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Rihanna's family shock

Rihanna's family can't believe the singer has become such a worldwide success.

The Barbados-born beauty admits most of her relatives are still in shock at how famous the 'Umbrella' singer has become and struggle to comprehend her fame because they rarely see her.

She said: "It's been a long time since I saw my family because I have been so busy. They can't believe it's me that's travelling all over the world. They still see me as the little teenage girl who hated school and was always hanging out in town."

Rihanna - who is house hunting in Los Angeles with rumored boyfriend Chris Brown - was honored by her home country earlier this year, who declared a public holiday to celebrate her success.
The singer flew back to Barbados to perform a free concert and accept the honor, which took place the day after her 20th birthday in February.

Rihanna established herself big-time in summer 2005 with her debut smash hit, "Pon de Replay," and continued to demonstrate her smash hit potential in subsequent years (e.g., "S.O.S.," 2006; "Umbrella," 2007).

By the time of her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007), she was a full-fledged international pop star with a regular presence top the charts, from Germany to Japan. Born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on February 20, 1988, in Saint Michael, Barbados, she always exhibited a special quality, winning beauty and talent contests as a schoolchild.

But because she lived on the fairly remote island of Barbados, she never foresaw the sort of stardom that would later befall her.

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