Re: Rihanna - Take A Bow (music video)
Where she's from doesn't make her unique as an artist, nor does it make her ground breaking stylistically. To many, she's enjoyable, but not a stylistic difference in the pop scene.
I like her enough, but she certainly doesn't make me go "Wow, that's a totally new sound I've never heard of before and could probably never hear from someone else in the business."
And artists make billboard history pretty frequently. Rihanna made download history, then Mariah broke it, and then Rihanna broke it again. But downloads don't carry much weight. I don't even like Mariah all that much, but the fact that she broke Elvis Presley's record for number one singles on the Top 100 for any artist in the Rock Era says a bit more about "history" than weekly download rates.
Her very particular circumstances aren't what he means by unique. You could also say that Beyonce is probably "unique" because she's the only singer named "Beyonce" to win a Grammy, or that she's the only black, female singer who used to be in a Grammy-winning group from Houston to win a Grammy as a solo artist.
What he means is Rihanna being stylistically or vocally unique, which she hasn't actually proved. Elvis Presley's style and voice and look were all unique. The Beatles' sound and changing music and pioneering style was unique. Madonna's different fashion style in her introduction and her subsequent changes and provocative content even made her unique despite her lacking vocal qualities. Even Mariah Carey's vocal range and stylistic use of that range (though questionable in terms of its overuse) is unique.
I think Rihanna would have to do more as an artist/performer to establish herself as more than a contemporary pop icon. She's got one thing that really distinguishes her, which seems to be her accent and it is pleasant, but I feel like there's more she could do. Maybe that will come with time and more experience, but right now, the songs she sings could probably all be sung by others and appear to have little of "her" in them. Besides her accent, what is the core of "Rihanna" and (assuming she has it in her to give) when will we see it?
You keep challenging people to explain what "they've done" in their "X" years of life as a comparison to whatever Rihanna has apparently done in her 19/20 years of life, but what kind of question is that? You could make the same argument for Mandy Moore in her early years or Brooke Hogan now. Certainly very few people have ever had their own CD or radio song at age 16 or 18, but that doesn't make Mandy Moore's early music or Brooke Hogan's current single anything particular special to the music scene. It's just generic pop that disappears within a few years and is hardly memorable. Just because someone's in a movie doesn't make them a star and just because someone's had a single on the radio or managed to cut an album doesn't make them musically unique. As a consumer nice1234 and everyone else have the right to ask whether or not Rihanna has produced anything that really distinguishes her from other singers/entertainers because that's the entertainment criteria--it's "the biz."
It's why certain rappers or hip hop artists like Puffy, Jay-Z, and Outkast (specifically Andre 3000) stand out, and a lot of those who have a few hits eventually fade away.
In movies, Sienna Miller was the "it girl" last year and had a few good films, but can anyone think of anything about her that sets her apart from other young, blond, starlets? Probably not.
Rihanna has the potential to set herself apart as a unique artist from other people in the music industry, but I don't think she's done so yet. Some chart toppers, when others have been topping charts since billboards were started, and winning Grammy's, when people win Grammy's every year, don't make her unique. As far as other entertainers go, making music history at 19 doesn't make her special. Britney Spears already broke the record in the U.S for the youngest artist to have their debut single at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. She also broke the record for the youngest artist to have their debut single and debut album simultaneously at #1 on the Billboard charts. And she still holds that record--17 and making music history.
Very few people that you're encountering "hate" Rihanna as you seem to think (apparently any serious criticism of Rihanna to the standard set by other pop artists means you "hate" her and want to take away her Grammy and her records). They may enjoy her as much as any artists, but that's where they differ from you: They enjoy as much as any OTHER artist. She's enjoyable, her songs are catchy, fun to dance to. But so far they haven't seen anything that makes them want to leap up and grab her album because they know they could never hear that anywhere else on the radio. So far, it only seems like you enjoy her music, think she's pretty and stylish, and can only support your arguments that she's a unique musical presence in the industry because of where she's from (but not her influences), what annual award she's won this year, and what downloading records she's breaking. Commenting on her specific musical influences, cultural influences expressed in her music, uniqueness in musical content and subject matter, or vocal differences might persuade people more.
