Rihanna has ended Taio Cruz’s short reign at the top of the charts by racking up her sixth No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Rude Boy”.

This makes RiRi the female artist with the most No. 1 singles since 2000, and she’s done it all in less than four years!

Things started off a little shaky for RiRi in the beginning of the Rated R era, but now I think it’s safe to say that the album has definitely been a success. It may not have sold huge numbers but two top ten hits and a No. 1 is pretty damn good.

In non-Rihanna related news, rapper B.o.B. has made a huge leap on the chart thanks to strong digital sales as his debut single “Nothin’ On You” soars from 16-5.

The hype for Lady GaGa and Beyonce’s “Telephone” video doesn’t seem to have translated into chart success yet with the song only moving from 11-9 this week, but the move into the top ten now ties Bey with Rihanna for the female with the most top ten hits of the 2000’s, with both women on 14.

Meanwhile country group Lady Antebellum are sitting at No. 2 for the second consecutive week with their single “Need You Now”, but they have moved from 4-1 on the radio songs chart, making them only the second country act to do so after Taylor Swifts and her hit “You Belong to Me”.

Give this group of fine young artists a round of applause! *golf claps*

DJ/producer David Guetta is currently in Australia to perform with Kelly Rowland at the Mardis Gras party this weekend, and as usual when the famous Frenchman was interviewed all people wanted to know about were the famous ladies that he’s been clocking up studio time with, and not actually David himself, so it wasn’t a shock when Nine MSN managed to get Davie to spill the tea on a bunch of his upcoming projects, including Madonna’s new single from her upcoming twelfth studio album.

“That’s done, the single will be out very soon and it’s amazing, I’m very happy,” he said about Madge.

And what about Britney Spears?

“We both want to do it I think, we just need the song.”

Alright. So what’s the tea on Rihanna?

“Same. I just need to find the right song for them. I think it’s going to happen.”

OK, so I can breathe a sigh of relief that he hasn’t yet managed to get his increasingly stale claws into the Queen B yet, and as far as Madonna goes I don’t really care what she does as long as I don’t have to stare deep into her vagina of doom again. Lord knows that I’m still trying to recover from that invasive “Celebration” music video.

Rihanna, still sporting her Cordelia Chase Angel season 3 haircut, stormed the stage at the Echo Awards tonight to perform her hit single “Rude Boy”.

It was your typical Rihanna performance with live vocals and lots of strutting, but with added robots. I have no idea what steamy girl-on-robot action have to do with this island-pop jam, but I like it and I hope to see more of the technosexual RiRi getting hot and heavy with these mechanical men in the near future.

I really don’t blame Rihanna for seeking out some artificial love considering her tumultuous history with men. I mean what’s the big deal anyways? Who am I to judge who Rihanna sleeps with? I’m sure that dating a robot has it’s advantages, like they can probably last all night long in bed and then when you’re sick of them you can just hit the off switch and be done.

She just better be careful that one of them doesn’t malfunction in the throws of passion or she could end up with another black eye.

Rihanna has just scored her third consecutive top ten single from her new album Rated R this week, with the controversial “Rude Boy” moving from #23 to #8 on the Hot 100.

This gives Rihanna her 14th top ten single in the US, making her the female artist with the most top tens since 2000. She’s now ahead of Beyonce by one song, but Bey is predicted to even the score once the video for her duet with Lady GaGa “Telephone” is released.

In other chart news the Black Eyed Peas “Imma Be” remains at #1 for the second week in a row, whilst former chart slayer Ke$ha and her song “TiK ToK” falls ##2 to #4. Young Money’s “Bedrock” climbs one spot to #2, and Lady Antebellum reach #3 with “Need You Now”.

Ke$ha’s “Blah Blah Blah” remains at #11 again, whilst Lady GaGa and Beyonce’s “Telephone” is #12 and B.O.B.’s “Nothin’ On You” moves 21-16.

Meanwhile American Idol stars Kris Allen and Adam Lambert both reach new peaks for their respective singles, with Allen’s “Live Like We’re Dying”  jumping up one spot to #18 and Glambert’s “Whataya Want From Me” reaching #24.

As for the R&B/Hip-Hop singles chart, Melanie Fiona’s huge nine week reign for “It Kills Me” has finally ended thanks to Robin Thicke’s “Sex Therapy”, which pushes the urban power ballad to #2 to take out the top spot.

Rumors have been swirling that Bajan beauty Rihanna was ready to turn her back on the Rated R era and move onto brighter pastures with an upbeat new album, and now producer Sean Garrett has exclusively confirmed the whispers to Rap-Up, also revealing that he’s produced a huge record for RiRi which in his eyes is destined to be a smash.

“I got a record on Rihanna’s new album,” reveals the hitmaker to Rap-Up. “She’s got some surprises.”

“The record I gave her was very, very positive, very big. It’s a fucking smash,” adds Garrett. “I gave her a humongous radio record. It’s just so infectious. It’s about getting past any drama and just being happy to be alive. It’s an encouraging record. It feels great and it’s got great tempo.”

“I made sure that it was bulletproof. It should be a single unless something crazy happens. It’s hot as fuck. I think it’s a record that’s gonna stay on the radio for a long time.”

Sean Garrett’s been known to toot his own when it comes to his own music so his confidence in this latest track comes as no surprise. During Britney Spears Blackout era he publicly asserted that the music he had recorded with her (“Toy Soldier”) was better than the rest of the material on her album, including the Danja produced “Gimme More”. It wasn’t.

After stroking his big ego for a while Garret then reiterated that Rihanna’s new music will be much a lot lighter than her last album Rated R.

