Though it isn’t as publicized as it should be, Mary J.Blige remains R&B’s only consistent female ‘seller‘.

Unfortunately tarred with the same brush of perception that’s sullied her genres worth to the wider public, regular releases and well executed campaigns have ensured that her numbers remain favorable and at times miraculous even at their ‘worst’.

Her ‘worst’, being watching her latest LP ‘My Life II’ receive Gold certification after six months. A certification, many of today’s R&B releases are unlikely to ever see…ever.

However, by way of Rihanna‘s smash hit ‘Diamonds‘, Blige is on course to lose a record set in 2005 with Bryan Michael Cox penned ‘Be Without You’.

Chart details below…

Despite technically being a Pop number, Rihanna‘s ‘hue induced’ positioning as an urban act has seen ‘Diamonds’ soar on the R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart- now spending its 14th week at #1.

If it spends another week at the top next week, it will become the longest running R&B #1 of all time, snatching the record from ‘Be Without You‘ which once sat secure with a total of 15 weeks at the top.

A testament to her status as being one of the only R&B acts to break commercial records with R&B material, Mary’s currently undisputed record saw her best chart runs by even her strongest of competitors. These being  Beyonce‘s ‘Single Ladies’, Usher‘s ‘Climax’ and Ciara‘s ‘Promise‘.

However, as a result of Rihanna’s dominance over Top 40 radio, sales of ‘Diamonds’ have seen it reign supreme on Urban tallies across the globe, despite little backing from the Urban outlets that will no doubt take ‘Pour It Up’ to similar heights.