For the past decade and a half, Rihanna has been an undisputed, impossibly consistent hitmaker, smash after smash and developed her sound along with popular music as a whole. When the no. Step 1 singles, Rih’s impression on our culture has become eternal – it’s hard to imagine a wedding, a club night or any kind of festive soundtrack without her unmistakable voice appearing.
Rihanna’s hits are never limited to one era of her artist, and as such, all eight of her albums still have potential radio fodder. While we patiently wait for # R9, check out the Hot 100 hit with the highest hit of all Rihanna albums to date:
Music of the sun (2005):
“Pon de Replay,” Peaks no. 2
Rihanna was just 17 years old when her debut album, Music of the sun, was released in the United States, and she did not wait long to become a top 40 radio presence in America. “Pon de Replay” was a breathless dance-pop smash for the young singer, climbing to no. 2 on the Hot 100 card; Jay-Z, then president and CEO of Def Jam Recordings, had helped deliver the Barbadian star to the States, and she never looked back.
A girl like me (2006):
“SOS,” No. 1 highlight
By quickly following up her 2005 debut with the following year A girl like me, Rihanna was able to capitalize on the state success of “Pon de Replay” and turn that momentum into her first career no. 1 single. “SOS” spent three weeks at the top of the Hot 100 and became an ongoing dance smash; Since then, Rih has recorded at least one No.1 single with each new album release.
Good girl went bad (2007):
“Umbrella” feat. Jay-Z, no. 1-peak (“Take a Bow” and “Disturbia,” No. 1 peaks on deluxe edition)
Has just produced Rihanna’s third studio album “Umbrella”, a collaboration with Jay-Z that came out on top Billboard‘s Song of the 2007 Summer Card, Good girl went bad would be considered a commercial success. But then Rihanna added new tracks to a Reloaded deluxe edition of the album, she returned twice more to the Hot 100 top – with the kiss-off ballad “Take a Bow” and the horror-inspired pop banger “Disturbia” – which resulted in one of her biggest projects career.
Rated R (2009):
“Rude Boy,” no. 1 peak
After changing her danceable approach with “Russian Roulette”, was the ballad that led her 2009 LP Rated R and highlight at no. 9 on the Hot 100, Rihanna demonstrated that she could deviate from her proven formula and still score radio hits. And Rated R still had a chart-topper on their tracklist: the Dancehall-influenced “Rude Boy” would continue with five straight weeks at no. 1 in 2010.
Sound (2010):
“Only girl (in the world)”, “What’s my name?” feat. Drake & “S&M” feat. Britney Spears, no. 1 peaks
Sound is the only Rihanna album to be nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammys, and given the dominance of her pop culture, it’s no wonder the Recording Academy would honor the brightly lit pop opus. The first two singles, “Only Girl (In The World)” and “What’s My Name?”, Striped to no. 1 on the Hot 100 – the latter being Drake’s first career chart topper – while a Britney Spears-assisted remix of the racy “S&M” gave Rihanna a hat trick with the album.
Talk about rubbing salt in my wounds – d’oh! (2011):
“We Found Love” feat. Calvin Harris, no. 1 peak
Because 2011 was the height of EDM’s mainstream boom, it fits that album by Rihanna Talk about rubbing salt in my wounds – d’oh! was marked by a few collaborations with one of the biggest superstars of dance music. ‘We Found Love’, with Scottish super producer Calvin Harris, became one of the biggest hits of Rihanna’s career, with 10 total weeks at no. 1 on the Hot 100; “Where Have You Been”, another uptempo team-up with Harris on the album, later reached number 5.
Unapologetic (2012):
“Diamonds,” No. 1 peak
Created with Benny Blanco, StarGate and Sia – the latter was two years away from scoring her solo breakthrough with “Chandelier” – the mid-tempo, passionate “Diamonds” represented a change for Rihanna to two albums led by high-octane singles. Not that the more contemplative tempo slowed her momentum: the song became Rih’s twelfth career Hot 100 chart topper, and the biggest hit of 2012’s Unapologetic.
Anti (2016):
Wurk feat. Drake, no. 1 peak
After the longest gap between album releases, Rihanna returned in early 2016 with her critically acclaimed Anti album, and a reggae-pop lead single alongside an old friend and frequent collaborator. “Work,” with Drake, became the second no. 1 of the pair and spent nine weeks on the Hot 100, while Anti also released the top 10 hits “Love on the Brain” (No. 5 peak) and “Needed Me” (No. 7 peak).