Where she's from doesn't make her unique as an artist, nor does it make her ground breaking stylistically. To many, she's enjoyable, but not a stylistic difference in the pop scene.
I like her enough, but she certainly doesn't make me go "Wow, that's a totally new sound I've never heard of before and could probably never hear from someone else in the business."
And artists make billboard history pretty frequently. Rihanna made download history, then Mariah broke it, and then Rihanna broke it again. But downloads don't carry much weight. I don't even like Mariah all that much, but the fact that she broke Elvis Presley's record for number one singles on the Top 100 for any artist in the Rock Era says a bit more about "history" than weekly download rates.
Her very particular circumstances aren't what he means by unique. You could also say that Beyonce is probably "unique" because she's the only singer named "Beyonce" to win a Grammy, or that she's the only black, female singer who used to be in a Grammy-winning group from Houston to win a Grammy as a solo artist.
What he means is Rihanna being stylistically or vocally unique, which she hasn't actually proved. Elvis Presley's style and voice and look were all unique. The Beatles' sound and changing music and pioneering style was unique. Madonna's different fashion style in her introduction and her subsequent changes and provocative content even made her unique despite her lacking vocal qualities. Even Mariah Carey's vocal range and stylistic use of that range (though questionable in terms of its overuse) is unique.
I think Rihanna would have to do more as an artist/performer to establish herself as more than a contemporary pop icon. She's got one thing that really distinguishes her, which seems to be her accent and it is pleasant, but I feel like there's more she could do. Maybe that will come with time and more experience, but right now, the songs she sings could probably all be sung by others and appear to have little of "her" in them. Besides her accent, what is the core of "Rihanna" and (assuming she has it in her to give) when will we see it?
You keep challenging people to explain what "they've done" in their "X" years of life as a comparison to whatever Rihanna has apparently done in her 19/20 years of life, but what kind of question is that? You could make the same argument for Mandy Moore in her early years or Brooke Hogan now. Certainly very few people have ever had their own CD or radio song at age 16 or 18, but that doesn't make Mandy Moore's early music or Brooke Hogan's current single anything particular special to the music scene. It's just generic pop that disappears within a few years and is hardly memorable. Just because someone's in a movie doesn't make them a star and just because someone's had a single on the radio or managed to cut an album doesn't make them musically unique. As a consumer nice1234 and everyone else have the right to ask whether or not Rihanna has produced anything that really distinguishes her from other singers/entertainers because that's the entertainment criteria--it's "the biz."
It's why certain rappers or hip hop artists like Puffy, Jay-Z, and Outkast (specifically Andre 3000) stand out, and a lot of those who have a few hits eventually fade away.
In movies, Sienna Miller was the "it girl" last year and had a few good films, but can anyone think of anything about her that sets her apart from other young, blond, starlets? Probably not.
Rihanna has the potential to set herself apart as a unique artist from other people in the music industry, but I don't think she's done so yet. Some chart toppers, when others have been topping charts since billboards were started, and winning Grammy's, when people win Grammy's every year, don't make her unique. As far as other entertainers go, making music history at 19 doesn't make her special. Britney Spears already broke the record in the U.S for the youngest artist to have their debut single at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. She also broke the record for the youngest artist to have their debut single and debut album simultaneously at #1 on the Billboard charts. And she still holds that record--17 and making music history.
Very few people that you're encountering "hate" Rihanna as you seem to think (apparently any serious criticism of Rihanna to the standard set by other pop artists means you "hate" her and want to take away her Grammy and her records). They may enjoy her as much as any artists, but that's where they differ from you: They enjoy as much as any OTHER artist. She's enjoyable, her songs are catchy, fun to dance to. But so far they haven't seen anything that makes them want to leap up and grab her album because they know they could never hear that anywhere else on the radio. So far, it only seems like you enjoy her music, think she's pretty and stylish, and can only support your arguments that she's a unique musical presence in the industry because of where she's from (but not her influences), what annual award she's won this year, and what downloading records she's breaking. Commenting on her specific musical influences, cultural influences expressed in her music, uniqueness in musical content and subject matter, or vocal differences might persuade people more.
