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Rihanna is on Michael Jackson's level

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I wonder how many people used to denounce Michael Jackson back in his prime when people compared him to the greats that came before him. Certainly now is not the time to hold the same torch to Rihanna, but it will be interesting to see how history remembers the pop artists that rose in this last decade.
 
People acting like they have no idea who Rihanna is, I'm dead! Hihihihihi

Hilarious

Like we're talking about a girl that just SOLD OUT her WHOLE TOUR WW, yet no one knows who she is? She just sold out STADIUMS in EU all because people wanted to see her so much, I don't believe for a second that people don't think she's an icon or don't care for her hits. She has had too much success in her short career (so far) for me to believe that she isn't a legend, an ICON, and a forced to be reckoned with in the industry. Try as you might to discredit her or marginalize her success, but the tea remains, she has SURPASSED MJ in #1 hits, she has sold out arenas and stadiums Worldwide, she's the highest selling digital artist EVER, she's the most played artist on the radio EVER, and she's a household name.

Rihanna is going [ N O W H E R E ]. And if you haven't heard her before (but everyone has) you will soon cause she is just getting started.

#ShineBrightBitches

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This means nothing to me as I do not actively seek out her music. And I don't come across it even when I'm not looking for it.
 
I wonder how many people used to denounce Michael Jackson back in his prime when people compared him to the greats that came before him. Certainly now is not the time to hold the same torch to Rihanna, but it will be interesting to see how history remembers the pop artists that rose in this last decade.

In the 80s MJ was already FUCKING HUGE. He already had immense credibility from The Jackson 5. He was already a Mowtown Great.
You don't get Quincy Jones producing your album from just being a pop star.
 
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Waiting for something ICONic from Rhi...

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Rih is iconic in other ways, though. She's one of the first popstars who truly 'gets' social media, which makes her human and accessible in a way that none of those popstars ever could be.
 
I wonder how many people used to denounce Michael Jackson back in his prime when people compared him to the greats that came before him. Certainly now is not the time to hold the same torch to Rihanna, but it will be interesting to see how history remembers the pop artists that rose in this last decade.

And that's the tea.
 
She's with Drake again, not Chris Brown.

She shouldn't even be associating with Chris Brown and she should definitely not be making songs with him like everything is okay. Especially after some of the remarks Chris Brown has made about the incident, post-incident. It sets the wrong tone and, as you say, girls look up to her. She needs to be held to a higher standard because of her status as a big pop star with millions and millions of followers that imitate her actions and perceive what she does as the gold standard. Sexuality is one thing but when you show a relationship with a proven woman-beater it gives the impression that that is 'okay'. There is rarely a case where there should be a second chance for what Chris Brown did and friendship and collabs should be off the table just to set an example. People not in the spotlight have enough trouble staying away from those types of relationships without reinforcement from such an influental source.
 
I think a lot of people got to know of Rhianna sadly after Chris Brown attacked her. That shit was all over the news.

Granted MJ became infamous for all sorts of shenanigans too. But I feel that he was world famous first for his music, and then all that followed.
 
Rih is iconic in other ways, though. She's one of the first popstars who truly 'gets' social media, which makes her human and accessible in a way that none of those popstars ever could be.
That's only interesting to her fans or to online pop fans, not to the general public. Go grab someone on the street and ask them what makes Rhianna interesting. Her witty Instagram replies? Nobody knows or cares about that except Tumblr.
 
Rihanna has been non-stop on the radio for years now. Thirteen #1s comes as no surprise and since she hasn't slowed down once I could see her hitting past twenty before the decade is out.
 
That's only interesting to her fans or to online pop fans, not to the general public. Go grab someone on the street and ask them what makes Rhianna interesting. Her witty Instagram replies? Nobody knows or cares about that except Tumblr.

Grab someone over the age of 20 and ask them that, maybe. But old people not really getting pop culture is a tale as old as Cher.
 
To this day MJ is the only pop artist I've heard that made truly memorable songs. Everyone else makes disposable hits that are thrown out and forgotten about a few months later when the next one comes out. That attitude is even worse nowadays with this smartphone and youtube generation. It often feels like songs are thrown out weekly and people put out 2 albums a year now.
 
To this day MJ is the only pop artist I've heard that made truly memorable songs. Everyone else makes disposable hits that are thrown out and forgotten about a few months later when the next one comes out. That attitude is even worse nowadays with this smartphone and youtube generation. It often feels like songs are thrown out weekly and people put out 2 albums a year now.

