How a Beyoncé Song Changed Rihanna’s Life

So many Beyoncé songs have changed the world — and one in particular changed Rihanna’s world. When the “SOS” singer was still part of a girl group, she auditioned for a producer by singing a song by Queen B. The producer in question went on to write two of Rihanna’s biggest early hits.

It’s not clear which Beyoncé song Rihanna sang

During a 2020 interview with Vulture, producer Evan Rodgers recalled watching the “Only Girl (In the World)” singer audition for him while she was still part of a girl group. “My wife’s goddaughter asked if the girl group could come by our villa,” he said. “Rihanna was the last one to show up, she was late.

“She drew all the attention and I was almost thinking maybe she’s just in the group because she’s so striking [to look at],” he added. “Sometimes it works that way. I had each one of them sing for me individually and then they did a little bit together. But Rihanna sang ‘Dangerously in Love’ by Beyoncé.” It’s unclear if Rogers was talking about “Dangerously in Love” by Destiny’s Child or Queen B’s solo version of the track, “Dangerously in Love 2.”

How Rihanna’s audition led to 2 great songs

Regardless of which song Rihanna sang, Rogers was impressed. “She just had something really unique,” he remembered. “She was doing some of the really complicated Beyoncé runs and hitting some of them — not all of them — but there was something about her tone that really, really stuck out to me, combined with the fact that I just thought she had an amazing presence, even in her school uniform with her acne and little plaits. After the audition, I got all of their parents’ numbers, and my wife called Rihanna’s mom to ask if they could come back the next day.”

Rogers told Rihanna’s mother that her daughter had something special. He offered to take the fledgling singer to his studio in Connecticut during a school break. The rest, as they say, is history. Rogers went on to co-write two of Rihanna’s hits: the Caribbean-tinged “Pon de Replay” and the new wave tune “Shut Up and Drive.” The latter samples the seminal 1980s song “Blue Monday” by New Order.

How Beyoncé inspired Rihanna’s Super Bowl performance

It’s interesting that Rihanna chose to cover a Beyoncé song when she displayed her vocal prowess. During a 2023 interview with the NFL, the “Diamonds” singer was not shy about citing Beyoncé as an influence. Rihanna revealed that she watched Beyoncé’s Super Bowl performances for inspiration for her own Super Bowl performance. That’s not a bad place to start! She also cited Queen B as an incredible artist.

Rihanna and Beyoncé definitely have some major similarities. They both have close connections to Jay-Z, they’re both willing to straddle the lines between R&B and pop, and they’re both fashion icons. However, they both bring something unique to the table. For example, Rihanna has become a makeup mogul in recent years while Beyoncé has developed a penchant for concept albums like Lemonade and Renaissance.

Rihanna is one of the most famous people alive and she wouldn’t be without one Beyoncé song.