TS: Rihanna vs. Beyonce

Rihanna's producer sampled Soft Cell and New Order. Rihanna wins.

Throw Beyonce to the famished hyenas.

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why not just say 'dom and the lex'?

crossposts

it's about time

I'm not a huge fan of either, but at least Beyonce is a proper superstar. Rihanna has the personality of a dishrag and a limited (at best) vocal range. Beyonce annoys me but she annoys me because at least she's got a spark of personality and is mildly entertaining.

And in the end, which artist do the Freemasons do remixes for? Winner: Beyonce.

Rihanna has the personality of a dishrag

Ever listen to Beyonce speak?

Yeah, but she has personality on-record, which Rihanna does not.

i think that works in her favor sometimes, though. i don't think beyonce could have pulled off "umbrella" the way rihanna did.

Prob. not, but I'll take most of the songs on B'Day over "Umber Ella". ("Please Don't Stop the Music", on the other hand...)

Sorry, but Umbrella, irrespective of anything else that Rihanna ever did or will do, is enough to propel her for all time above Beyonce.

"Umbrella" has gotten actively worse each of the three thousand and eighty-two times I've heard it.

Rihanna is more *fierce* and she has more of an edge.. but I'd have to go with Beyoncé because she's just a better all-around entertainer and she has better songs, especially if you count Destiny's Child.

idk if rihanna has more of an "edge." "breakin dishes" is basically rihanna's "ring the alarm" and "breakin dishes" is nowhere near as terrifying and insane as "ring the alarm."

Right. That song freaked me out so much, it took me about half a year to come to grips with it. (Dan P.: "I told you so.") "Breakin' Dishes" just kind of exists.

Ever listen to Beyonce speak?

Beyonce's public image is more tightly controlled than her weave but at least you can kind of tell that she has character underneath all the PR and makeup.

The original "Ring the Alarm" is shit but the Freemasons' mix is

SO

GOOD

it's unbelievable.

"Ring the Alarm" is probably the most insane thing Beyonce's ever done. So so so so great.

Rihanna is Safety McSafetington next to Beyonce; sampling "Tainted Love" is awesome but it doesn't seem as oddball as sampling "Edge of Seventeen" or releasing a string of singles more melodically akin to "Lipgloss" than anything else.

Beyoncé is a thousand times more talented, probably (though who am I to say? "talented" based on what? well, vocal ability, I suppose, for starters), but I've liked three times as many Rihanna singles as I've liked Beyoncé singles, so Rihanna takes it. If I figured in Destiny's Child or albums as a whole, it'd very possibly be a different story.

The insanity of "Ring the Alarm" vs. the insanity of "Unfaithful" kind of explains why I prefer Rihanna. Beyoncé's all exclamation points and italics and underlines and capital letters; Rihanna just has this inner-fucked-up-ness going on insider her head.

(nb: my math above re: "three times as many" is probably inaccurate, considering how many singles we're actually talking about here)

I thought "Unfaithful" was really boring, both musically and lyrically.

I think that we should all agree: we're talking about Beyonce's entire output vs. Umbrella. Umbrella still wins.

I can see why someone would think "Unfaithful" is boring, I find it pretty moving myself. I don't think anything I've heard by Beyoncé is boring, just irritating. (Though I love at least two songs by her as well.)

I kind of despise "Umbrella", as well.

Beyonce has done some boring shit as well (have you heard "Me, Myself and I" or "Freakum Dress"?) but she isn't making her career off of her blandness the way that Rihanna is. (More precisely, Rihanna is making her career off of being a total vocal cipher combined with full-on sex kitten imagery, while Beyonce is usually amped up to 11 at all times, sometimes to great effect and sometimes to her detriment; I find the missteps made by Beyonce more interesting than the missteps made by Rihanna because, overall, Beyonce is taking more risks.)

When I want risks out of my pop performers I prefer Britney Spears.

There are more good songs on B'Day (including "Freakum Dress", Dan WTFever) than in Britney's entire output.

Am I the only one who finds that Rihanna's sex-kitten thing doesn't work at all? She looks like a cute girl next door in a sex bomb's clothing, and comes off as extremely stilted when trying to be HAWT rather than cute (which she did quite well). Like, I wouldn't be surprised at all if she's a virgin.

well we all + beyonce know Rihanna got railed by jay-z, so i would be surprised if she was a virgin.

anyway, the difference between beyonce and rihanna is that beyonce the person has constructed a personality for beyonce the singer. as stated up thread, anyone who has seen an interview with beyonce knows that she is reserved, shy, maybe bordering on comatose off-stage.

her "personality" is necessary to the success of her music, i don't think rihanna's is.

beyonce has a fatter ass

rhianna looks a lil better in the face tho

yeah i don't think we can debate that xpost.

although you could land a plane on rihanna's forehead.

i'd take rihanna though.

left eye or aaliyah?

i like good girl gone bad more than either beyonce album but i dont get any sense of a personality out of rihanna whereas beyonce is awesome and super fierce. maybe if rihanna finds her sasha one day we can have a serious talk about this.

her stylist is making a valiant effort though w/the s&m stuff

Beyonce's album
WEARS
ME
OUT.

Can someone remind me why Ring The Alarm is considered so crazy and deranged again? It's great, but still...

Anyway, Beyonce by a country mile, she's just a much better pop star. The actual quality of the records is a complete irrelevance here obviously.

ring the alarm is considered deranged bc she was screaming on it like a bat out of hell

rihanna is my favorite pop star

Rihanna has become more interesting since 2007, fortunately

still, Beyonce wins

Everyone who voted Rihanna should take a step back and bow to the crown.