Rihanna Reacts to Career Milestone—1 Billion Spotify Streams, Nicki Minaj Offers Congratulations

On Friday (June 30), Rihanna’s 2015 collaboration with Paul McCartney and Kanye West, titled “FourFiveSeconds,” eclipsed 1 billion streams on Spotify. This marks Rihanna’s 10th song to reach this milestone, including both collaborations and solo songs from the singer. She is the first female musician to achieve this marker.

Videos by American Songwriter

In celebration, Rihanna posted a graphic announcing the feat to Instagram over the weekend, adding a caption boasting how she accomplished this without putting out a new album in over seven years. “Bad Gal billi… wit no new album… lemme talk my shit,” she wrote.

Underneath Rih’s Friday post, many gave her props for her accomplishment, including Ice Spice, Spotify’s official page, and Nicki Minaj, who she worked with for the 2011 song “Fly.” For her congratulatory comment, Minaj decided to write a new rap, where she mentions Rihanna’s Caribbean origins as well as her being pregnant with her second child.

“Not Bad Gal billi/Poppin shit like a wheelie/I mean poppin like a pilly, like a really/Man Down ‘cuz she making a killy! SILLY!/Bout to be pushin out a new kid like Gillie/Caribbean girls run it & AWWLLL these btchs know da dilly,” Minaj wrote.

“FourFiveSeconds” hitting 1 billion streams comes a few months after Rihanna performed some of her biggest hits for the Super Bowl Halftime Show in February. Two months later in late April, Rih earned her first RIAA diamond hit with “We Found Love,” which also has over 1 billion Spotify plays.

Although Rih hopes to provide an album at some point before 2023 ends, it’s surely comforting for her that her fans will still be listening to her music regardless.

Here are all 10 of the songs in Rihanna’s 1 billion Spotify club:
“Diamonds”
“Work” featuring Drake
Umbrella” featuring Jay-Z
“Needed Me”
We Found Love” featuring Calvin Harris
“Love On The Brain”
“Stay” ft. Mikky Ekko
This Is What You Came For” with Calvin Harris
“Love The Way You Lie” with Eminem
“FourFiveSeconds” with Kanye West and Paul McCartney

Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

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