'Grateful' Rihanna thanks fans on 15th anniversary of her debut single

Rihanna's fans joined her in celebrating 15 years of her entry into the music industry on Sunday and received a sweet response from the Grammy-winning singer.

Fifteen years ago, on May 24, Rihanna released her debut single "Pon de Replay," from her debut studio album "Music of the Sun." The fans of the singer celebrated the anniversary by making #15YearsOfRihanna trend on social media sites and congratulated the pop-star for her achievements in the industry.

"From an island girl to the Queen of music industry #15YearsOfRihanna," a fan tweeted, while another wrote: "15 years ago today, Rihanna released Pon De Replay at just 17 years old & changed the game forever. everything she has accomplished since her first days on the scene just prove she's a mf LEGEND. #15YEARSOFRIHANNA."

In response, the 32-year-old singer took to her Instagram stories to express gratitude towards her fans whom she calls 'Navy,' and wrote: "Thank you for all the hashtag love today!"

"Man this is trippy. Feels like just yesterday I was shaking in the hallways of Def Jam waiting to audition for Jay," the "Diamond" singer added.

The entrepreneur also spoke about her first single "Pon de Replay" and her journey since then. Crediting her success to her fans, the businesswoman said: "'Pon de Replay' is where it all began... 15 years later and I'm here because God led me to you, and you guys have held me up, supported me, tolerated me, loved me, kept it too real with me, and we gon always be connected because of that."

"I love you Navy, and I cherish you. I'm so grateful to be gifted you as my fans and family. G4L!" concluded the philanthropist, who was just 17 when she released her first single.

While "Pn de Replay" was the song that brought Rihanna in the limelight and marked the beginning of her extremely-successful singing career. The Barbados native had started pursuing her dreams years before. In 2003, at the age of 15, RiRi had formed a musical group with two of her classmates, which caught the attention of record producer Evan Rogers.

Rihanna got a solo audition with Rogers, who then asked the teenager to record demo solos to send to record labels, and finally signed her to his production company Syndicated Rhythm Productions. She was then invited for an audition by Jay Z, who was the president and CEO of Def Jam Recordings then. At the audition, the singer sang her demo tracks "Pon de Replay and "The Last Time," as well as Whitney Houston's "For the Love of You." Jay Z and Def Jam chairman LA Reid were impressed with her audition and immediately signed a six-album record deal with her, reports Mail Online.

As of now, Rihanna has released eight studio albums: Music of the Sun (2005), A Girl Like Me (2006), Good Girl Gone Bad (2007), Rated R (2009), Loud (2010), Talk That Talk (2011), Unapologetic (2012), and Anti (2016). Fans are eagerly waiting for her ninth studio album which she refers to as "R9."