Rihanna and Drake kiss but never tell
Pair fuel speculation about their relationship at the VMAs
IF YOU tuned into MTV’s Video Music Awards this past Sunday, you probably heard Drake profess his love for Rihanna. “She’s someone I’ve been in love with since I was 22 years old,” he said.
So they’re together, right? Unclear! The relationship status between the two pop powerhouses has remained a bit of a mystery for years. They have appeared on each other’s albums, they have crazy intense chemistry on-screen, and they’ve remained coy about the nature of their love. Perhaps Drake and Rihanna’s relationship defies any kind of label, but it’s enigmatic enough to keep the public guessing for a long time.
Here’s a rundown:
When they met:
“The first time I met Robyn Fenty, it was 2005. She was shooting a music video, Pon de Replay, at the Avocado restaurant in Toronto. The director was Little X,” Drake said at the VMAs on Sunday night, as he presented an award to the Barbados superstar. “I was introduced to her as a kid who played background music at the restaurant as people ate their dinner. It’s hard to believe that 11 years later all three of us would come together to create the visual for a song, Work.” Little X, now known as Director X, said Drake wasn’t in Pon de Replay but that the rapper “grew up in Toronto and knew all the kids” who appeared as dancers in the video.
When did they first “really” meet:
In 2009, Chris Brown was charged for assaulting Rihanna, his then-girlfriend. Media attention on the singer’s love life and her relationship status intensified, and it was about then Rihanna was spotted at Lucky Strike in Manhattan with Drake.
Here’s an excerpt from a page 6 item that first fuelled speculation about a budding romance: “She was drinking whiskey and apple juice and making out with him all night,” says a spy. “They were really cute together.” Rihanna, who’s also been spending time in town with Katy Perry, peeled off with Drake at about midnight.”
Drake’s “Fireworks”:
The Toronto rapper’s debut album dropped in June 2010, but a couple of songs had leaked on the Internet weeks before. Fireworks was among them, and the song addresses his rendezvous with Rihanna and rumours she felt he had used her for publicity.
Drake says he was a pawn and then not?:
In 2009, Rihanna asked Drake to write her a song, which was never released, but the two began seeing each other regularly, according to the New York Times. “I was a pawn,” Drake said in 2010 upon his debut album release. “You know what she was doing to me? She was doing exactly what I’ve done to many women throughout my life, which is show them quality time, then disappear.”
Weeks l ater, Drake tried to clarify what he had said, telling MTV News that “in no way was it negative.”
“She’s just such an overwhelming and incredible person,” Drake said of Rihanna. “And such a talented person and someone that I was like, ‘I can’t believe I’m here talking to this individual,’ that she just gave me that feeling like when I was 17 years old trying to take Nikki Ramos, this girl from Toronto, out on a date and she never wanted to go with me. She never would go; she would have a million excuses. That’s how (Rihanna) made me feel, she made me feel small; she made me feel nervous.”
They
continued working with each other:
Rihanna and Drake collaborated on many projects over the years, and many of those songs played at the possibility or love or something between them. That includes Rihanna’s 2010 What’ s My Name.
Of the second portion of the video for Work, Swedish director Tim Erem told Entertainment Weekly that Drake and Rihanna “are just two friends that are really close. Just put them in front of the camera and that’s what they do. You start recording and the whole chemistry just changed. Everyone’s asking, are they together or they this or are they that? No, they’re friends.”
This year, Rihanna is very single and very busy:
During a February appearance on the The Ellen Degeneres Show, Rihanna was asked about her love life and Drake’s involvement with it.
“I’m single right now,” the singer told Degeneres, “and it’s not that I’m like, ‘Oh, pro-single, yes, I hate men!’ I just think I have so much on my plate that I can’t even find the time to entertain a steady relationship or anything serious. Or even a text.”
Drake takes out a billboard for Rihanna:
Days before Rihanna would receive the Video Vanguard award, she posted a photo to her Instagram, showing a billboard that Drake had apparently bought out for her. “Congratulations to Rihanna, from Drake and Everyone at Ovo,” it read.
Is buying out billboard space friend-zone behaviour? Relationship behaviour? Unreciprocated crush behaviour? Let the intrigue continue.
The VMAs:
Drake presented Rihanna with the Video Vanguard Award on Sunday, showing up in a tuxedo after he was absent to receive his own award. Here is some of what he said: “Captivating from Day 1, the iconic being that is Rihanna was already at a place where most artists only dream of going. For them, that’s often the peak, but for her, that was the starting point, and she has kept ascending to an untouchable level. When it comes to music, she relentlessly takes over the charts with every release. When it comes to performance, they swarm in masses to be in her presence.
“This woman has surpassed all competition while still being the same girl from Barbados. We love the music, which can change styles from out in the album. We love the videos, which change their artistic vision from year to year, but most of all, we love the woman who hasn’t changed since day one.
“She’s one of my best friends. All my adult life I’ve looked up to her. She’s a living, breathing legend in the industry.”
Then, Drake handed Rihanna her award and went in for a kiss. It looked like she leant back and he planted his lips right on her cheek. It was awkward.
It wasn’t until the end of her acceptance speech that Rihanna remarked: “Thank you, Drake, for that amazing speech.”
Drake posts a couple-like photo:
After the VMAs ended, the after-parties began and in the early hours, Drake posted a very couple-looking snap on his Instagram. Let the speculation continue. – The Washington Post
She’s one of my best friends… a living legend