If it feels like just yesterday that Rihanna became a household name, well, the feeling is understandable. The wild-haired pop star's first No. 1 single, "SOS" came out only four years ago! By accomplishing the feat so quickly, Rihanna outpaced a crop of pop's biggest names and legends, including Madonna and Mariah Carey. All this for a girl who's barely 23-years-old.
From "Umbrella" to "Rude Boy," we've put together a list of Rihanna's ten chart-topping singles, accompanied with a brief recap of how each song got to No. 1, and of course, the music videos for you to sing along to and enjoy.
1.
"SOS" (2006)
Released February 6, 2006, "SOS" was the lead single off Rihanna's second album, A Girl Like Me. The song had a catchy, upbeat dance tune that sampled Soft Cell's 1981 hit single, "Tainted Love." Rihanna rolled the 80s beat to her first No. 1, paving the way for a wave of unprecedented success.
2. "Umbrella" (2007)
If you've got Jay-Z wanting to work with you, your career is probably headed in the right direction. Having Jay rap a verse doesn't hurt when you're trying to nail down your second No. 1 song either. "Umbrella," the first single released off Rihanna's third album, Good Girl Gone Bad, was her only chart-topper in 2007, but got enough airtime that most people are no longer able to pick up an umbrella in the rain anymore without letting out a few "ella, ellas."
3. "Take a Bow" (2008)
Relatively speaking, "Take a Bow" might be one Rihanna's lesser-played No. 1 songs. That said, the Ne-Yo collaboration still has nearly 40 million YouTube views, and even got the royal Glee treatment, being covered by Leah Michelle in the "Showmance" episode. The track was also a harbinger of great things to come for the pop star, who would go on to have four(!) No. 1 songs released in 2008.
4. "Disturbia" (2008)
Co-written by her ex, Chris Brown, "Disturbia" debuted in late June of 2008, but would have to wait about two months before hitting No. 1. The dark, electro-pop song, was nominated for a Grammy, but Rihanna lost out to Daft Punk. "Disturbia" was also the first song to reach France's top ten, which is a bit ironic, given that Daft Punk are French. She might have lost out on the Grammy nod, but Rihanna was well on her way to world-wide fame.
5. "Live Your Life" (2008)
To be fair, this song isn't technically hers. It's a T.I. song that she lent her vocals too. Then again, who's to say that the rapper would have hit chart topping glory without Rihanna onboard? The song sampled a well-known beat by the Moldovan pop group, Dragostea din tei, making it instantly marketable to Eastern Europeans, white, nerdy gamers, and hip-hop fans of all creeds and colors alike. It also gave Rihanna her third No. 1 single in just one month. Not a bad way to live your life.
6. "Rude Boy" (2010)
If we were to rank Rihanna's ten No. 1's based on YouTube popularity, "Rude Boy," would be near the top. It's currently sitting pretty on the video-sharing website, with 149 million views. Rihanna didn't have any chart-toppers in 2009, since she spent most of the year selling out shows around the world as part of her world tour and recording her fourth studio album, Rated R. Her first single off that album was "Rude Boy," which shot to No. 1 in Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland and United Kingdom. And they say there are no rude people in Canada.
7. "Love the Way It Hurts" (2010)
This is another track that technically isn't fully Rihanna's, but again it's the stats that count, not the details. "Love the Way It Hurts" might be better known as an Eminem song, since the guy wrote it -- partially anyway -- but it wouldn't be the same without the Barbados' girl's memorable chorus, so it's rightfully her 7th No. 1 single. The song crushed all of her other videos in terms of YouTube views, but the numbers were likely inflated by the draw of Mr. Mathers, so we aren't ready to label this one Rihanna's most-viewed track. What we are ready to do, is enjoy her and Megan Fox together in this gripping and sexy music viceo.
8. "What's My Name?" (2010)
The only track to garner more YouTube success than "Rude Boy," Rihanna's collaboration with Drake currently has over 160 million views on the website. The track came off her fifth studio album, Loud, and was critically acclaimed, despite Drake's best efforts at pissing off conservatives with sexually charged, overtly mature lines such as "what's the square root of 69." The song wouldn't reach No. 1 until it was released digitally, which is something Madonna never had the ability to offer, but what can you do.
9. "Only Girl (In the World)" 2010
Also taken from her fifth album, Loud, "Only Girl (In the World)" was released in September of 2010 and took eleven-weeks to reach No. 1 in the US. Rihanna debuted the song on Saturday Night Live and rode the track to a Grammy win for Best Dance Recording. "Only Girl" also reached number one in Hungary, Slovaki and Romania, proving that Rihanna had officially become the darling of Eastern Europe as well, a place that knows a thing or two about good dance music.
10. "S&M" (2011)
This dark track also came off Rihanna's Loud album, but it wasn't released until January of this year, making it her first No. 1 single of 2011 and tenth one overall. The Eurodance song didn't look destined to reach No. 1 until Britney Spears came onboard for a remix of the track, boosting it up to the top spot. Dressed in latex and singing risqué lines like "Sticks and stones may break my bones/ But chains and whips excite me," Rihanna showed that she's not afraid to push the envelope. She also showed that she seemingly can reach No. 1 no matter what she's singing about. Or maybe it was just the Britney factor.
By reaching ten No. 1s in just four years, Rihanna beat out the previous record held by Mariah Carey, who did it in a little over five. More impressive though, is how young the Barbadian singer is. She's got a whole career still in front of her. It's impossible to know what the next four years will bring, but for the moment, she's doing pretty fine for herself. We might even say she should "Take a Bow."
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