Every year I try to "try new things" with my wardrobe and overall look...does that make me a different person entirely? The artists with longevity reinvent themselves all the time (IE: Mary J. Blige, David Bowie, Madonna, et cetera). Think about how Cindy Lauper is still running around with those crazy skirts singing "girls just wanna have fun" on every show...and then think about the fact that her and Madonna were peers. Had she reinvented herself in anyway she might still be relevant. Madonna is arguably the most powerful woman in pop music... She can't sing, she can't dance, she doesn't write really, she can't play any instruments, but she has the drive and ambition it takes to make it and the all important "it" factor. Music industry is just that...an industry! Those who know how to make themselves marketable sale records. Rihanna is no more a gimmick than anybody else in the INDUSTRY!