No One Pronounces Rihanna's Name Right, Except for Rihanna (Maybe)
Rich Juzwiak · 11/26/13 11:00AMIn the rare instance that she is made to say her name in public these days, Rihanna pronounces it, "Ree-anna." This is unlike the rest of the world, which pronounces it "Ree-ah-na." This has been a longstanding pet peve of mine (especially because I say it the way she does). It doesn't make sense that people such as her Roc-a-fella boss Jay Z, or her on-again-off-again parasite of a boyfriend, Chris Brown, say it the popular way (have they even listened to her)? Shit went haywire Sunday night during the American Music Awards, when her own mother, Monica Braithwaite, pronounced it onstage with the "ah." After all, Braithwaite had a hand in giving her daughter the name (it's actually her middle name—full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty).