MovieChat Forums > Rihanna Discussion > Why is she still famous?

Why is she still famous?


She can barely sing, she can't dance, she has no stage presence. She only seems to be good at wearing outrageous dresses and posing for magazine covers - more of a model than a pop star. Almost twenty years ago, the press was giving Britney a hard time for being a mediocre singer, but she was still a better singer than Rihanna and she could at least dance well and had stage presence, and wrote/composed songs too. Rihanna can't do anything.

I also find it interesting that she has no iconic songs despite her ten year career. Her music has actually devolved over the years, her music between 2005 and 2007 was decent, after that all she's done are shock tactics. It's pretty obvious that after 2004 the execs were looking for someone to replace Janet Jackson...except Janet is an icon who revolutionized pop music, Rihanna isn't on the same level.

reply

This message has been deleted by an administrator

reply

Basically agree, and dead right she was hyped up at a point when Janet Jackson had become more of a "mature" artist (though not as in dowdy) and had left the teeny hit singles/MTV market behind. She does act a lot on shock value, musically she's simply the puppet of her producers, songwriters and remixers.




You are a lunatic, Sir, and you're going to end up on the Russian front. I have a car waiting.

reply

Delusional much? Neither of those songs are iconic and 'Umbrella' is total rubbish.

Janet Jackson is in the top 10 artists of all time.

1. The Beatles
2. Madonna
3. Elton John
4. Elvis Presley
5. Mariah Carey
6. Stevie Wonder
7. Janet Jackson
8. Michael Jackson
9. Whitney Houston
10. The Rolling Stones
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Billboard_Hot_100_chart_achieveme nts_and_milestones#Most_weeks_at_number_one

Janet got her #1 singles back when music was very competitive and it was hard to top the chart. Nowadays mainly pop and the same old singers get airplay and artists take #1s for granted. Hence Katy Perry, Rihanna et al

Not to mention she (along with Madonna) pioneered actual pop for women and their legacies still last to this very day. Rihanna is a puppet with no artistry and her 'sound' is a product of Janet's legacy.

reply

Rihanna has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling artists of all time. Many of her songs rank among the world's best-selling singles of all time, such as "Umbrella", "Take a Bow", "Disturbia", "Only Girl (In the World)", "S&M", "We Found Love", "Diamonds" and "Stay". In addition to her solo work, Rihanna has collaborated with other artists and was featured on the worldwide hits "Can't Remember to Forget You" (with Shakira), "Live Your Life" (with T.I.), "Run This Town" (with Jay-Z and Kanye West), "Love the Way You Lie" and "The Monster" (both with Eminem). She has achieved thirteen number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the youngest and fastest solo artist to accomplish this record. Billboard named her the Digital Songs Artist of the 2000s decade and the top Hot 100 artist of the 2010s decade. Her work has earned her numerous awards and accolades, including eight Grammy Awards, eight American Music Awards, 23 Billboard Music Awards, and two BRIT Awards. In 2012, Forbes ranked her the fourth most powerful celebrity of the year, with earnings of $53 million between May 2011 and May 2012. The same year, TIME named Rihanna one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. At the American Music Awards of 2013, she received the first ever Icon Award. On June 2, 2014, Rihanna received the Fashion Icon lifetime achievement award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Her single "Umbrella", famous for its "ella ella" hook, is considered by Rolling Stone to be one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and received critical acclaim, so your opinion is totally irrelevant as it being "total rubbish". Her 2011 single "We Found Love" was ranked by Billboard as the 24th biggest US Billboard Hot 100 hit of all time. And the list goes on... She even worked with many music legends and the lastest was Paul McCartney! Now tell me, who's delusional? And Janet Jackson who? Lol XD

reply

Are you part of her PR team? There is nothing iconic about her. No one remembers any of her popular songs except for "Umbrella", which is considered a joke. She is a marionette with a good PR team around her. How is she a fashion icon? Oh wait, we live in an era where the likes of Kim K grace the front cover of Vogue. Fashion icon means nothing right now. You were probably born in the 1990s (maybe even the late 1990s or early noughties!) if you are actually saying "Janet Jackson who". Delusional.

