Rihanna Was A Beauty Pageant Queen Before Launching Her Music Career

Rihanna speaks fondly about growing up in Barbados and often returns to her hometown. There are even some vestiges of her youth that foreshadowed her current passions such as selling clothes with her dad and lurking around her mom's job at a fragrance department. Haven't we all heard about how amazing Rihanna smells at this stage? While she dabbled in fashion, makeup, and even singing growing up, most people probably don't know she also competed in a pageant. 

As surprising as it may sound, Rihanna joins the likes of Beyoncé and Selena Gomez as artists with a pageant past. If the "Only Girl in the World" crooner doesn't strike you as the pageant type, well, you're probably right. According to the Daily Mail, her school friends dared the then-15-year-old tomboy to compete for the crown. She did — and won. Rihanna didn't have her eyes on the crown initially, instead wanting to focus on military training. 

"I kind of laughed at these stupid pageants," the iconic pop star reminisced. "But my friends at school dared me to do it, and my military training came in handy for learning to balance books on my head for the catwalk." Rihanna being a pageant queen might sound strange but with all that height and poise, it's not really much of a shock — especially considering it was her vocal performance, during the talent portion, that sealed the deal.