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''Music of the Sun'' is the debut studio album by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna. It was released by Def Jam Recordings on August 30, 2005. Prior to signing with Def Jam, Rihanna was discovered by record producer Evan Rogers in Barbados, who helped Rihanna record demo tapes to send out to several record labels. Jay-Z, the former chief executive officer (CEO) and president of Def Jam, was given Rihanna's demo by Jay Brown, his A&R at Def Jam, and invited her to audition for the label after hearing what turned out to be her first single, "Pon de Replay". She auditioned for Jay-Z and L.A. Reid, the former CEO and president of record label group The Island Def Jam Music Group, and was signed on the spot to prevent her from signing with another record label. After Rihanna was signed by Jay-Z, she continued to work with Rogers and his production partner Carl Sturken, as well as other music producers such as, Poke & Tone, D. "Supa Dups" Chin-quee, and StarGate. ''Music of the Sun'' features vocals from Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall, music group J-Status, and Jamaican singer Vybz Kartel. Its music incorporates Caribbean music such as dancehall and reggae, as well as dance-pop and R&B ballads. ''Music of the Sun'' received generally mixed reviews from music critics, who complimented its dancehall and Caribbean-inspired songs, while others criticized some of the production. The album debuted at number 10 on the United States ''Billboard'' 200 and number six on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The album peaked in the top-40 of album charts in Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. It produced two singles: "Pon de Replay" and "If It's Lovin' that You Want", the former of which peaked at number two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and number one on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart. ''Music of the Sun'' was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of over 500,000 copies. ==Background== Before signing to Def Jam Recordings, Rihanna was discovered in her home country Barbados by American record producer Evan Rogers. The two met in December 2003 through mutual friends of Rihanna's and Rogers' wife, while the couple was on vacation in Barbados, because of how Rihanna's friend had told Rogers' wife how the aspiring singer was always singing and performing. After meeting for the first time, Rogers' asked Rihanna to come to his hotel room, where she performed renditions of Destiny's Child's "Emotion" and Mariah Carey's "Hero". Rihanna's renditions impressed Rogers, who then took her to New York, where she was accompanied by her mother to record some demo tapes which could be sent to record labels.〔 She recorded the demo over the next year intermittently, due to Rihanna only being able to record during school holidays. At the age of 16, Rihanna was signed to Rogers' and Carl Sturken's production company, Syndicated Rhythm Productions, who assigned her a lawyer and manager, before the completed demo tape were distributed to various record labels around the world in late 2004. The first to respond to the demo tape was Jay-Z, who had recently been appointed as president and CEO of Def Jam Recordings. Rihanna auditioned for him and music mogul L.A. Reid, in his office.〔 Looking back on the audition and meeting Jay-Z, Rihanna explained in an interview how she felt before walking into the room, saying: "That's when I really got nervous..... I was like: 'Oh God, he's right there, I can't look, I can't look, I can't look!' I remember being extremely quiet. I was very shy. I was cold the entire time. I had butterflies. I'm sitting across from Jay-Z. Like, Jay-Zee. I was star-struck."〔 During the audition, Rihanna performed Whitney Houston's cover of "For the Love of You", as well as "Pon de Replay" and "The Last Time", which were written and produced by Rogers and Sturken and would be included on her debut album ''Music of the Sun''.〔 Jay-Z was initially skeptical about signing Rihanna after he felt "Pon de Replay" was too big for her, saying "when a song is that big, it's hard (a new artist ) to come back from. I don't sign songs, I sign artists". The audition resulted in Rihanna signing a six-album record deal with Def Jam Recordings in February 2005, on the same day of the audition, with Jay-Z saying "There's only two ways out. Out the door after you sign this deal. Or through this window ...", meaning that he was not going to let her leave without signing a record deal.〔 After signing to Def Jam Recordings, Rihanna cancelled other meetings with record labels and relocated from Barbados to New York to live with Rogers' and his wife. Rihanna explained the concept behind the title of the album to Kidzworld, saying that the sun is representative of the her native Caribbean culture as well as herself and that the album consists of music from her heritage.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Rihanna Interview )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Music of the Sun」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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