Celebrity Today: Rihanna 2011

When we rang in 2011, Rihanna was on top of the charts with "S&M." The year is ending as it began. "We Found Love," the lead single from "Talk That Talk," Rihanna’s sixth album, leapt from nowhere to No. 1 in just a few weeks. The pounding, Calvin Harris-produced dance-pop record has become the inescapable single of the autumn. "You Da One," the follow-up single, sounds like another sure-footed chart-climber.

This year was supposed to belong to Mother Monster. Lady Gaga’s "Born This Way" certainly moved copies, but its singles did not capture the mood, or the hearts, of the nation. They felt like a further elaboration of Gaga’s character, not yours or mine; we were invited to watch and gape, but we weren’t asked to identify.

Adele was tripped up on her victory lap by a vocal chord problem that threatens her career. Beyoncé barely attempted to chart singles in ’11, instead opting to release a stylized, deeply personal album with no "Single Ladies" in sight. Katy Perry’s singles were wildly popular, but did not speak to the concerns of anybody over 16.

Meanwhile, Rihanna hit with "Man Down" and "Cheers (Drink to That)," sang the hook on the year’s most influential rap single (Kanye West’s "All of the Lights"), furthered the house music invasion by providing her voice for use by David Guetta on "Who’s that Chick?," fulfilled Coldplay’s radio-pop fantasies on "Princess of China," pushed the envelope with an arena tour that was provocative in all the right ways, and made videos that ran afoul of network censors for all the right reasons.

While the closing bell has not yet sounded, we have a winner by TKO. Rihanna may not be the world’s best pop star. But because her message fits the moment, she’s become the one whose music matters most.

That message is perseverance in hard times. While Rihanna’s songs about sex grab the headlines, it’s her talent for channeling desperation and determination that truly distinguishes her. Her latest blockbuster barely has any lyrics at all; instead, she repeats, again and again, "we found love in a hopeless place." Yet so steely are her long-held vowels (and so devastated is that little flip in her voice at the end of each line) that she makes the mantra feel meaningful and even moving. Tragedy bleeds all over this disc. Anybody who has ever been in a hopeless place — even briefly — may find this record and its accompanying video a compelling, near-unbearable revisitation.

"We Found Love" is Rihanna’s eleventh No. 1 hit. That ties her with Whitney Houston and leaves Gaga, Beyoncé and Britney Spears in the dust. Sure, she’s still got a long way to go before she catches up to the Beatles (20 chart-toppers), but that was a different era. A better comparison is Madonna, and with one more trip to the top, Rihanna will tie the Material Girl.

If "You Da One" scales the charts as fast as "We Found Love" did — not an unreasonable proposition, given its sparkling Dr. Luke production — that could happen before the year is out, and would put a nice bow on Rihanna’s triumphant 2011.

Sometimes it is argued that the great joy of pop is its ephemerality, and that chart hits are meant to be enjoyed and quickly forgotten. This is a load of hooey. Pop singers want the same thing that rappers and rockers do: They want to make records that capture the essence of a time and place and slip into the Great American Playlist for good. Only a few artists have accomplished this with the regularity that Robyn Rihanna Fenty has. And Robyn Rihanna Fenty is 23 years old.