Rihanna earns 100 million song RIAA award following Anti album release

Rihanna burst onto the music scene in 2005 with her dancehall-inspired track Pon De Replay, and just over a decade later she continues to break records left, right and centre. The 27-year-old singer has made RIAA Gold & Platinum history, becoming the first and only artist in to be certified with 100 million song awards.

The news comes days after the Jay Z's protégé topped the Billboard 200 with her eighth studio album, Anti. The record, which features collaborations with stars including Drake and Sza, earned its platinum certification shortly after its release on 27 January. Thanks to RiRi's Samsung partnership, ANTI was certified platinum within 15 hours of its release to Tidal. While those downloads helped her earn this award, they were not counted by Nielsen. The project, which was unveiled with much fanfare following a number of delays, debuted at number 27 on the Top 200 albums chart.

Celebrating the milestone, the star jumped on Twitter to remind fans that it would never have been possible without them. "Navy y'all did this. FIRST & ONLY @RIAA certified with 100M song awards & #ANTI is PLATINUM!! Thank you for the love!" she wrote alongside a photo of herself holding a plaque, while seated in front of another.

Back in July 2015, Rihanna was crowned the most successful digital singles artist of all time after accumulating more than 100 million gold and platinum song certifications. "We've given awards to artists for nearly 60 years, but it's rare that we have the opportunity to recognise a milestone like the one Rihanna has reached," said RIAA CEO Cary Sherman at the time.

Meanwhile, the songstress is preparing to grace the stage at this year's Grammy awards, before heading to across the pond to perform at the Brits on 24 February.