At the beginning of this year, Cardi B made chart history by becoming the first woman to have five singles in the Top 10 of Billboard's R&B chart, surpassing Beyoncé's record. The Bronx rapper has since had a string of hits, including a feature on a Maroon 5 track.
But Cardi still has a long way to go if she wants to join the all-time big hitters on the digital sales chart. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has tracked the artists who have sold the most digital singles since sales began.
The number one artist has shifted an impressive 124 million singles, far surpassing the person in second place. Contrary to the list of top album sales, which heavily features men, the list is dominated by young women, who have harnessed the power of the internet.
Rap also does far better in this digital singles list (which includes downloads and streaming equivalents) - Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West and Drake all rank highly.
A few older artists have also done well in digital sales. Elvis Presley comes in at 10th place, despite having died long before the world wide web was even in existence. It seems his musical themes of heartbreak and loss have never grown old.
Country music hasn't been quite so successful in crossing over into digital. Aside from Taylor Swift, who is more of a straightforwardly mainstream pop star these days, country doesn't make an appearance until Luke Bryan in 13th.
It remains to be seen if Cardi's meteoric rise will push her up the ranks of the best-selling digital artists - but on a list which favors the young, women and hip-hop artists, it looks like she might have a very good chance indeed.
01. Rihanna: 124 million units 02. Taylor Swift: 108.5 million units 03. Eminem: 107.5 million units 04. Katy Perry: 98 million units 05. Justin Bieber: 68.5 million units 06. Drake: 68 million units 07. Kanye West: 62 million units 08. Lady Gaga: 61 million units 09. Bruno Mars: 53.5 million units 10. Elvis Presley: 50.5 million units 41. Mariah Carey: 23 million units
Mariah Carey Gold: 24 Platinum: 12 Multi-Platinum: 4
Top singles 1. We Belong Together (3 million) 2. Fantasy (2 million) 3. Beautiful (2 million) 4. One Sweet Day (2 million)
(Newsweek)
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