Tickets went on sale this weekend for the teen queen's final UK and Irish dates on the Good Girl Gone Bad Tour and we're sure that just like her recent Christmas gig, they will be as rare as hens' teeth by the end of the month.

But no one can claim that the Barbados-born beauty is a Big Brother-esque over-night sensation. The teenager has worked hard for this moment ever since she was given her first break when she was 15, courtesy of music producer Evan Rogers. Rogers helped record Rihanna's initial demos and made sure they made their way into the hands of hip hop mogul (and Mr Beyonce) Jay Z, who quickly signed her to his Def Jam Records label.

The 19-year-old prodigy's first album Music of the Sun came out three years ago, and although she supported Gwen Stefani on her US tour and her first single Pon De Replay was a huge club hit, it's fair to say that the album wasn't a huge success.

Undeterred, the singer went back to work and made her sophomore effort, A Girl Like Me, which came out a year later.

A Girl Like Me was the album that saw Rihanna finally make the big leagues and the record debuted at Number Five in the US charts and Number Four in the UK charts.

Keen to capitalise on her success, she signed endorsement deals with Nike and JC Penney and her single SOS (which sampled Soft Cell's 80s classic Tainted Love) was a worldwide smash hit. Once again, Rihanna went out on the road and this time she supported the Pussycat Dolls on their European jaunt.

Early last year the tour made its way to Belfast and yours truly was there to catch all the action firsthand. Although it was clear at the time that Rihanna was destined for big things, little did anyone know that just 11 months later, the star would sell out the very same venue on her own.

Of course this feat wouldn't have been possible if she hadn't recorded the three- minute pop master-piece called Umbrella.

Released during our wettest summer ever, the song became something of an anthem and quite rightly is the biggest single of 2007, selling a staggering 8.3m units (take that Leona Lewis).

From there the pop sensation became a darling of the Press and her third record Good Girl Gone Bad became the 13th best selling record of last year.

Towards the end of her career-defining 12 months, Rihanna notched up multiple Number One hits, two MTV Music Video Awards and three Billboard Awards, as well as becoming the new face of CoverGirl Cosmetics. As if that wasn't enough, she was also back in Belfast - only this time it was to headline the show in her own right. Gone were the nerves and shy smiles of January and in its place was a full-blown pop extravaganza which gave Beyonce and Christina Aguilera a run for their money.

So if you missed out on catching Rihanna in 2007, then count yourself lucky you have one last chance to see her before she goes back home to the Caribbean for some much needed rest. We're sure that the Good Girl Gone Bad's Ulster gig will be something special indeed.

? Rihanna returns to the Odyssey Arena in Belfast on March 2. Tickets are priced £33 and are available from all Ticketmaster outlets. Her album Good Girl Gone Bad is out now on Def Jam Records.