Rihanna seems to reinvent herself with each new album. She started off as the island girl next door, but in her newest album ‘Rated R,’ her sound, as well as her look, seems to retreat into a darker, more aggressive style. Here is her progression from reggae princess to reflective diva.

Pon de Replay: Music of the Sun (2005)Looking at this video, Rihanna looks nothing like the edgy, leather-clad, spiky-haired diva that graces the covers of magazines. Instead, she seems like something of a mini-Beyonce, circa Destiny’s Child. The song is reminiscent of Rihanna’s Bahamian background, and with bright colors and a dance club scene, it looks as if Rihanna were just another passing pop star just with a reggae sound. The song works as a way to make a start on the scene, but clearly this look just didn’t suit her, and in the next album, she dropped the act for something more scandalous.

SOS: A Girl Like Me (2006)This song was the pinnacle of Rihanna’s mainstream style. Still selling the image of a cutesy Top 40 star, Rihanna fit the family-friendly status quo. Unsurprisingly, the song lacked any real depth or meaning, a typical staple of Rihanna’s early career. The song’s flow and rhythm makes it a perfect club song that’s easy to beat your head to, but it lacks any real weight beyond that. Of course, the then-fledgling artist had yet to establish a real identity for herself beyond another common pop singer.

Umbrella: Good Girl Gone Bad (2007)While Rihanna’s popular single musically retained the generic bubblegum beat that defined her career, this song also served as a coming out announcement for Rihanna’s darker side. Gone was the innocent girl-next-door appeal, replaced with a sharp haircut and tight black spandex. ‘Umbrella’ marked a tonal shift as the hip-hop artist slowly shifted from a Beyonce clone to a more established edgy punk rapper. Plus, it was always fun to add 10 extra syllables to the word ‘umbrella.’

Disturbia: Good Girl Gone Bad (2007)In ‘Disturbia,’ Rihanna tells the world: ‘I’m going crazy now.’ Maybe it wasn’t the start of Rihanna’s craziness, but it was definitely the peak. Complete with black nails and white contacts in the video, you could hardly say this was the same Rihanna that sang ‘Pon de Replay’ just two years earlier. This was before the Chris Brown drama, so you have to wonder if he drove her to insanity, or if the chains she is talking about, really are a reflection of her relationship with him. That’s all speculation, though, and all you can definitively say is this was one of her best, and creepiest, songs ever.

Russian Roulette: Rated R (2009)Well, if it wasn’t clear that Rihanna was dealing with some issues, then this song makes it painfully obvious. The eerie metaphor of the ‘only one of us will make it out alive’ game of Russian roulette gives listeners a look into how Rihanna felt about the Chris Brown incident. The words accurately portray the mix of fear and defeat, while still somehow preserving how she must’ve felt at the time. The entire CD seems like a comeback from the darkness of the incident, as many of the songs talk about being dumped by a lover or emerging victorious from a bad relationship. Either way, it solidifies Rihanna as a strong woman who wears her heart on her sleeve, and has a story to tell.