Rihanna is THE icon of this century

[Oyster 2,458]

Now I know posting this in a Gaga forum is going to receive a very biased reaction, but I want y'all to be realistic when considering this point. 

Rihanna is THE icon of this century and for many reasons. First of all, Rihanna has managed to stay musically and culturally relevant throughout her entire career. From 2005 to thirteen years later in 2018, the woman has remained at the top and has garnered a reputation for never being brought down. Every other star, even including the ever-powerful Beyonce and Taylor Swift, have had low points in their career where public opinion had turned against them. This has never happened to Rihanna. She manages to be incredibly relevant and moving on to my second point, always well-liked. 

Rihanna's mass appeal is unlike any other pop star. She is well-liked by so many different communities. The LGBT community loves her. Rap fans and many straights appreciate and listen to her because she has collaborated with many star rappers and has experimented with trap music herself. For some reason I can't even explain, older people really like her too. My grandparents on both sides hate pop music but for some reason get so excited whenever Rihanna performs. There is a lot of well-known backlash against many celebrities. Gaga is seen as too weird and recently as not culturally relevant. Beyonce is seen by many as a machine and by conservatives as a threat. Taylor is seen as a snake. Katy Perry as cringy. However, generally, people just love Rihanna. Whether they are huge stans of her or just a regular person, it is rare to find people who when asked what they think of Rihanna say negative things.

Furthermore, and this point contributes to her reigning relevance in the industry, Rihanna has changed her style over her career to match the changing tastes of the public. It would be one thing if the styles she took on didn't work but somehow every genre that her music has become has worked so well. Good Girl Gone Bad, Rated R, and Loud are very solid pop albums with incredible choruses, catchy hooks, great pop beats. Talk That Talk experimented more with an EDM/dance style and produced the iconic We Found Love, one of then biggest dance songs of all time, as well as other bops. ANTI followed the trend of pop-trap with a mix of indie/alternative and is a fantastic, well-received album with some of the most impressive vocals of Rihanna's career. While of course she receives help from the best of producers, Rihanna has always managed to be a master of different crafts and is a chameleon. 

Of course there are flaws to Rihanna too. She doesn't have the best voice and sometimes her performing seems lazy. She can also come across as very sassy and rude occasionally. But overall, she is an ICON and I would say THE icon of the past 20 years. People go crazy about her makeup and fashion lines. People eat up all her music like it's oxygen. Many artists look up to her as inspiration. And most impressively, she has never and most likely (at least for a while) never fade out of relevance. 

Let me just say because this is a gaga forum that Gaga is incredible and on her way to becoming a legend. But objectively speaking (think about it with non-bias), Rihanna's mass appeal and constant cultural relevance is far beyond any pop star. Maybe some will see this as a bad thing because they may think she is a trend-hopper and her work doesn't come from authenticity. Either way, the success and accomplishments she has achieved are INSANE and have not been attained by her contemporaries.

Also, I'm just going to list all of her hit songs because she has SOOOOOOOO many:

Pon De Replay

SOS

Umbrella

Disturbia

Take a Bow

Don't Stop the Music

Russian Roulette

Rude Boy

Hard

Only Girl (In The World)

S&M

What's My Name

Man Down

Where Have You Been

We Found Love

Diamonds

Stay

Pour it Up

Bitch Better Have My Money

Work

Needed Me

Love on the Brain

 

 

[xoxo Craig 55,649]

Cool, this just means that Gaga is the LEGEND of this century

[ryanripley 86,575]

i wouldn't say she's an icon, just one of the most popular artists in pop music (mainly because she trend hops lmao)

has she done anything as iconic as something like the meat dress where people go "wow, only rihanna could do that" though? there's plenty of icons who don't have constant sales and awards and plenty of popular artists who sold very well but aren't icons

[gagzus 13,646]

She is? Wow hope she has a matching header xo

[Stephen 29,384]

omg I was just arguing with my friends last week that I think Rihanna is the current queen of pop. 

I don't stan her at all but if you look at it objectively it's true... I have a lot of thoughts on this.

[Dominic 11,922]

Maybe not the icon but definitely an icon. Her appeal is like no other, she is universally loved and she’s definitely had the most continuous relevancy out of them all. A true queen tbh. 

[Oyster 2,458]

3 minutes ago, ryanripley said:

i wouldn't say she's an icon, just one of the most popular artists in pop music (mainly because she trend hops lmao)

has she done anything as iconic as something like the meat dress where people go "wow, only rihanna could do that" though? there's plenty of icons who don't have constant sales and awards and plenty of popular artists who sold very well but aren't icons

I think her iconic moments are a little different. I think her iconic stuff is speaking out about being a domestic abuse survivor as well as her relationships such as with Drake. I think what makes her iconic moments so special is that they feel very human and aren't, for lack of a better word, "gimmicky"

[Dominic 11,922]

1 minute ago, ryanripley said:

i wouldn't say she's an icon, just one of the most popular artists in pop music (mainly because she trend hops lmao)

has she done anything as iconic as something like the meat dress where people go "wow, only rihanna could do that" though? there's plenty of icons who don't have constant sales and awards and plenty of popular artists who sold very well but aren't icons

What trends did she hop? If anything Rihanna has always been a trendsetter, particularly in fashion

[thierryrreiht 19,967]

I mean, she's unproblematic, stays in her lane, and love her attitude, but in no way did she have the same impact as Gaga, and others

[rumours 45,521]

I thought Fergie was the queen of pop, though. 

I_Am_Confusion.ppt

[ryanripley 86,575]

1 minute ago, Dominic said:

What trends did she hop? If anything Rihanna has always been a trendsetter, particularly in fashion

her music before ANTi

[Guest]

16 minutes ago, Oyster said:

Rihanna has managed to stay musically and culturally relevant throughout her entire career.

Keeping up with the trends, but at what price? She might be a fashion icon, but when it comes to music I think she's very mediocre

[AndrewGr 6,019]

[BBhomemaker 5,611]

Anti is Trap ? Where? 

[ilgkp 1,157]

 

3 minutes ago, Dominic said:

What trends did she hop? If anything Rihanna has always been a trendsetter, particularly in fashion

show me one