Rihanna is the type of artist who really won't get her credit until she's much older / dies. People rn don't think of Rihanna as one of the biggest artists ever, just because she doesn't present herself that way. But once people look back.
I'm excited for R8's impending sales though. Navy has really been trying ARTPOP!
Even in the US (by far her biggest market), Britanny was overshadowed by Santana, Eminem, Backstreet Boys, Creed, NSYNC, etc
The music industry in general was bigger back then, artists who were huge were huge in a way that few artists are today. Being #1 in different years doesn't mean that those acts are equivalent, just like a #1 hit on the Hot 100 can actually not be as big a hit as a #5 hit in a different year.
everything released in 2009/2010 feels SO recent