Rihanna Plans to Tone Down Her Look Amid Controversy
Rihanna is ready to make a few changes so that people will stop focusing on her image and start respecting her music.
Vibe Vixen reported that the singer spoke about toning down her look recently.
“I kinda just wanted to scale right back instead of having a look,” the singer said. “I didn’t want to make it such a big deal about what hair color or what cut [I have]. I just wanted to go right back to something simple and something flexible, something a little more natural.”
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Rihanna, who is gearing up to release her sixth studio album on Nov. 21, said she wants to avoid anything that may seem like a publicity stunt.
“It’s more about the music, I don’t want to become a gimmick - ever. Well, I ran out of [hair] colors, so that’s why I decided to go back to my natural color,” Rihanna said. “I’m just really having fun with the music and the style is a lot more accessible. It’s more lifestyle, it’s not so much a look or a costume, which I really enjoy.”
Although her “We Found Love” single has gained her even more notoriety, Rihanna has been receiving some backlash for the visuals compiled in the video.
The video featured a man with hair bleached to resemble ex-boyfriend Chris Brown, with whom she had a very public breakup centered on abuse. Overtly sexual and drug-related content were included in the video, which was supposed to represent the similarities between love and drugs.
“Rihanna's new video is a disgrace,” said Eileen Kelly of the Rape Crisis Center in England. “It sends the message that she is an object to be possessed by men, which is disturbingly what we see in real violence cases.”
Despite controversy surrounding the singer’s appearance in the past, she was able to break a record with 11 number one singles.
The song “We Found Love” helped Rihanna break the record on Billboard’s Hot 100, in which she was previously tied with 10 singles at number one. With her latest song to secure its place at the top of the charts, the Barbados-born singer was able to pull one song ahead of Stevie Wonder and Janet Jackson’s record of 10 number one singles.
Rihanna is now tied with Whitney Houston with 11 number one singles, and needs one more to tie with Madonna. The Beatles lead the list with 20 number one singles, followed by Mariah Carey with 18, Elvis Presley with 17 and Michael Jackson with 13.
Although she is nine away from the leading the pack of influential figures, Rihanna made more history after accomplishing 20 top 10 singles faster than any other solo artist. The “We Found Love” singer accomplished the feat in six years and four months.
The record was previously held by Madonna, who did so in six years and nine months. Although the Beatles were able to do so in two years and seven months, Rihanna is the only single artist to come close.
