Just goes to show that if you're a big enough name, you can release any old dirge and it will be a success!
Yes, that's true, but if people do think it's "old dirge" the repercussions will come with the next album.
Mariah had huge (deservedly so) commercial success with "Emancipation of Mimi". Because of that status her 1st single from "E=MC2" became an instant #1. But when her fanbase was hugely dissapointed by the quality of the tracks on the actual album, support started to wane and "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel" turned out to be an outright flop.
If people are going to hate "Rated R", Rihanna's next album will be a bomb.
I was going to buy the album on the day of release. After hearing the four tracks from it, I'll definitely hear the leak first before doing so.