For someone who has six Rihanna songs on his iPod, I’ve been incredibly slow to acknowledge her staying power. Time after time, single after single, I’ve kept thinking she’s an artist who can’t last.

I mean, really. She has had some amazing singles–including “S.O.S.,” “Don’t Stop the Music,” and the ubiquitous “Umbrella”–but she still hasn’t exhibited a clear artistic personality. To paraphrase my friend Kerri, she’s talented and pretty and a great dancer, but so are lots of people. Anyone could be singing her hits. Compared to fellow superstars like Beyonce, Pink, Ne-Yo, and Nelly Furtado, Rihanna is just a producer’s plaything, competently singing incredible hooks that someone else has written.

And yet… “Disturbia,” another great song with a killer video, just went to number one. That’s her fourth number one in roughly two years, and her ninth top ten hit in just over three. Throw in “Shut Up and Drive,” which peaked at a respectable number 15, and you’ve got enough material for a filler-free greatest hits disc.

What to make of all this? Has Rihanna just gotten really lucky? Has she hooked up with all the right songwriters and producers and managed to become a superstar?

I feel like that’s the case, but I will keep on buying her songs. It’s kind of nice, actually, that these great hits are all coming from the same person. It’s better to have one Rihanna than six sound-alikes with one hit each. Life is less confusing that way.

As a chaser, here’s the aforementioned “Disturbia” video. Where are her eyes?!?