reply

No, I'm not part of her PR team.
"There is nothing iconic about her" That's only your opinion, but there are definitely a lot of iconic things about her, that's why she was chosen to win the first ever icon award at the American Music Awards.
"No one remembers any of her popular songs" there's a difference between "you" and "anyone", but I'll give you a fact, you're actually very wrong because her popular songs are still being played on radio, parties, clubs, etc... She is currently at the 2nd spot on the "Global itunes Artist Ranking" with 2791 points, she currently has 9 #1 songs although she only released 2 singles this year since her latest album in 2012, she is currently charting in 117 countries around the world, although she hadn't released any album since 2012. All these FACTS, totally contradict your OPINION that no one remembers her popular songs.
"Umbrella is considered a joke" everyone has different music tastes, but don't try to push your opinions down people's throats. Fortunately, you're not a music critic, and "Umbrella" was acclaimed by music critics, many of whom appreciated the "ella, ella" hook as well as the convincing vocals with which she delivered the chorus. Entertainment Weekly ranked the song number one on the 10 Best Singles of 2007, while Rolling Stone and Time listed the song at number three on the 100 Best Songs of 2007. The song has earned Rihanna several awards and nominations. In 2007, the song won two awards at the MTV Video Music Awards, when it was nominated for four. At the 2008 Grammy Awards, "Umbrella" also earned Rihanna and Jay-Z a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration in addition to receiving nominations for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. The song is also listed on Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time at 412.
"How is she a fashion icon" you should ask the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) about that, they gave her the Fashion Icon lifetime achievement award. Another fortunate thing is that you're not a fashion critic because it looks like you understand nothing about neither fashion nor music, you're just a deluded hater.
"You were probably born bla bla bla..." My age has nothing to do with it, I know who Janet Jackson is, but my point was that she can't be compared with a music and fashion icon as Rihanna, who has influenced music and fashion so much more than Janet Jackson ever did. These are facts, not opinions.
You can keep hating behind a screen, while Rihanna will be out there in the real world making more achievements and successes, making you haters even more pressed.

reply

Well, you might not actually be part of her PR team but then you're just a Riri fanboy with a couple of slogans that don't really mean anything in the real world. You're too young and green to have any idea of what truly live playing and musicianship mean, or why Rihanna is not a creditable singer in any way (and why people like Janet Jackson, Erykah Badu or Lauryn Hill are/were in a whole different playing field as vocalists, performers and songwriters). Anyone can read your age and lack of judgment from what you're saying or typing.

"Umbrella is iconic because of its 'ella 'ella" hook" - BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.... 

Rihanna is merely a shopfront doll for a bunch of corporate dealers, producers and strategists, and these days she's also personally a basket case. She's essentially a manufactured clothes-hanger 'starlet'.

reply

"You're just a Riri fanboy with a couple of slogans that don't really mean anything in the real world" and you're just a hater who's wasting his time hating on a much more successful person, while that person is out there in the real world adding more achievements and successes to her list, and more money to her pocket.
"You're too young and green to have any idea of what truly live playing and musicianship mean"
Again, my age has nothing to do with it, just because I don't like older artists/singers doesn't mean I'm young and know nothing about music. However, I may be young, but the music critics who praised Rihanna's artistry definitely aren't. From TIME magazine to Rolling Stone to Billboard, all these MUSIC CRITICS disagree with you.
"Rihanna is not a creditable singer in any way (and why people like Janet Jackson, Erykah Badu or Lauryn Hill are/were in a whole different playing field as vocalists, performers and songwriters)"
She may not be a credible singer for you, but the 196 awards she won in just 10 years say hello! She may not be a credible singer for you, but the many music LEGENDS who worked with her may disagree, such as Paul McCartney, Elton John, Eminem etc... Rihanna has more Grammys (8) than Janet Jackson who has only 6, she also has more #1s on Billboard Hot 100 (13) than Janet who only has 10. The other 2 are irrelevant.
"Anyone can read your age and lack of judgment from what you're saying or typing" in fact, anyone can read your hatred, delusion, and ignorance from what you're typing. I'm typing FACTS, and only FACTS, quoting MUSIC CRITICS, while you're here giving your irrelevant opinion.
"Umbrella is iconic because of its 'ella 'ella" hook" - BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...."Yeah because someone like you knows better than the MUSIC CRITICS (Rolling Stone - Entertainment Weekly - Time - The Grammy's - etc...). I was simply quoting what music critics said about Umbrella.
"Rihanna is merely a shopfront doll for a bunch of corporate dealers, producers and strategists, and these days she's also personally a basket case. She's essentially a manufactured clothes-hanger 'starlet'." Yet she is worth more than $143 million. She's also the highest paid female celebrity to sit front row at fashion shows ($100,000). She sold out many arenas. Rihanna made history at the kickoff of Morocco's annual Mawazine Music Festival by performing for a crowd of 150,000; a new record in the country's capital. Rihanna also made history by becoming the youngest artist to ever headline a show at Paris' Stade de France, at the age of 25, stealing the distinction from Lady Gaga who performed at the stadium the year before at the age of 26. Rihanna also performed at Millennium Stadium and two times at the Twickenham Stadium on June 10, 2013 and June 15 & 16, 2013 and again became the youngest artist ever to sell out the stadiums. Rihanna performed to a crowd of 65,000 in Singapore during Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday September 22, 2013. It was one of the biggest concert crowds in recent history. Also, Rihanna's shows in South Africa were a commercial success. Rihanna made history on Sunday night when she became the youngest ever singer to sell out the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg. Rihanna was named the fifth-highest touring artist of 2013 by Billboard magazine, earning a gross of $137,982,530 over the course of 87 shows, of which 84 were sold out. On Pollstar?'?s year-end chart of the top one hundred grossing worldwide tours, from January 1 to December 31, 2013, the Diamonds World Tour was placed at number six with a gross of $141.9 million from the shows that were played during the given time period. Tickets were sold with an average gross of $1,867,248 per city.

reply