Which, in my opinion, is the biggest problem with modern pop. It's all about who has the most #1 hits or most views on Youtube.

Quality is subjective and even forgone just to make sure you get your video/song out before the next.

Remember Katy Perry vs Gaga with Roar and Applause then Prism and ARTPOP?
 
To this day MJ is the only pop artist I've heard that made truly memorable songs. Everyone else makes disposable hits that are thrown out and forgotten about a few months later when the next one comes out. That attitude is even worse nowadays with this smartphone and youtube generation. It often feels like songs are thrown out weekly and people put out 2 albums a year now.

Justine Timberlake is the only person that has put out two years in an album recently. And both were forgettable.
 
To this day MJ is the only pop artist I've heard that made truly memorable songs. Everyone else makes disposable hits that are thrown out and forgotten about a few months later when the next one comes out. That attitude is even worse nowadays with this smartphone and youtube generation. It often feels like songs are thrown out weekly and people put out 2 albums a year now.

Just the desperate ones like Justin Timberlake.
 
Justine Timberlake is the only person that has put out two years in an album recently. And both were forgettable.

I'm just saying it feels like that to an outsider because these people are on every fucking song in existence now, Rihanna is particularly bad with this.
 
What has she done to change music?

Heck MJ made music videos an event. Cross appeal across culture/language.
The glove, the moonwalk.

What is Rhianna's iconic image or song?
 
Which, in my opinion, is the biggest problem with modern pop. It's all about who has the most #1 hits or most views on Youtube.

Quality is subjective and even forgone just to make sure you get your video/song out before the next.

Remember Katy Perry vs Gaga with Roar and Applause then Prism and ARTPOP?

It really is weird. I've never seen music so blatantly turn into a "popularity contest" like it is today. Nobody had MJ vs. Madonna bullshit back in the day. You appreciated the entire Top 40 countdown.
 
To this day MJ is the only pop artist I've heard that made truly memorable songs. Everyone else makes disposable hits that are thrown out and forgotten about a few months later when the next one comes out. That attitude is even worse nowadays with this smartphone and youtube generation. It often feels like songs are thrown out weekly and people put out 2 albums a year now.

Maybe your just not that into music.
 
Rihanna has been non-stop on the radio for years now.
Maybe on the radio stations you listen to.
I listen to the radio almost daily, and I'm talking about modern rock and not some retro genre station. I have never ever heard a Rihanna song on the radio stations I listen to.

There is this huge assumption that Pop is mainstream. It's not.
 
Maybe on the radio stations you listen to.
I listen to the radio almost daily, and I'm talking about modern rock and not some retro genre station. I have never ever heard a Rihanna song on the radio stations I listen to.

There is this huge assumption that Pop is mainstream. It's not.
... that's literally the DEFINITION of Pop

What has she done to change music?

Heck MJ made music videos an event. Cross appeal across culture/language.
The glove, the moonwalk.

What is Rhianna's iconic image or song?

What makes this less legitimate than an MJ video?
 
What has she done to change music?

Heck MJ made music videos an event. Cross appeal across culture/language.
The glove, the moonwalk.

What is Rhianna's iconic image or song?

ICONOGRAPHY is subjective, but the AMAs just presented her with the ICON award, so she's an ICON, and that's the tea.
 
That's be the case since ... radio.

I think some people aren't realizing they might be outside the demographic now that these acts are mostly going to be exposed to. My parents have been out of the loop a long time but the stuff they were really into their parents were like "lol what is this", when I was born and listened to popular music, same thing.
 
It really is weird. I've never seen music so blatantly turn into a "popularity contest" like it is today. Nobody had MJ vs. Madonna bullshit back in the day. You appreciated the entire Top 40 countdown.

I dunno, man. Saw some kids get in schoolyard shoving matches and shit over the top 20 MTV countdown, as late as the early 90s.
 
Rihanna songs >> Rihanna the artist

Reminds me a bit of my personal faves, Simon and Garfunkel. Some of the most impactful songs of all time were written and released by them (The Boxer, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Sound of Silence) but people are much more likely to recall those songs than the guys who made them. Are Simon and Garfunkel considered legends on the same level as some of their contemporaries? Not at all. In fact, you can argue that they've been pretty much defunct in the "relevance" category since the early 80s. Their songs outpaced them as pop culture figures, and sure the songs get all the glory but the artists fade out. Of course there's no real parallel between S&G and Rihanna other than that.

I feel like in 30 years a lot of people will know Rihanna songs but very few will know who sang them.
 
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