7 Artists Who've 'Sexified' Their Music And Image
If you've been keeping up with his "Music Mondays" series, then you know that Justin Bieber isn't a "baby" anymore. The 19-year-old singer—who first rose to prominence back in 2010 thanks to the runaway success of his single, "Baby"—isn't just making music for your little sister these days. He's making grown-up songs like "Hold Tight," "Bad Day" and "PYD," his latest "Music Mondays" track featuring R. Kelly. It's clear that he's going through a transformation right now and attempting to change both his music and, more importantly, his image.
This kind of transformation isn't new, though. There have been many artists over the years who have done the same exact thing. And they've done it in a variety of ways. Here, 7 artists who have "sexified" their music and image just like Bieber.
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The Artist: Rihanna
Her Original Image: When Rihanna first burst onto the music scene with her debut album, Music of the Sun, in 2005, she was a young, wide-eyed singer from Barbados who looked and felt like a manufactured pop star.
How She Changed It: Rih-Rih started to come out of her shell on her sophomore album, A Girl Like Me, in 2006. But she really took control of her career on 2007's Good Girl Gone Bad and 2009's Rated R, which both featured her singing about more mature subject matter (her album titles helped change her image, too!). And obviously, she's not afraid to show off her sexy side every chance she gets in 2013.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
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The Artist: Miley Cyrus
Her Original Image: At the beginning of her singing career, Miley was best known for her role on the Disney Channel's hit show, Hannah Montana. So a lot of her music reflected that image and was decidedly poppy. Even her third album, 2010's Can't Be Tamed, was pretty, well, tame.
How She Changed It: In early 2012, Miley cut off all her hair and made it a point to let everyone know that she was changing her image along with her look. Then, in early 2013, she started working closely with hip-hop producer Mike WiLL Made It and changed up her previous sound. Of course, her performance at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards pretty much cemented the fact that she was "sexifying" everything about her act.
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The Artist: Justin Timberlake
His Original Image: As a member of N'Sync, JT was a fan favorite amongst the tweens who loved the group. But his image was entirely manufactured when he was a part of the group.
How He Changed It: In 2002, Timberlake released his first album, Justified. And the things that he discussed on the album were way more mature than anything that he ever sang about on N'Sync's albums. From "Like I Love You" to "Cry Me a River" to "Rock Your Body," JT grew up a lot on the album and turned himself into a true sex symbol, not just a teen crush.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
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The Artist: Britney Spears
Her Original Image: When Spears released her first album, …Baby One More Time, in 1999, she looked like the typical girl next door. The outfit she wore on her album cover looked like something she picked up at the Gap and there was nothing particularly risqué about her.
How She Changed It: A couple months after releasing her first album, Britney let it be known that she was not just the girl next door. She appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone sprawled across a bed wearing an open top, shorts and a bra. She also incorporated a bunch of skimpy outfits into her …Baby One More Time Tour and continued "sexifying" her image on the cover of her next album, Oops!…I Did It Again.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
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The Artist: Christina Aguilera
Her Original Image: Much like Britney, Aguilera looked and felt like the girl next door when she released her self-titled debut album in 1999. Songs like "Genie in a Bottle" and "What a Girl Wants" were PG-13 at best.
How She Changed It: After releasing a Spanish album and a Christmas album, Aguilera returned in 2002 with Stripped, a much more mature effort from her. She took on the role of her alter ego "Xtina" on the album and released a single called "Dirrty" that completely changed the way people looked at her.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
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The Artist: Mariah Carey
Her Original Image: It's kind of hard to believe today. But in the mid-1990s, Mariah Carey wasn't sexual at all in her music or her image. On her first five albums, she stuck to singing and didn't seem to worry too much about how she looked while she was doing it.
How She Changed It: After he marriage to Tommy Mottola deteriorated in 1997, Mariah started working on her sixth album, Butterfly, and approached it from a whole new angle. Not only did she sing differently, but she also talked about issues pertaining to sex and started wearing more revealing outfits on a regular basis. It was both a personal and a professional transformation.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
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The Artist: Selena Gomez
Her Original Image: As a teen, Gomez starred on Disney Channel's Wizards of Waverly Place and, as you might expect, was very kid-friendly.
How She Changed It: When she decided to start doing music, Justin Bieber's ex-girlfriend delivered songs that did not match her previous appearance. For instance, her hit single, "Come and Get It," is as suggestive as it sounds. And it doesn't really sound like she's done transforming just yet. She only has one album under her belt and will likely go through an even bigger transformation by the time her next one comes out.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
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