Rihanna is THE icon of this century

[Guest Adarsh]

Rihanna is a trendy musician thats it. She does not even write her own songs. The gp loves her because she's very likeable. This does not make her the icon. 

[Lana Del Gay 853]

Lmaooo I bought Vogue Magazine and she's on the cover wearing yellow washing up gloves

[A Hybrid 10,959]

24 minutes ago, Oyster said:

Yea but it doesn’t need to necessarily make people uncomfortable, confused, or angry. The meat dress, the Britney kiss, the Madonna controversies are def iconic and stirred the pot but there are also icons and legends like Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin etc. that are icons for being really well liked and talented. 

I’ve never really heard heard of those people as “THE icons” of a time period

[Prada 1,200]

Musically she is one of them.

But everything combined, fashion, beauty, music, iconic status, she is definitely the one that comes to my mind when i think of a woman in 21st century. 

[FfFfFfFF 54,014]

I'm going to address the ''icon of the century'' claim first because despite the fact that she is the most successful pop girl, I feel like her songs are not more recognizable than the ones of her contemporaries. She doesn't have that many controversial, instantly recognizable moments (apart from Te Amo, Russian Roulette, Umbrella, Loud singles, Work and her Met Gala looks) to make it right to call her ''icon of the century''. And this is because most of the people view her a source of trendy, catchy, replay-able music rather than a strong artistic personality.

Expect for Anti which is a true masterpiece, all her albums were formulaic pop albums crafted with a clear single + filler pattern, with songs offered to her by producers and in which she had little to no actual involvement. Her albums are basically compilations of potential hits created by hot producers in the industry and this + the fact that she has indeed a charisma made almost impossible for them not to become hits. Considering this is no surprise that she reached this amount of success .

Btw, the fact that you opened your thread stating that you already know this site is biased shows that you created it to a ''my opinion is facts'' attitude instead of willingness for discussion and this is kinda counteractive to the aim of a forum.

[Gagaloo911 12,959]

*Cackles into the next century*

 

[Gagadonna 10,801]

I'm not fond of her, but I have to agree. Gaga could be the icon of this century if she wanted, but she too lazy for that

[AlexanderMagno 10,746]

Well, my first instict is to roll my eyes at those Gaga fans who think Gaga still is the 

 

Anyway, yes, although I dislike Rihanna (and specally her voice...) she is the icon of this century. No other pop artist was able to maintain the success after so many years and to keep being a fashion icon.

Anti just proved how powerful she was. How come no one remembers the MESS her career was before Anti? Nothing, absolutely nothing could predict Anti would survive. Everything in her career screamed flop. But that didn't happen. She even got the critics' success. Damn, Love on the Brain is the least radio-friendly song I've heard and it's probably one of her biggest hits. Who else but Rihanna can get a hit like that?

 

People talk about likeable. The girl who released Talk That Talk? Unapologetic? Who once was a weed meme? Seriously? Gaga has been much, much more "likeable" ever since Cheek to Cheek. What was even unlikeable about Joanne?

 

And, again, if you think Love on the Brain is something safe, then you really are close-minded.

Sure, she has had some generic pop music, but Gaga hasn't? Look, I really don't like her music either, but she has never been a Katy Perry bubblegum pop, has made small evolutions album after album (small, but some) and keeps being extremly successful. A song featuring Rihanna is an instant hit.

[River 91,044]

I'll never understand this obsession with those titles.. they are only people.. like Rihanna cares if she's an icon or not..

[Flawless 2,092]

I agree on everything you said. Rihanna has been relevant for more than a decade now. She has global hits, the media on her side and the appeal for the young audience. Her only weakness is touring but just because she's too lazy for that.

[Guillaume Hamon 5,563]

She's the biggest singer of ou generation but there's not many iconic things about her except her hits imo.

Beyoncé or gaga had way more iconic moments and have more iconic skills and to me that's a big part of what makes an icon but her success make her an icon...  

[StrawberryBlond 13,287]

She may be an icon but in my opinion, she can't be THE icon as she's not worked hard enough on her music to be up in the big leagues. Those who write all their own stuff deserve to be ranked as bigger and better icons. Rihanna has only just started having creative control and it's clear that the reason why her albums are now taking longer to make is because she needs a lot of time if she wants to attempt to have any creative input whereas before, she could pump them out constantly because she had little to no input. And quite frankly, the fact that a lot of songs with her on them can be a hit is more a sign that the public's brainwashed to make artists who are deemed cool into a success. I sometimes don't even think they take the song's real quality into account. Work is a classic case in point. No one could understand it and it was bland as hell, but it's Rihanna! Instant hit! Let's not pretend that having Drake on the track didn't help as well. He totally saved her bacon from having the Anti era be a write-off by being on that song so it could get off to some kinda start (if she collabs with him on one more single, I swear...) Makes a hit meaningless in my eyes. Makes me annoyed that the same people who make this stuff successful listen to work from Gaga and are all: "What is this s**t?" The youth market, for the most part, wouldn't know quality if it hit them in the face.

But I will say this - at least Rihanna isn't overexposed like she was some years ago. I was at the end of my tether with her by 2012. That break couldn't come fast enough. A big reason why I've learned to tolerate her so much more now is that she's no longer shoved down my throat every year and having solo hit after solo hit.

[sipthistea 21,099]

Nicki is way more iconic than Rihanna

[TheAlpha 3,830]

In 100 years, you’re telling me Rihanna is more iconic than Madonna, The Beatles, MJ, David Bowie, Britney Spears, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Prince, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Beyoncé, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Marley?

[PartySick 134,437]

3 hours ago, Gagadonna said:

I'm not fond of her, but I have to agree. Gaga could be the icon of this century if she wanted, but she too lazy for that

I wouldn't say "lazy". She just doesn't try to be an icon or a legend. She's her own artist, she doesn't need that garbage like everyone else does. She exists outside that sphere artistically. That's why when I think of artists and entertainers, Michael and Gaga stand apart from the crowd as influential people, great characters, and real substantive artists. And then there's everyone else.

OT: Couldn't agree less tbh  she's a good singer and knows how to work a stage but she's never truly captured my interest. I think of her more as taking a back seat in most/all categories. Imo, to be an icon, you have to be an inspiration, and I think of Rihanna as "just another popstar"  she's a good one, yeah, but I wouldn't call her anything approaching an icon.

Meanwhile, Gaga has reached many types of people with her messages and stories, even people who don't like her music. She's a personality. She is an inspiration. Someone you can look up to, learn from, and aspire to be like whether you want to be a global superstar or you just want to be a kinder, more considerate person in your day to day life. Gaga's a role model, an example, and an icon. Not that this is a "Ri vs. Gags" thread, I'm just saying Gaga is a perfect example of what it really means to be an icon. Popularity and chart performance isn't all there is  Ri and her people make great radio songs and fun hits but I've never heard anyone call her their hero.