Rihanna has been shining brighter than the rest — according to her chart success, at least. The singer whose new single “Diamonds” debuted on the charts at #1 in the UK and France this week, has yet another feather added to her cap of commercial successes. Billboard recapped the first two decades of the Pop Songs chart, which premiered on October 3, 1992 to take advantage of new technology that more accurately gauged radio airplay, and Rihanna came out on top due to her stranglehold on pop radio in recent years.
Since the debut of her first single, 2005′s “Pon de Replay,” RiRi has appeared on the Pop Songs chart more than any other artist (34 times), notched 21 Top 10 singles and hit #1 nine times, which ties her with Katy Perry for the most chart-toppers.
Rihanna didn’t come off successful on the Billboard’s chart as she faced stiff competition from some other heavyweight divas, including Pink at #2, Britney Spears at #3, Kelly Clarkson at #4 and Mariah Carey at #5. (All four of those others, it should be noted, hit the pop scene years before Rihanna, meaning that she also ascended the charts more frequently in a shorter time period than any of her contemporaries in the Top 5.) This was not lost on RiRi, who tweeted out a characteristically understated response to the honor.
understated response to the honor.
RihannaBillboard crowned me #1 top 40 artist of the decade just 7 years into this!! My fans just majorly shat on ur existence billboard.com/column/chartbe…
