Rihanna s recent outing in the  S&M music video gave her an instant fan boost, while Shakira climbed high on the world music scene.

Both artists have done tremendously well in their careers, pushing controversy, stunning visuals, raunchiness, and some humorous tongue and cheek.

2011 is proving to be a great year for both these artists as they come out top so far for the highest amount of new fans via social networks. In the social media era, measuring these statistics are a clear indicator of the reach and viral aspect of each artist s fan base.

How does Shakira and Rihanna get millions of more fans than other artists? There are several key factors, one being controversy. Let s look at Rihanna s S&M, who didn t talk about that video? It was edgy and pushed the boundaries for how much sexy we can put into a video.

Shakira got an international boost at last year s biggest world sporting event; the World Cup. Since then, she has been touring around the world, and releasing some sexy videos of her own.

Sure, sex sells, but Shakira and Rihanna also have a great attitude toward their careers, and are not afraid of speaking their mind. They also have a unique sense of style, which a lot of artists don t have. The greatest victory for any musician is to have their own image, and not steal it from others.

Staying original in the music industry is a hard thing to do, but the true victors in this category are those who inspire others, bring something new and make a stand out act on the world stage.