Rihanna has revealed that she decided to take control of her image and sound to boost her music career.

The singer, whose debut album Music Of The Sun peaked at number 35 on the UK album chart, admitted that she ignored label bosses who were concerned with her image before she released her third album Good Girl Gone Bad, which topped the chart in 2007.

Discussing the moderate success of her first two records, she told The Sun: "I just felt, hey, here I am, this money-making vehicle for this big label and I'm not even having fun because I'm not able to be who I am.

"Then finally I said, 'I'm going to do it my way' and I just rebelled, cut my hair, dyed it black, changed my image, changed my sound."

The 'Rude Boy' star also said that she scored her breakthrough hit 'Umbrella', a track originally suggested for Britney Spears or Mary J Blige, after approaching writer Terius Nash at the Grammy Awards and insisting the song was hers.

Rihanna recently became the first female artist in history to achieve five UK Number One singles in consecutive years.