In reply to Kingphoenix.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....
First, let’s put away the tired old trope ‘oh she can’t sing’. Madonna can’t sing – neither can Britney Spears and Janet Jackson is sure not a huge vocal talent either but they built their immense popularity through carefully cultivating their overall image – commercial, radio-friendly songs, outfits, etc.
That is what pop is about – tapping into the zeitgeist of popular culture at that particular moment. It’s about capturing the mood of the moment and becoming a trend setter, particularly for the youth.

It’s about image and having the total package. And by that standard, Rihanna is the biggest pop star in the world right now, bar none. She has barely put a foot wrong in her career choices (if not her personal ones).
She dictates trends. Yes, you may say it is all down to her stylist and team, but you have to have that certain je ne sais quoi to make it seem authentic rather than ridiculous and make other people want to copy you.
Rihanna does that and to my mind, there’s nothing wrong with that. What’s wrong with the most influential pop star right now being black?
We might not like it because as black people, we’re used to our musical stars being big-voiced belters but there is room for the pop stars like Ri-ri, the big voices like Jennifer Hudson and the soulful sirens like Jazmine Sullivan...