Grace Jones dismisses Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj and other 'middle of the road' popstars: 'I have been so copied by those people'
The iconic singer claims these singers need a long term vision or face being replaced by 'newer, crazier, louder' versions
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Your support makes all the difference.Grace Jones has accused Miley Cyrus, Rihanna and other “middle of the road” popstars of imitating her in an explosive extract from her forthcoming memoir.
The pioneering singer and 80s icon lambasted popstars for being uniform, unoriginal and easily replaceable, insisting Rihanna, Lady Gaga and even Madonna had copied her extensively in an extract from I'll Never Write my Memoirs published by Time Out.
Jones warned that in the race to be the most outrageous and provocative, the “Mileys” and the “Nicki Minajs” of the industry would reach their expiry date prematurely.
“Trends come along and people say, ‘Follow that trend’,” writes Jones. “There’s a lot of that around at the moment: ‘Be like Sasha Fierce. Be like Miley Cyrus. Be like Rihanna. Be like Lady Gaga. Be like Rita Ora and Sia. Be like Madonna.’ I cannot be like them – except to the extent that they are already being like me.
“I have been so copied by those people who have made fortunes that people assume I am that rich. But I did things for the excitement, the dare, the fact that it was new, not for the money, and too many times I was the first, not the beneficiary.
“Rihanna… she does the body-painting thing I did with Keith Haring, but where he painted directly on my body, she wears a painted bodysuit. That’s the difference. Mine is on skin; she puts a barrier between the paint and her skin. I don’t even know if she knows that what she’s doing comes from me, but I bet you the people styling her know. They know the history."
Jones claimed to have refused a request to collaborate from one of the singers, who she referred to under the pseudonym ‘Doris’, despite those close to her claiming she would “benefit” from it.
The 67-year-old warned that without a sustainable long term vision, they would be soon be overshadowed by “a newer version, a crazier version, a louder version”, making them nothing more than a passing phase.
Cyrus, Gaga, and Rihanna have all been praised for backing free the nipple campaigns and calling out hypocritical standards expected from women by dressing provocatively and being open about their sexuality.
But Jones claimed the culture of tattoos, wearing revealing clothing and singing to “fractured, spastic” beats are simply popstars following the status quo, not challenging it.
“The problem with the Dorises and the Nicki Minajes and Mileys is that they reach their goal very quickly," she continued. "There is no long-term vision, and they forget that once you get into that whirlpool then you have to fight the system that solidifies around you in order to keep being the outsider you claim you represent. There will always be a replacement coming along very soon – a newer version, a crazier version, a louder version.”
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