Taking a break or an extended leave has worked for other artists in the past. When people get tired of their music, these overexposed artists who hibernate and then resurface when the time is right, become more appreciated again. That career move usually works more often than not. To back off from the scene temporarily has been proven to be effective to not only extend the career of the artist, but it prevents the artist from burning out, as well! If your fans miss you enough and your presence is less felt, the more they would value and support you each time you release a new album. But if fans, critics, and everyone in between already know and can predetermine that you will be releasing a new album every year, instead of anticipating your latest release, these people might just ignore it and not buy the album. So, being overexposed is not something that is always good.
You know how overexposed Rihanna is? After listening to her seventh studio release “Unapologetic” in its entirety, I quickly forgot about it after a few days, and moved on to the next album I purchased to listen to and review. Usually, if the album is really good and worth the value, you wouldn’t forget it that easily. But artists like Rihanna are so pushed for attention, media coverage, and non-stop publicity–good or bad–that you wouldn’t really care anymore. And admittedly, just seeing news about Rihanna and now, Chris Brown together, makes it worse. Because this just might be another publicity trainwreck in the making. If people think that Rihanna is criticized too harshly or she is getting unfairly treated by critics, think again. We are all entitled to our own opinion, and as I am typing this, there is some reader now thinking of a “smart” reply or nasty comment to leave behind. I have no quarrel with that as it comes with the territory.
In fact, it adds color and it is nice to hear mixed reactions. I am all for that! Everyone gets criticized both by sensible people who actually have something of substance to say and by those others who just want to bash you and mock you! I used to wonder why there would be music critics who would be so harsh with some artists. It is not because they hate the artist, literally. But it could be that they just don’t like the music they offer, or they feel the music they are releasing could have done so much better. I speak for myself as well.
I remember Rihanna in the beginning when she was starting to make a name for herself in the mid-2000’s. Specifically with her album titled: “Good Girl Gone Bad”. I had thought it was really a solid effort and a promising release from the Barbadian pop star. That was one of the best R&B albums of the last several years. There, I said it. But I think that with each album release, she has started to reach her peak already in terms of creativity. Many people thought she would not last and her “15 minutes of fame” would be up any time soon. But contrary to that, Rihanna is still here. Her pace of releasing studio-albums has been hectic and yearly. Kudos to her for all that effort and hard work!
However, it is entirely different when it comes to the actual output of the contents of each album. You are bound to hit a “creative-slump” and deplete your creative resources. To make things worse is the fact that her latest studio-release seems more to me as a way for her to cash in on her infamous past with Chris Brown. Yet, she claims she wants privacy and to be left alone? But if you will have songs hinting at and alluding to the turbulent time of your life, you are really asking for controversy and begging to be criticized by not only your harshest of critics but also by some of your fans, are you not?
Whether “opening the book” about her relationship with Chris Brown was something that was done on purpose or another marketing strategy to keep her name relevant still, a lot of people disagree with that move. It reeks of desperation to keep her name talked about, to be a trending topic, and to stay controversial. Because, while Rihanna and Chris Brown may seem okay in the public’s eye right now, we all know that anyone with a history of violence towards women is bound to repeat it. We wouldn’t want another Whitney Houston-and-Bobby Brown case to happen again.
I may not be the biggest fan of Rihanna’s music but we certainly don’t wish for her to get hurt and be treated that way again. So, while we are stuck with the music of Rihanna in the unforseeable future, I would hope that in 2013, we get more introductions of new artists as well. Just like Rihanna being given a break by hip-hop icon Jay-Z, others need it also and are just waiting for that opportunity, too!