Quote:
Originally posted by Navyboy20
Not comparatively in terms of numbers, but definitely symbolically in terms of impact, beauty, and relevance. People forget that despite Whitney having a successful commericial career, the black community constantly shaded her for being pop and not being "R&B" enough, just like they do to Rihanna.
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I beg to differ.
Now, I'll say that I'll hate on Rihanna a lot, but I do enjoy her music wholeheartedly and I think she's absolutely the most gorgeous pop star the world has seen.
We live in a digital age and Rihanna was pretty much the pioneer for it, but she definitely wasn't the only one or the biggest in terms of impact. Beyoncé has had the greatest impact on pop culture since Michael Jackson. She's even more popular and respected worldwide than Britney was in her prime... and this is coming from a Britney Spears fan.
Taylor Swift is a digital titan, like Rihanna, but she doesn't always have support from pop radio like Rihanna does. Rihanna always gets pop support, and generally gets support from urban formats as well. She has a lot more formats pushing her because he music is (and don't take this as shade) made to be successful on the Top 40 format.
Britney is a lot closer in terms of overall sales. Many people, Beyoncé, Christina and many others are a lot more successful in terms of achievements from vocal performance.
The only thing really comparable is their success in terms of singles... but I feel like Janet and Mariah and Madonna have far surpassed that. Perhaps not in raw number of #1 singles, but definitely in terms of number of sizeable radio hits. Especially because Rihanna has the advantage of digital sales boosting her positions on the charts.
They are both human barbie dolls... but I think that's the only real comparison between the two. In terms of success, I think there are others before Rihanna that are more comparable to Whitney's legacy.
Rihanna will probably make music for decades to come, and will certainly rise through the ranks as others fade, but you can't compare the two right now.