With a busy pop career to promote, Rihanna is always flitting about all over the world but she wouldn’t want it any other way.

She told the Sun recently: “It was always this way from the beginning. I was thrown in at this pace and I never stopped.”

“Sometimes I talk to other artists who tell me they are off home for a week, and I say, ‘That’s crazy. Staying home for a week is just a dream for me at the moment.’ The last time I was home, in LA, it was just for 12 hours and, as for Barbados, I won’t get back there until Christmas.”

“But I’m not complaining. Everything that has happened is just amazing. You hope for the best - but when it happens to this extent, it’s just unbelievable.”

“I may have had success and fame early but it doesn’t mean I can’t handle it. I refuse to crack under pressure - in fact I thrive on it. So when I read about Britney Spears and Amy Winehouse who have suffered under it, it’s sad.”

“It is easy to criticise them but it happens. You just have to stay focused and keep your feet on the ground.”

“Staying down to earth in this industry in general is not easy, but I am strong and when I feel lost or depressed on the road, I just call [my best friend] Melissa. When I see people turning to drugs and alcohol, then that’s when I call Melissa. She helps me.”