Rihanna’s new outrageously explicit video has UK Prime Minister David Cameron pushing a proposal that suggestive music videos receive age certificates. The fresh-faced star’s transformation may have been drastic, but it’s quite expected considering that every quintessential female pop star starts out cute before taking a 180 degree turn towards raunchy-ville. Miley Cyrus marketed her innocence, calling herself morally “strong”. But leaked half-nude pictures and an album called ‘Can’t Be Tamed’ was a clarion call for the world to see that she was no longer the cutesy blonde. Britney Spear’s career took a drastic downward spiral after she reinvented the pop scene with her album, ‘Baby One More Time’. Since then we have witnessed her one-day marriage to a childhood friend in Vegas, a whirlwind affair with a back-up dancer ending in a wedding just six-months after her first marriage, two children that were later taken away by child protection services and finally, rehab. Christina Aguilera burst on to the scene with her teen love songs. Aguilera’s transition was not just to a raunchier but also a downright trashier singer. With the album ‘Stripped’ in 2002, the singer had completely transformed her look, dirty blonde hair, photo shoots that left little to one’s imagination and lyrics that made one blush. Taylor Momsen adopted her now famous-hair extension, heavy kohl and socks-look overnight. She was regularly snapped by the paparazzi, smoking and looking like a cross between a goth and a dominatrix. Her transformation cost her her ‘Gossip Girl’ role. Rihanna hit the jackpot with ‘Umbrella’ but became more risque with every hairstyle change. The singer’s transition was particularly loud and in-your-face. Rihanna has established herself as a kind of rebel artiste. Her album ‘S&M’ was banned in 11 countries, while her latest ‘We Found Love’ even offended the most liberal of all countries – France.
