RIHANNA HITS NO:1 ON HOT 100 FOR 2nd TIME IN 3 WEEKS

After hitting #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 a fortnight ago with “What’s My Name,” world-class megastar Rihanna retakes the top spot for the second time in three weeks, as “Only Girl (In the World)” hits #1 on the Hot 100 and Top 40 Airplay charts. The double play boosts her brand new fourth Def Jam studio album, LOUD (released November 16th), executive produced by Rihanna and Mr. Reid, to over 200,000 first week sales, the biggest Soundscan week of Rihanna’s five-year recording career, and the #1 R&B album in the country.Rihanna makes Billboard history as she is the first artist ever to have a lead single go #1 after her 2nd single (“What’s My Name?” ft. Drake) went #1 on the Hot 100. Two weeks ago, when “What’s My Name” (featuring Drake) took a colossal 59-point jump to #1, and “Only Girl (In the World)” rose to #4, Rihanna joined a rarefied strata of acts who have managed a similar feat. It was during Mr. Reid’s tenure as president of Arista Records, for example, when OutKast took the top two spots with “Hey Ya!” and “The Way You Move” in 2004, from their album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, also executive produced by Mr. Reid.

On October 30th, in advance of the chart bumps, Rihanna performed “What’s My Name” and “Only Girl (In the World)” on NBC’s Saturday Night Live. The hard-working young singer returned to the airwaves last week, with appearances on CBS’s The Late Show with David Letterman (on the release date, November 16th) and ABC’s Good Morning America (November 17th). On November 21st, Rihanna opened this year’s 38th annual American Music Awards, broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.

Leading up to the album release, anticipation for LOUD was at fever pitch. Fans sent Tweet or Facebook posts via www.rihannanow.com/getloud for entry into the “get loud to hear LOUD” exclusive album stream event – and in the first 48 hours, the album received 400,000 listens. Additionally, the LOUDest Fan Sweepstakes, urging fans to upload their photos for entry and a chance to meet Rihanna, received over 1.3 million views in the first month online.

“What’s My Name” and “Only Girl (In the World)” are Rihanna’s 8th and 9th #1’s on the Hot 100, respectively, widening her dominance of the chart – earlier this year, she became the first female artist of the past decade to chart six #1’s on the Hot 100 when “Rude Boy” went to the top. “Only Girl (In the World)” also became Rihanna’s 8th single to hit #1 on the Hot Dance Airplay chart, eclipsing Madonna’s long-standing record of seven #1’s on the Dance chart (launched in 2003). “Only Girl” pushes Rihanna in the lead for most #1s (9) since 2000. She was previously tied with Usher at 8 number ones

More chart facts: the RIAA double-platinum “Rude Boy” (the fifth multi-platinum certified song of Rihanna’s career) hit #1 on a slew of charts – including Billboard’s Hot 100 and Hot 100 Airplay, and MediaBase’s Pop, Hot Dance Radio, Hot Dance Clubs, Rhythm, and Urban. Prior to “Rude Boy,” Rihanna charted her 5th #1 on the Hot 100 as featured artist on T.I.’s “Live Your Life.” 2009’s “Russian Roulette” again made chart history for Rihanna – as her 12th Billboard Hot 100 career hit, placing her second (after Beyoncé) among female Hot 100 artists in the decade since 2000. After “Rude Boy,” Rihanna was back on the charts as featured artist on Eminem’s “Love the Way You Lie” – which hit #1 on the Hot 100, and tied Rihanna for the most #1’s (six) on the Pop Songs Radio Airplay chart, with Mariah Carey, Beyoncé and Lady Gaga.

LOUD follows-up Rated R (November 2009,) and its sequel Rated R: Remixed (May 2010). Previously, the double-platinum Good Girl Gone Bad (May 2007) contained the Grammy-winning global #1 hit “Umbrella” (featuring Jay-Z), then “Shut Up and Drive,” “Hate That I Love You” (featuring Ne-Yo), and “Don’t Stop the Music.” The CD+DVD package Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded (January 2009) continued the hits with the #1 “Take A Bow,” the #1 “Disturbia” and Top 20 “Rehab.” Good Girl Gone Bad was the third album release in less than two years by Barbados native Rihanna, who turned 22 on February 20th. It followed-up 2006’s RIAA platinum A Girl Like Me, which contained the back-to-back hits, “S.O.S.” and “Unfaithful”; and her RIAA gold debut from 2005, Music Of the Sun, featuring the world-wide smash, “Pon De Replay.”