Next month sees two of pop’s biggest performers playing at The O2 Arena and bringing their fantastic live shows to London, as Rihanna hits the stage on 1st, 20th, 21st and 22nd December 2011 and Paul McCartney touches down on 5th December. With both of these pop icons dominating their eras, it’s time to decide which one is better as we put them head-to-head in a stat clash! Does Paul still stand up as the king of pop, or has a new queen’s reign just begun?
Years active
Rihanna
With Rihanna’s first single, Pon de Replay, released in the summer of 2005, the 23-year-old singer has only been putting out music for just over six years – but made an everlasting impression on the pop world. She has not only captured the hearts of a generation of teenage men, but also sold millions of records in a short pace of time – unlike Macca who has not had a number 1 single since Pipes of Peace in 1984.
Paul McCartney
However, at a stately 69 years of age, Paul’s been putting in work since the late 1950’s, giving him more than 50 years’ experience in the music biz. With over 30 years of performing under his belt before Rihanna was even born, while Rihanna has proven staying power in the last 6 years, Macca has been doing since the dawn of rock ‘n roll – this result will certainly divide opinion.
Winner – Paul McCartney
Number one hits
Rihanna
In the six and a half years that she’s been active in the music biz, Rihanna has already notched up an impressive six number one singles in the UK alone, making her the first female artist in history to score so many number one’s in the UK in such a short time. But competing with a former Beatle, and one of England’s most famous songwriter’s is going to be tough.
Paul McCartney
Having started his career in the late 1950’s though, Paul McCartney has had nearly 50 years more than Rihanna to rack up hit singles and so the twenty-four number one hits he’s recorded easily dwarfs Rihanna’s current accolades. But remember, it’s been a while since Macca was crowned top of the pops, and Rihanna fans might argue his time has been and gone. Macca takes it on stats alone – but remember the current queen of pop has thousands of loyal subjects, and a few tunes up her sleeve for the future. It might not be long until she catches up with Macca.
Winner – Paul McCartney
Albums recorded
Rihanna
Releasing albums at a rate of almost one per year, Rihanna has already put out six studio albums to date during her still young career. With the first album, Music of the Sun, released in 2005 and her most recent album, Talk That Talk, hitting stores just last week, she’s certainly been a busy girl but she can’t match the record of Mr McCartney.
Paul McCartney
With a staggering discography to rival any hit maker you’d care to name, Paul
McCartney has released more albums in his time than most artists could dream of. Putting out material with The Beatles while the Queen was still getting settled on the throne, we lost count of his albums once we counted past sixty, so we can safely say that Paul’s the master here too.
Winner – Paul McCartney
Singles released
Rihanna
Working at a prolific rate and racking up six albums worth of material in just over six years, Rihanna has been no slouch when it comes to putting out singles. With twenty-seven singles released since she first stepped in the door, she’s doing great, but (no surprise!) she’s got a long way to go until she can match McCartney’s record.
Paul McCartney
With more than sixty albums on his CV, we couldn’t even count how many singles he’s put out, as we took one look at his discography and knew that Rihanna had to take a backseat before we even started. And that’s without even counting the singles that he had with The Beatles before Macca went out on his own.
Winner – Paul McCartney
And the winner is… Paul McCartney
The great Paul McCartney is a true legend that has been redefining the music we’ve been listening to for more than half a century. While there’s no question that Rihanna is an amazing star and a unique talent, it’ll be a long while before she reaches Paul’s achievements – but that isn’t to say that more people would rather go and see Macca than Rihanna – particularly as Rihanna is doing 4 nights and McCartney just the one.
But what do you think about our stat clash and who would be your winner?
Maybe you’ve been rocking out to The Beatles since the 60’s or possibly you’ve never even heard of the fab four and think Rihanna is the queen of pop. Why not hit the Comments and let us know what you think?
press enquiries
press enquiries