Every singer has one song that can either make or break their career and can take them from being relatively unknown to overnight success in the space of a few hours. Rihanna, who is now a global superstar, is no exception to this after her song 'Umbrella' gained her the success that she has today.

However, it turns out that the song wasn't initially meant for her and there were actually a few other singers who were already famous that had initially turned the song down before it was then passed on to Rihanna. Had they not done this, there is a lot of doubt over whether she would even be known today.

What Song Made Rihanna Famous?

Despite 'Umbrella' being the song that turned her into the star that she is today, there were a couple of other singles that RiRi released that first launched her into the eyes of the public that may have been forgotten about.

Many would say that it was 'Umbrella' that made her famous, but it was actually 'Pon De Replay' that was the first single she released way back in 2005 and despite her being unknown up until that point, it actually brought her a lot of success.

Not only was she able to get it into the top ten of the Hot 100, but she was also able to get it to stay there for a grand total of twelve weeks.

It then went on to spend another twenty-three weeks in the charts, which isn't too bad considering she was unknown, and then also went on to be signed with Jay-Z's record label, Def Jam.

Who Turned Down The Song 'Umbrella'?

It is a relatively well-known fact that within the world of music, songwriters, even if they are musicians themselves, will write a song and even if they have a specific artist in mind for that song, it may get passed around a few different artists before one person eventually accepts it.

'Umbrella' is no exception to this, and it was actually offered to a number of different artists before RiRi was able to put her name to it. One of those people was Britney Spears, and it is said to have actually been written for her initially. Given how iconic the song is, it's rather questionable as to why she turned it down in the first place.

Whether Britney actually liked the song or not is unknown, however, the reason why the song was turned down by her in the first place was simply due to the fact that she had already finished the album that she was working on at that time, so there was no point in her recording the song as it probably wouldn't end up going anywhere.

This was initially meant for her comeback album, however, this was during one of the many down moments of her career and this was another of the reasons why her team decided that it was best to give the song up and let it go to another artist.

Another singer who turned it down was none other than the legendary soul and R&B singer Mary J Blige. Apparently, her team was very keen for her to get the song, however, they couldn't finalize the deal without her, and she was at the Grammys, so missed out on the song, and it ended up going to Rihanna instead.

This is probably just as well because, after all, this is the song that launched Rihanna's career and is one of the songs that she is most known for. Without it, who knows where RiRi would be now with her career? But one thing's for sure and that is that she was always destined to be a star.

This isn't the only song that Rihanna eventually got after others turned it down or passed it by as her hit song 'Diamonds' was initially offered to Kanye West, Lana Del Rey, and Eminem before it was eventually sent over to Rihanna.

What Is Rihanna's Biggest Hit?

Despite having a flurry of hit songs to her name, especially with 'Umbrella' being the song that is more than likely one of the first to come to mind when RiRi's name is mentioned, it is actually another song that is classed as her biggest hit.

It's actually her song 'We Found Love' which was written and produced by Calvin Harris that is considered as being her biggest hit. This is her longest song to remain at number one, where it remained for a grand total of ten weeks, which, even with her superstar status, is still really impressive.

'Umbrella' is actually Rihanna's second-best number-one hit, which helped remove her status from being just another one-hit-wonder. It was number one for a total of seven weeks and was certified as double platinum in 2008.

Even though the song wasn't initially meant for her, it's more than apparent that it put her on the map for many and gave her the fame that she potentially never would have had if Britney or Mary had accepted the song instead.