Billboard Artist 100: Rihanna Flops While Taylor Swift Is On Top
In terms of music, 2015 has been a disastrous year for Rihanna. Her two latest singles “B*tch Better Have My Money” and “American Oxygen” have failed to attract the listeners she is used to while many question why her record company keeps delaying her new album. Besides not scoring hits at Billboard, Rihanna has also suffered a huge backlash for her outfits, and the one she wore at the 2015 Met Gala produced some really harsh venom from commenters.
Despite high profile performances, Rihanna is only at No. 19 this week on Billboard’s Artist 100 chart. Rihanna lags way behind Ariana Grande (16), Nick Minaj (13), Meghan Trainor (7), and the Queen of Pop herself, Taylor Swift, who is No. 1 for the 25th week. Billboard describes Swift’s achievement.
“Swift scores her record-extending 25th week atop the Artist 100. As her new Kendrick Lamar-assisted single ‘Bad Blood’ re-enters the Hot 100 at No. 53 following the premiere of its celebrity-studded video at the start of the Billboard Music Awards Sunday (May 17), she gains by 8 percent in overall activity on the Artist 100.”
Meanwhile, a controversial petition asking Barack Obama to force “racist” radio stations to play Rihanna’s single “American Oxygen” has garnered only 32 signatures after a full week and has been mocked by other websites. Denzil Blackwood of Miami, FL, is one of the fans who have signed the petition at Change.org in hopes of helping Rihanna’s flop.
“I am signing because it is true, they are racist radio station out there… who only play black people music if it is talking about money bi*ches and violence, song like rihanna’s that address race in this country barely get to be heard over the radio; and that need to be change.”
Rihanna has teased a new song called “Only If For a Night” for her Christian Dior ads, which the Telegraph describes as edgy. The newspaper notes that Rihanna has taken over for French actress Marion Cotillard and joins Charlize Theron, Natalie Portman, and Jennifer Lawrence in becoming a brand spokesperson. Rihanna is actually the first woman of color to pose for Christian Dior.
Let’s hope that Christian Dior doesn’t drop Rihanna as she has become far less profitable than she has in the past. The petition her fans built up to help Rihanna only seems to hurt her brand rather than help it. Rihanna hasn’t commented on her poor record sales or her fans’ petition, but she may be forced to soon. Let’s hope the second half of 2015 is a better year for Rihanna than the first half.
[Photo Credit: MTV]
