Rihanna in 2013 was a whirlwind. If you lived through it, you remember the constant noise. It wasn't just about the music, though Unapologetic was still fresh and tearing up the charts. It was the feeling that she was everywhere at once, pushing every boundary she could find until it snapped. She was 25. She was rich. She was arguably the biggest pop star on the planet, and she was acting like she didn't give a single damn what the "role model" police had to say about it.
Most people look back at that era and think of the Instagram posts or the fashion. But looking closer, 2013 was the year Rihanna solidified her status as a cultural untouchable. She survived things that would have ended other careers.
The Diamonds World Tour and the Grind
Touring is a grind. For Rihanna, the Diamonds World Tour was a massive, 90-date undertaking that kicked off in March 2013 in Buffalo, New York. It was a spectacle of high fashion and grit. She was wearing custom Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy and Raf Simons. It looked expensive because it was.
But it wasn't all smooth sailing. Honestly, the press was kind of brutal to her that year. She was showing up late to sets—sometimes hours late—and the fans in places like Adelaide and Cardiff were getting restless. There was this tension between her rock-star persona and the professional expectations of a global tour. She was living fast. You could see it in the grainy fan videos. Yet, when she hit those notes on "Stay," the room would go silent. That song, which featured Mikky Ekko, became the emotional anchor of her 2013. It proved she wasn't just a "hit factory" but a vocalist who could handle raw, stripped-back vulnerability.
The tour eventually grossed over $140 million. That is a staggering number for someone who many critics claimed was "overexposed" at the time. She proved them wrong by simply showing up and selling out stadiums.
That River Island Collab and the Birth of a Mogul
Before Fenty Beauty changed the makeup industry forever, there was the River Island collaboration. This was 2013. Rihanna made her debut at London Fashion Week, which was a pretty big deal back then for a "pop singer" to be taken seriously by the high-fashion elite.
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It wasn't just a licensing deal where she slapped her name on a shirt. She was actually in the room, picking fabrics and arguing over hemlines. The collection was very "Rihanna"—lots of jersey, high slits, and 90s streetwear influences. Critics were split. Some called it "hideous," while others saw it for what it was: the beginning of a retail empire. She was testing the waters. She was learning how to convert her personal style into a scalable business model.
Why the Fashion World Flinched
The establishment didn't always love her. She was too provocative for some. She wore a sheer top to a studio in Stockholm or stepped out in pajamas and heels in New York. People talked. They blogged. They judged. But by the time she showed up to the AMA Awards later that year to accept the first-ever Icon Award, the industry had no choice but to bow down. Her mother, Monica Fenty, presented her with the award. It was one of the few times we saw the "BadGalRiRi" persona crack, showing the actual human being underneath the headlines.
The Chris Brown "Second Act" Controversy
We have to talk about the elephant in the room. In early 2013, Rihanna and Chris Brown were back together. Publicly. It was a polarizing moment that divided her fan base and sparked endless think pieces in Rolling Stone and The Guardian.
"It’s different now," she told Rolling Stone in a January interview. She was blunt about it. She knew people were disappointed, but she insisted that she needed to live her truth, even if it was a mistake. They eventually broke up (again) by May, but that window of time in 2013 showed her refusal to be a victim in the eyes of the public. She took control of her own narrative, for better or worse. It was messy. It was human. It was exactly what her album title promised: unapologetic.
Instagram, Weed, and the "BadGalRiRi" Persona
If 2012 was the year Rihanna joined Instagram, 2013 was the year she mastered it. This was the peak of her "no filter" era. She was posting photos of herself smoking, showing off her "Thug Life" tattoos (which were actually pink ink from a year prior, but the vibe remained), and clapping back at anyone who dared to comment on her lifestyle.
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Remember the Teyana Taylor Twitter feud? Or the time she posted a photo of herself in front of a mosque in Abu Dhabi and got asked to leave? She was constantly flirting with controversy.
- She didn't use a PR team for her captions.
- She engaged directly with fans (and haters).
- She curated an aesthetic that felt reachable yet totally aspirational.
She was basically inventing the modern influencer blueprint before "influencer" was even a common job title. She was authentic in a way that felt dangerous to the carefully polished brands of other pop stars like Taylor Swift or Katy Perry at the time.
The Music That Defined the Year
Even without a new album release in 2013—which was rare for her since she’d dropped an album every year for ages—she dominated the airwaves. "Pour It Up" became a strip club anthem. The music video was a middle finger to respectability politics. Then you had "The Monster" with Eminem.
That song hit Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was her 13th chart-topper. That put her in a tie with Michael Jackson. Let that sink in. At 25 years old, she was matching the King of Pop's stats.
Moving Toward the Future
By the end of 2013, Rihanna started to go quiet. The "R8" rumors began. Fans were desperate for what would eventually become Anti. But that year of chaos—the tour, the fashion, the public relationship drama—was necessary. It was the "growing pains" year where she stopped being a pop princess and became a sovereign entity.
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She wasn't just chasing hits anymore; she was building a world.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Historians
If you are looking to revisit this era or understand its impact on pop culture today, here is how to process the Rihanna 2013 legacy:
Look at the Business Pivot
Don't just listen to the music. Study the River Island and MAC (RiRi Hearts MAC) collaborations. These were the prototypes for the multi-billion dollar Fenty brand. Rihanna proved that a celebrity could be a creative director, not just a face.
Analyze the Social Media Blueprint
Go back and look at her 2013 archives (if you can find the deleted gems). Notice how she used "raw" imagery to build a deeper connection with her audience than any high-budget commercial ever could. It’s a masterclass in personal branding.
The Power of Saying No
Rihanna’s biggest lesson from 2013 was her refusal to apologize for her personal life. Whether you agreed with her choices or not, she demonstrated that a career can survive a lack of public approval if the "product"—the music and the art—is strong enough.
The year ended with her being the most-streamed female artist on Spotify. She didn't need to play by the rules to win. She just needed to be Rihanna.