Her first era wasn't as huge as Kesha, but Ariana has snatched the top 10 throne with her last 2 albums. All ha singles have been going top 10 consistently and smoothly. Is it safe to say Ariana has passed Kesha in terms of a singles artist?
Ariana already surpassed Kesha with her first two albums (not as a singles artist but overall).
Year-end charts
Animal: 2010
20 2011
95
My Everything: 2014
46 2015
17
Warrior: 2013
92
Yours Truly: 2013
106 2014
68
In fact, Ariana has even sold more albums than Kesha WW (3.74 million vs. 3.7 million) despite having the disadvantage of a much worse sales climate. Kesha has had the bigger singles, but Ariana is the bigger celebrity and touring artist, so Ariana wins.
It's kind of hard to say "no" because Ariana is still so relevant and currently successful. I know if you look at stats on paper Kesha is better but she was slaying during the digital era so of course her stats are gonna be better as far as single and album sales are concerned. Ariana decimates Kesha in streaming, which is a better indication of the current industry.
I'll go with yes, but it's not a clear-cut victory for Ariana. I mean Kesha still has 4 #1s and Ariana's looking for her first.