Rihanna is certainly one of the hottest and most talked about pop stars of the past 10 years. However, 2015 may be remembered as the year that Rihanna officially became irrelevant — at least in terms of chart success. Not only did her single “Bit*ch Better Have My Money” stall at No. 22, but her much-hyped single “American Oxygen” once again continues to fall on Billboard ‘s Hot 100 to No. 91.
Perhaps the political undertones of the song are making it another non-hit for Rihanna. Rolling Stone recently noted the political undertones of the “ American Oxygen ” video, which hasn’t helped the song rise on the charts.
“Rihanna dropped the patriotic music video for her new single on Tidal, the streaming music service she co-owns along with more than a dozen other music megastars. The video has a quasi-time capsule feel, juxtaposing patriotic imagery with archival footage of the United States’ most noteworthy historical events. The singer performs her new single alone in front of the backdrop of an American flag.”
Another problem with “American Oxygen” may be that Rihanna decided to debut it on Jay-Z’s Tidal streaming service, which has been the target of a lot of criticism. Hits Daily Double weighs in on Rihanna’s latest flop .
“Not only have the initial Tidal exclusives failed to move the needle, the Rihanna video exclusive on ‘American Oxygen’ appears to have actually hurt the launch of the song, which sold only 19k in its first four days. Deepening the irony, Jay’s Roc Nation is both her label and her manager. Thus far, Tidal is seen by most observers as a big miss.”
Perhaps Rihanna’s outrageous dress at the Met Gala earlier this week isn’t helping people connect to her music. However, according to the Daily Mail , Anna Wintour has defended the weird outfit.
“I really want to tell you about this dress. Because Rihanna is such a star. She surfed the internet looking for this, and this was designed by a famous, famous Chinese designer Guo Pei. It apparently took one Chinese person two years to make this dress. It’s a dress not to forget.”
Rihanna certainly isn’t the only pop star having problems on the charts these days. Madonna, who is the biggest selling female artist in music history, can’t even come up with a chart hit these days. Then there is Mariah Carey, whose “Infinity” only debuted at No. 82 this week. Perhaps Mariah Carey and Madonna can join Rihanna on a special remix for “American Oxygen” to help it climb the charts.
[Photo Credit: MTV ]