Posted March 10, 201411 yr So the question http://www.mobo.com/sites/default/files/rihanna.jpg VS http://static.popdash.com/media/270912_madonna2a.jpg The most recent OCC report gives Rihanna a new overall UK singles tally of 18,781,292 putting her probably ahead of Madonna of the list and thusly the best selling female solo act in UK Chart history. Of course this is an amazing achievement for Rihanna given the length of time she's been around for- the question is to what extent are we comparing like for like (given compilation methods, price of "singles" etc) and who in your view, taking all things into consideration SHOULD be regarded as the most "Successful" female act in UK Chart history.......... Discuss- nicely now! :D
March 10, 201411 yr Wow :o Well single sales aren't the only barometer for success. Still a huge achievement, but taking into account album sales, tours, merchandise and "impact" - as subjective as the last one is, i think Madge is safe (for now).
March 10, 201411 yr Rihanna certainly has shown she can definitely capture the public's interest a lot and is definitely a notable figure for the 21st Century - but she has yet to make anywhere near the sort of cultural impact on music that Madonna had, whose music videos, image, lyrics etc. are all active and extremely relevant in pop culture today. She's the prime figure of female pop music. Madge still has this I think, I feel it's a little early to compare as Rihanna has only been around for less than a decade, so perhaps this discussion will be more conclusive/interesting in a decade's time. Edited March 10, 201411 yr by Chez Wombat
March 10, 201411 yr What is Madonna's biggest seller? Frozen? Like A Prayer. In terms of cultural impact and iconicness Madonna is the easy winner here. Rihanna's had the advantage of being very popular during the sales peak of 2010-12. Not to take away from her achievement of course, she's done incredibly well but I'd say Madonna is more successful in terms of overall success.
March 10, 201411 yr Thanks! I don't think there's need to compare these two except purely the figures. Rihanna's career has been all download era too.
March 10, 201411 yr I actually think there's a chance Rihanna might eventually be regarded as bigger in the UK. It's not even just singles sales, I think Rihanna's two biggest albums have sold about as much as Madonna's two biggest studio albums (although she hasn't had an album that's sold anywhere near as much as The Immaculate Collection, granted).
March 10, 201411 yr Madonna's biggest sellar is into the groove ! V hard to compare when they started out in different music buying times. Has rihanna ever wrote any of her music ? I do enjoy both artists but love M more
March 10, 201411 yr They're both crap. Madonna has such a wide variety in her back catalogue that you can't just say something like this. Madonna doesn't even have a position in the Top 40 Female Singles in the UK.
March 10, 201411 yr Madonna's biggest sellar is into the groove ! Now that you said it, I remember Into the Groove being declared as her best seller. Thanks.
March 10, 201411 yr I'm gonna sound like an OAP but I don't feel Rihanna will ever equate to Madonna's success... but I suppose as the years go on, she does continually sell.
March 10, 201411 yr Madonna has such a wide variety in her back catalogue that you can't just say something like this. Madonna doesn't even have a position in the Top 40 Female Singles in the UK. It's called having a sense of humour.
March 10, 201411 yr To be fair, Rihanna does benefit from sales being so high. If she had this chart success 20 years ago when you couldn't trickle sell, and everything had shorter chart runs, etc. she probably wouldn't be close to Madonna's total.
March 10, 201411 yr Easily Madonna but Rihanna has been insanely successful over the past few years and although I don't doubt she'll continue she doesn't really have the artistry of Madonna and hasn't had a cultural impact on Madge's level. Anyway Britney's the real queen!
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