14 DAY TRIAL // She may generate plenty of controversy with her music, but Rihanna is also breaking record after record. According to figures by Nielsen SoundScan, she is officially the top selling digital artist of all time.
With her latest album, “Talk That Talk” out in November 2011, and a couple of singles soaring the charts, it's no wonder that Rihanna has managed to sell so many digital downloads.
Ever since she broke on the scene, back in 2005, she's moved no less than over 47.5 million digital downloads, more than any other artist in music, MTV News reports.
“The Talk That Talk diva has moved an incredible 47.5 million digital downloads since bursting onto the scene in 2005, giving her a comfortable lead over second-place Black Eyed Peas, who have career digital sales of 42.4 million,” the e-zine reports.
“Eminem trails BEP by just 100,000 for third place with over 42.29 million in sales. Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift came in at fourth and fifth, respectively, with career digital sales of 42.08 million and 41.82 million,” MTV further adds.
The top 10 is rounded up by Katy Perry (37,620,000), Lil Wayne (36,788,000), Beyonce (30,439,000), Kanye West (30,242,000), and Britney Spears (28,665,000).
Even if she managed to set this enviable record, Rihanna's performance in the charts still baffles many industry insiders.
For instance, while she sells digital downloads like hot cakes, fans aren't exactly rushing to buy her actual, full albums.
“Talk That Talk” has moved just 500,000 since release, for example.
Similarly, she has a strong number of combined sales, but she has zero songs placed on the all-time list of digital top selling songs, as per the same report from MTV.
The top distinction here goes to the Black Eyed Peas for “I Got a Feeling.”
“'Feeling' has sold 7.68 million downloads, besting the second-place track – Lady Gaga's 'Poker Face' – by more than a million downloads,” MTV reports.
“'Face' and another Gaga hit, 'Just Dance,' both boast digital sales of approximately 6.5 million, more than another BEP jam, 'Boom Boom Pow,' which took fourth place with 6.2 million in sales,” the report further argues.