Would Rihanna have passed up Mariah by now for the record of most Billboard Hot 100 #1 hits for a female artist if she released regularly after ANTI?

 

Mariah has 19 #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and has the most #1 hits for a female artist on the Billboard Hot 100. Rihanna has 14 #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. She was snatching #1 hits faster than Mariah did in her overall career. She effortlessly got #1 hits like Taylor does now.  

 

She has not released an album since 2016 obviously, but if she released regularly (like she used to her in career) after ANTI would she have passed Mariah's record and have 20 or more #1 Billboard Hot 100 hits by 2025? Both legends either way! Discuss.  

 

 

 

Had she done yearly releases for another 3-4 cycles, then probably. But I'm glad the record belongs to Mariah

Hard  to say, she was starting a flop a bit before she struck gold with Work

 

Yes. Easily actually

Most likely. 

3 minutes ago, Pheromosa said:

Hard  to say, she was starting a flop a bit before she struck gold with Work

 

That's cope

3 minutes ago, Atrocity Exhibition said:

That's cope

This. Rihanna was never in a flop era before ANTI. She also has no true flop album to her name yet.

Edited August 29, 2025Aug 29 by Lethal

4 minutes ago, Atrocity Exhibition said:

That's cope

Ok 

She definitely would. She always had number ones on her own record and then somehow simultaneously have number one records as a feature. She would have killed Mariah by now had she kept going… 

Don't think so because her #1s slowed down pretty significantly already and we know how the industry works with female artists over time.

 

From 2007 to 2012 she had 10

 

from 2012 to 2016 she had 3, one of which being a feature.

 

Where Have You Been, Stay, Pour it Up, FourFiveSeconds, BBHMM, American oxygen, Kiss It Better, Needed Me, Take Care, This is What You Came For, the Shakira collab, Lift Me Up, Wild Thoughts all missed #1 despite making waves and/or being pushed. 

If she would've kept releasing her next venture after ANTI would've been R9 the reggae album in 2019 would've flopped and underperformed.

 

Then she would've came back to trendy music for R10 in 2021. (Disco hits, dua lipa, Doja cat type songs) and I'm sure she would've got a couple number 1's..

 

Then an experimental album would've followed, R11- 2024 (Billie Eilish, emo cuts) prbly would've gotten another #1.

 

She would be sitting at at least 17-19 #1's by now.

 

 

i think she would stuck at around 16-17 tbh

 

let's say

R9 (2018) gets her 15th #1

R9 tour + pandemic + 1st pregnancy

R10 (2022) 16th #1 (extra week during super bowl week)

2nd pregnancy + R10 tour

R11 (2024/25) 17th #1

3rd pregancy til now

 

so yeah i think she'd get extra 3 #1s at most 

 

 

I believe so.  

 

 

No, she would've had great longevity with recurrent streams but Rihanna never had the fanbase to secure weeks at #1 with either astonishing streams on a singular week (see Lift Me Up needed radio to make it debut top 10, let alone #2), or huge digital sales (not in the climate they're ruled by fanbases and not GP) or having fans buying different versions like remixes.

Edited August 29, 2025Aug 29 by Popboi.

If she released Desperado and Same Ol' Mistakes as singles, yes.

 

I have also said she is the only one that had a chance of passing Madonna's 38 top 10 hits record the old fashioned way before rules were changed for streaming that allowed non singles that aren't even hits to clog the top 10 during a big albums opening week only to fall out the next. 

 

She maybe could have done it with legit HITS if she kept going. 

I think so. I mean Lift Me Up was like #2 and it was a ballad for a movie. The smurfs song flopped because it was horrible. If she releases a banger and promotes it, it can reach #1.

I guess we'll never know 

Yes

Yes with half the effort too and less payola. 

53 minutes ago, TaylorsSquad said:

Yes with half the effort too and less payola. 

Solo #1s:

15 Mariah

6 Rihanna

3 hours ago, Pheromosa said:

Hard  to say, she was starting a flop a bit before she struck gold with Work

 

And live on the brain and needed me and wild thought and TIWYCF. 

 

It's rihanna. She'll never flop for more that a second

2 hours ago, TaylorsSquad said:

Yes with half the effort too

Mariah writes and produces her own #1s unlike RiRi so I'll give you that 

She would've had 15 had she released a visual for LOTB, let's start at that

A big WHAT IF

What if our noses would be upside down? Would we drown in the shower?

 

Some things we'll just never know...