu Dhabi since yesterday. Below you can see where she will perform tomorrow night. Have a great New Year’s Eve, RiRi!

Rihanna gave some friends a helping hand the other day in the lobby of the Bryant Park Hotel.

“She was with four pals and was helping them all move their bags,” says a spy. “They wouldn’t let her, so she kept jokingly trying to grab the bags out of their hands. It kind of looked like they were playing a friendly game of tug of war.”

Source: NYPOST

• “Rude Boy” is rumoured to be the second “Rated R” single in the UK (“Russian Roulette” is the first single). If this is true, the song may be released in April, 2010. We don’t know if “Hard” will be released in the UK or not. RiRi and her team shouldn’t forget that the song the fans like the most is “Fire Bomb”…

• Entertainment Weekly declared Rated R “Best Pop Album of 2009″ in their Best Of issue. Best Pop Album: Rihanna – Rated R – Well, color us corrected. When we first heard Rated R (via a record-label listening session, as with several other releases on this list), we gave it a B. Since then, the insidious pleasures of the Barbadian superstar’s dark, defiantly uncommercial fourth album have sucked us in entirely. From bursts of spiky aggression (Hard) and ragga-tinged rapture (Rude Boy) to moments of pure, naked vulnerability (the Justin Timberlake-penned heartbreak symphony Cold Case Love), it’s emerged a stealth stunner