To be happy rihanna has flopped

[mpje]

All she seams to do is smoke, get shit tattoos, make sexist videos, get naked etc. Very glad to see her latest album is a flop

Well that's rather unkind. She's not hurting you.

Have to say I rejoiced quietly when the farmer/landowner whose land they were filming a video on told her he thought her behaviour was, erm, inappropriate when she stripped off on his land. (And AFAICR it was her idea to get nekkid, or semi-nekkid.)

Its her utter inability to wear anywhere near enough clothes that winds me up! But I do agree with you - if her album had been a success this would have meant a higher profile ergo more people looking up to her/modelling themselves on her/being interested in her lifestyle. A shitty role model for impressionable young girls imo.

I wasn't keen on her whips and chains, M&M dv era.

Unfortunately she is part of a trend which I think is harmful to women performers in that it puts pressure on, or allows the music industry to put pressure on (young) newcomers to go further and further down this path -- how long will it be before someone performs live completely naked? Already all but naked in music videos.... I actually feel sorry for them, they are paying an extortionate price for their fame. Sadly many of them can't see it.

After watching Straight Outta Compton this weekend, can't help thinking that Rhianna, Nicki Minaj etc are a sign that women in the industry have come a long way. But it seems that we still have a few years to go before they can wear clothes in their videos and not suffer financially.

You wouldn't be unreasonable to be pleased that what she stands for isn't popular, although wishing unhappiness on her seems a bit mean.

However, I'm not sure that it has flopped? It's number one in the States, and the only reason it's not number one here is (according to the experts) that the physical CD was released on the 5th and therefore physical sales haven't been taken into account for our chart. They are expecting it to top the charts next week instead.

It's almost more difficult to measure popularity between it was originally released for free, in conjunction with Samsung - the 1.47 million free downloads in 15 hours isn't being taken into account, and that doesn't include all the illegal downloads sparked from that. Most people dislike paying for something that used to be free, so it's likely that her album will be illegally shared more than usual.

I think, sadly, it probably doesn't count as a flop. It might still flop, and I hope it does - some of the lyrics are terrible and she's not a great role model - but she's probably pretty happy right now.

I'm with you OP.

Rihanna is not a victim - she is a very astute woman who knows her own mind and chooses just how far she wants to go. Of course, if she had the talent of many other female singers who don't use sex to sell their music then she probably wouldn't find it too hard to keep her clothes on. The sooner this type of vacuous pop music fucks off to the far side of fuck the better.

You wouldn't be unreasonable to be pleased that what she stands for isn't popular, although wishing unhappiness on her seems a bit mean

^^ this.

Rihanna is vile, I wish she would go away. YANBU.

mpje YANBU! Rihanna is a terrible role model for girls, I'm thankful that I've no daughters to be influenced by this but I do intend for my boys to know that it's not normal for girls to behave this way in order to be successful
Tartyflette here in Northern Ireland, that poor farmer got a lot of earbashing but I for one was so proud of him for sticking to his principles I don't know the farmer
My view is if you need to strip off wear less clothes to sell music what does that say about your singing?

Rhianna donated £1.2 million to her native island's hospital a couple of years ago. We are all complex individuals; there are many shades of grey.

I don't suppose it makes much difference to her, in terms of money. No doubt her pride has been dented though.

I lost track of her music after her 2010 album, which was good but probably the tipping point in terms of song content (S&M was on that album), all just got a bit much for me. I'm not particularly prudish or prone to over analysing song lyrics but Rihanna gave me pause.

Shades of grey

In the context of who we're discussing that made me childish

SirChenjin

It's very easy to get swept up in a 'wrong' lifestyle when the people surrounding you are telling you it's ok, the more outrageous you are the more publicity you get, more publicity equals more fame, more fame equals more sales. I agree the industry is exploitative and grooms girls/young women into being sexually provocative. I love riri's early stuff, she's got a great voice, and I truly hope she finds a way to break the mould and starts performing in actual clothes.

Rihanna has an incredible voice and has made some really popular music. I also think she's savvy enough to do what she wants and I feel she's fairly well in control of her image.

However, I think she's an appalling role model for young girls/women and if I had DDs I'd hate them to watch her videos and feel that that look and her way of life is sexy and powerful.

Mind you, she's not the only one and one failed album is hardly going to cause a revolution and female pop singers to start behaving with a bit more dignity (more's the pity).

My view is if you need to strip off wear less clothes to sell music what does that say about your singing?

I wonder how often people apply this line of thinking to male singers?

Chris Brown (bleuch)
Beiber (sp?)
Timberlake
Most male rappers / RnB singers

Women are often pressured into overt "sexiness" to sell records. People who say "oh, they're independent women making informed choices" overlook the huge pressure the (highly misogynistic) record industry puts on women, even when they're successful and start to have clout. A few women have managed to circumvent this, but they're few and far between.

I agree but wonder why people don't say the same about lady gaga, recently photographed having sex for a magazine cover and frequently wearing very little clothing

I think to a certain extent white women are "excused" from criticism for this behaviour a lot more, as white women are the more socially accepted standards of beauty. See the whole "ass" debate for Nicki Minaj's album cover.

I loathe what Rihanna and others are putting out there in the name of 'empowerment.' I get actually angry when I hear/read them talking about how they are 'in control' and they 'call the shots' etc.

But it's still young women, with their kit off, in a male dominated industry. Nothing has changed except somehow, the industry now has young women believing that it's their choice to do it, and it 'empowers' them to be as overtly sexual as possible.

And still, as it always has been, the blokes get to stare at almost naked young women performing for them. Sorry, for themselves.

Nothing has changed. I have two young DD and it really bothers me.

I don't think Lady Gaga's career has been built on the whole sex/nudity/S&M thing, has it? 2 very different people and careers and nothing to do with colour. I do suspect that LG is now using sex to raise her profile though, which is sad. I think her use of nudity (up until recently) has been more creative than shocking - which is more Rihanna's approach.

I refuse to let either DC watch any music videos. They are all gyrating suggestively across the screen and I don't want them to think this is acceptable in any way. You don't get people like Adele doing it so why Rihanna, Beyoncé, Miley and Lady Gaga and others feel the need I don't know. I wouldn't say they are talentless (not keen on Miley tbh) but you can sell records without acting like a stripper or like you are in a porno ffs. Completely sends the wrong message. I used to love watching MTV (back when it actually had music on) when I was younger and I don't remember this being such an issue as it is now.