Inside Rihanna's 'S&M': How a Taboo Pop Anthem Redefined 2010S Radio

Discover key perspectives on Inside Rihanna's 'S&M': How a Taboo Pop Anthem Redefined 2010S Radio.

By early April 2011, the original track was parked inside the top five of the Billboard Hot 100, held back from the top spot by stiff competition from Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and the Black Eyed Peas. In a masterclass of digital marketing, Rihanna took to Twitter to poll her massive fanbase on who should feature on a prospective high-profile remix. The overwhelming consensus pointed to pop icon Britney Spears, who was actively promoting her own electro-pop record, Femme Fatale.

The collaboration was executed rapidly. Spears entered the recording booth, laying down a sensual, breathy co-lead vocal that traded verses and harmonized with Rihanna across the final chorus. When the remix dropped on April 11, 2011, it sent shockwaves through digital storefronts. Billboard’s chart policy at the time aggregated sales and radio impressions of both the original track and the remix, provided the remix maintained the original’s core compositional structure.

The gambit worked with devastating efficiency. The remix generated 293,000 digital track sales in its first full tracking week, representing a 108% surge in download volume. Combined with substantial radio audience gains, the surge catapulted the track straight to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated April 30, 2011. The achievement gave Rihanna her tenth career No. 1 single in a staggering span of just four years, eleven months, and two weeks, besting the record previously held by Mariah Carey as the youngest solo artist to achieve the milestone.