How Popular would Rihanna be if she still released music?

[Mirrion Rizzons 12,263]

Out of all the 2010 pop girlies, Taylor is undoubtebly the biggest in 2025, with beyonce and gaga in the runner up positions. Part of me feels like the lack of musical output from Rihanna since 2016 has helped preserve her legacy - in the sense that we cannot compare her performance in the modern day because simply, theres nothing to compare. For example, imagine katy perry never released anything after prism.

During her 2005-2016/17ish stint, we never saw a flop from her, and she was always a guaranteed hit maker, much like KP from 2008-2014.

Hypothetically, lets say she released albums in 2018, 2020, and 2024, do you guys think she would still be topping the charts like taylor, for instance? 

If rihanna made a comeback this year, it would undeniably be huge, because it has been so long and the world is starving for more hits from her, but if her musical output was more common/consistent, the same demand probably wouldn't be there right?

What do you guys think?

[faysalaaa 5,236]

I honestly dont think she would be as successful as she is today. Eventually it will turn into a Katy Perry career because shes not really talented. People love Rihanna for her personality, charisma, and fashion.

[dynamite 64,924]

If she continued releasing catchy music then I think she'd still be popular to a degree, how popular is impossible to say because we've seen how the mighty can fall and how fickle society is, people move on very easily 

Katy Perry's problem is everything she's released after Prism has been crap (or not good enough to return her to her former glory), Witness was cringe, bad image, acting weird and desperate, releasing mediocre single after single, unsure what the point of any of them are, and now working with dr luke on another weird unappealing album

[holy scheisse 22,556]

There’s no way to know obviously BUT I will say that she actually did have “flops” various singles from various albums of hers didn’t do well despite other singles from the same albums smashing. 

[rocketn9 442]

As much as I love her discography ( my 2nd fave 2000s-2010s pop star after Gaga) ,I don't think she has much to offer in the music industry when it comes to creativity anymore .I think Anti is where she reached her peak .So I feel her next albums wouldn't have been so good ,but still   popular with a strong fan base 

[Mirrion Rizzons 12,263]

17 minutes ago, faysalaaa said:

I honestly dont think she would be as successful as she is today. Eventually it will turn into a Katy Perry career because shes not really talented. People love Rihanna for her personality and fashion.

That's true, Rihanna always felt pretty immune to criticism in that sense, but of course nothing is absolute

[PartySick 168,366]

16 minutes ago, Mirrion Rizzons said:

If rihanna made a comeback this year, it would undeniably be huge, because it has been so long and the world is starving for more hits from her

This kind of thing is a double edged sword. It gives her the potential to reach new heights but all that anticipation also creates a tension that could easily find itself released with people slamming her new music as garbage, not worth the wait, and not up to her previous standards. A critical failure and a commercial flop. The demand is there but it gets harder and harder to live up to the hype as time goes on...and it's been nearly 10 years since ANTI  

If she released consistently I could see her going the same path as most popular girls. Each album selling a bit less than the last until they have to reassess some things and either hit new heights (like Gaga) or fail completely (like Katy).

I don't think she'd be more popular but there'd definitely be less pressure to deliver with the next album.

14 minutes ago, dynamite said:

Witness was cringe

Aw I like Witness  

That and Smile are my favorite Katy albums. They're pop but not annoying like most of her hits are  

[Mirrion Rizzons 12,263]

13 minutes ago, holy scheisse said:

There’s no way to know obviously BUT I will say that she actually did have “flops” various singles from various albums of hers didn’t do well despite other singles from the same albums smashing. 

Of course, songs like talk that talk etc didn't really go anywhere, but I mean more like a total floppage 

[dynamite 64,924]

1 minute ago, PartySick said:

Aw I like Witness  

That and Smile are my favorite Katy albums. They're pop but not annoying like most of her hits are  

I'm listening to her discography rn, I can re-evaluate after 

[Mirrion Rizzons 12,263]

1 minute ago, PartySick said:

This kind of thing is a double edged sword. It gives her the potential to reach new heights but all that anticipation also creates a tension that could easily find itself released with people slamming her new music as garbage, not worth the wait, and not up to her previous standards. A critical failure and a commercial flop. The demand is there but it gets harder and harder to live up to the hype as time goes on...and it's been nearly 10 years since ANTI  

If she released consistently I could see her going the same path as most popular girls. Each album selling a bit less than the last until they have to reassess some things and either hit new heights (like Gaga) or fail completely (like Katy).

I don't think she'd be more popular but there'd definitely be less pressure to deliver with the next album.

Aw I like Witness  

That and Smile are my favorite Katy albums. They're pop but not annoying like most of her hits are  

Good point actually! While it's clear she doesn't have much passion for music anymore, I guess there's also the chance that the idea of making a comeback is a bit daunting for her, with a lot to do to ensure the public accept it, much like new artists fear of a sophomore slump

[tlittlemonster 2,498]

I don't think she would be as popular tbh.

Similar to Katy Perry, she was popular musically based on the hits that other people wrote for her.

However, music moved on from maximalist style to more personal styles so I really don't know how she'd do nowadays.

As someone said in this forum, people love her more for her personality than necessarily her music

[Lucas 29,267]

Just like the past I think she'd smash with her singles but not with her albums.

One thing to keep in my mind is that a lot of people LOOOOVE Rihanna for her personality as well, so people (imo) will always be curious to listen to whatever she puts out

[PartySick 168,366]

3 minutes ago, dynamite said:

I'm listening to her discography rn, I can re-evaluate after 

 

My favorite albums are always the commerical failures, I stg it's not on purpose  Witness and Smile, ARTPOP and Joanne, ANTI for miss Rihanna. Guess there's just something about artists being on the tail end of their (first) peak and exploring other things that they weren't huge for, idk.

5 minutes ago, Mirrion Rizzons said:

Good point actually! While it's clear she doesn't have much passion for music anymore, I guess there's also the chance that the idea of making a comeback is a bit daunting for her, with a lot to do to ensure the public accept it, much like new artists fear of a sophomore slump

Can you imagine if she drops a subpar album after all this time? Her music career would basically be over

[dynamite 64,924]

3 minutes ago, PartySick said:

ANTI for miss Rihanna

I can't stand this album, I tried but my tastes are too basic to get it . Same for Beyonces music after idk, the I Am Sacha Fierce album

[PartySick 168,366]

1 minute ago, dynamite said:

I can't stand this album, I tried but my tastes are too basic to get it . Same for Beyonces music after idk, the I Am Sacha Fierce album

Woo sold it for me. I love freaky sounding sh*t  after that, the rest of the album fell into place.

And see, I didn't really care for Beyoncé's stuff until Cowboy Carter