There is an argument to be made for separating the image of the performer entirely from pop music. The idea that so many of today’s manufactured pop icons are little more than fashion models who happen to have made a record is one that you will hear voiced by many music fans. And there is little doubt that the image of the star has certainly taken priority over the music to the point where people who don’t pay attention to the pop charts can’t hum any of Lady Gaga or Rhianna’s songs but they can damn sure tell you what they look like. They know the image rather than the music, which seems like a rather bizarre situation for a pop singer to find themselves in, where their primary means of creative expression, their art (if they see it that way) is side-lined in favour of…well…marketing. That’s not to say that the music is bad or (in the case of Lady Gaga at least) the marketing doesn’t have some sort of artistic merit of its own, but surely if you are primarily known as a musician, then the music should be at the forefront of your persona.