“Whenever I think of Rihanna, it makes me happy. To be honest, I wasn’t really that excited about hearing her in a dark zone. I love Rihanna for being that girl… She’s like the lil’ fantasy chick—nice brown skin, beautiful woman with a Caribbean swagger that’s ridiculous.” {source}

The people want the smiles and sunshine RiRi so I guess Def Jam are going to give it to them. Yay! *golf claps*

Ne-Yo and David Guetta are also attached to to the album, and with the addition of Sean Garrett I’m predicting a very safe and very radio-friendly album from Rih. Hopefully it’s a good one. *Kanye shrug*

It’s no secret that pop star Rihanna has been in and out of the studio recently recording new music, but it’s been unclear exactly what the new music is intended for. Now to help clear up some of the confusion pop websites Neon Limelight and Johnny Ikon are both reporting that they’ve received exclusive word that Rihanna is NOT planning to rih-release her latest album Rated R, and is instead working on a whole new album due for release this Summer.

While the source at Def Jam tells Ikon the quick push to release a new album is because “Ri wants to get across that she’s moved on from the dark period she was in when recording the ‘Rated R’ songs,” our source says that’s only part of the reason. The label is said to be unhappy with Rated R’s current performance. The album has been certified platinum in the United States and has had two top 10 singles with another, the snappy island-flavored “Rude Boy,” moving up the charts quickly, but it appears it hasn’t yet lived up to the label’s big projections or massive investments.

Our source says “Rude Boy” will likely be Rated R’s final single with the new album and tour taking priority after promotion ends. {Source 1}

Asked about what we should expect from Rihanna’s new album, my insider continued: “Ri wants to get across that she’s moved on from the dark period she was in when recording the ‘Rated R’ songs. So expect more upbeat, dance tunes, similar to ‘Don’t Stop the Music’ and ‘Disturbia’. {Source 2}

David Guetta and Ne-Yo have both already confirmed that they’ll be working with Rihanna on new music, and RiRi herself told MTV last week that her next album will have more “energetic, up-tempo pop records”.

Rated R was only released towards the end of November last year, but releasing a new album so soon won’t be a first for Rihanna since her first three albums all came out within about a year of each other.

Do you believe these reports? Is it too soon for more RiRi or are you looking forward to her new music?

It’s no secret that many of Rihanna’s fans were polarized by her recent album Rated R; Some loved her new darker urban-based sound, whereas others wanted her to stick to the bright and sunny side of pop just like her first three albums. Well I guess RiRi is feeling more cheerful this time around because according to a new interview with MTV she’s planning to keep things fun next time around.

Rihanna said the follow-up, which has no timetable set yet, will be less intense. “Rated R, I love the sound of it, in terms of the bass,” Rihanna explained to MTV Korea. “I really like the bottom, the grime of it. But if I were to combine that with more energetic, up-tempo pop records, then I think that will be a happy marriage. And that’s where we’ll probably go next.” {source}

She’s already been working with David Guetta and Ne-Yo (ugh again?) on new music, but whether or not that’s for a new album or a Rih-release unknown. What sound do you want her to do on her next album?

Earlier today pop star Rihanna was on Ellen to perform her new single “Rude Boy”, which has been subject to controversy recently after the director of the songs music video Melina was accused of recycling the same concept that she had previously used twice before.

Whether or not you like the music video or not people are definitely interested in it, as the clip has received almost 2 million views on it’s official YouTube page since premiering last week.

As for the performance it was your typical Rihanna performance so there’s no need to go into specifics. If you’re a RiRi fan you’ll love it, if you’re not you’ll probably hate it, or you might just feel indifferent towards it like I do.

Beyonce’s mouthy little sister Solange is back up to her trademark antics again, this time making some thinly veiled comments towards someone who seems to be Rihanna for copying the concept of her video “I Decided” for her latest hit “Rude Boy”. It should also be noted that both video’s were shot by the same director Melina.

It’s flattering and frustrating when somebody does things u did before way later. Well….. It’s actually kind of funny.

I think there’s emotion behind it because if you have been considered, “weird, kooky,”ect. scince u were a lil kid, & made fun of terribly, and then u see folk who hopped on the “weird train” now that it’s pop culture to be “different”…it’s innnteeerrreesttting!

Truth is everyone has been inspired by SOMEONE. That’s life.

Solange isn’t the only one popping off on Twitter over the “Rude Boy” video, with producer Diplo yesterday taking some friendly shots at Rihanna claiming that she copied M.I.A.’s “Boyz” video.

What Rihanna did for the “Rude Boy” has definitely been done before several times, but I hardly think Solange should be pointing the finger at anybody.

First Solange verbally ridiculed and discredited a journalist who reported that she had been dropped from Interscope (which was true even though Solange and Mathew lied about it), then recently she complained on Twitter that Beyonce wasn’t getting enough attention for her Grammy sweep whilst implying that a certain someone *cough*Taylor Swift*cough* was getting too much press, and now she seems to be accusing Rihanna of doing something that she herself copied from M.I.A.

I try not to put too much opinion on this blog anymore because it just comes across as pompous and annoying sometimes, but to me Solange seems like a spoiled brat with a major sense of entitlement.

Anyways check out Solange and M.I.A.’s videos below the cut and let me know your thoughts on the whole swagga jacking thing.

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Barbadian babe Rihanna has just dropped the Melina-directed video for her new single “Rude Boy”, the third single from her new album Rated R.

The video can be best described “Jamaican pop-art” with it’s wild animation and stunning visual effects. I haven’t liked ANY of the videos from Rated R so far (all for various reasons) but this is easily my favorite Rihanna video ever, and one of the best video’s I’ve seen in a long time.

The whole thing is so sexy, fun and creative and really reflects the song perfectly. Love it!