Is being "unattractive" holding a crop of r&b singers back from success?

[Cynic]

i'm not talking about appealing to cacs...i don't care what they want/like. i'm talking black r&b stars within the black community - the way people like carl thomas, monica, mya, swv, 112, etc were. you keep bringing these crossover pop stardom into it as if we don't (or didn't used to) have our own network of stars

That era is over with - why are you denying this and acting as if trap and rap aren't overshadowing R&B ?

 

[Piff Perkins]

To be fair everyone in the OP is "dark skinned" with prominent African features. If Daniel Caeser was some lanky white boy he'd be huge. Ari looks so "normal" that a lot of people simply disregard her. Syd...is Syd lol.

Looks matter but I think image can be more important. Right now, there are basically two camps for popularity in r&b as a female artist. You're either gonna be full on ratchet thot, or be an ethereal witch magic thot. Right now the magic thots got the upper hand. I'm talking Solange, Summer Walker, SZA. Ari just seems like a regular chick who is relatable but not that interesting...who maybe dabbles in horoscopes but isn't 100% into it like a magic thot...and while sure likely tweets about dikk appointments nobody believes her. She doesn't like the part, and I think black female fans see through it and just gravitate to more charismatic figures.

Syd will never be mainstream but being relavant in LA is probably more lucrative for her. In 5 years she'll still be making money touring whereas Summer Walker will probably be broke on a VH1 reality TV show.

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

That era is over with - why are you denying this and acting as if trap and rap aren't overshadowing R&B ?

breh...you're missing the whole point of the thread. seems like everyone else got it and is commenting accordingly...thanks for trying.

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

To be fair everyone in the OP is "dark skinned" with prominent African features. If Daniel Caeser was some lanky white boy he'd be huge. Ari looks so "normal" that a lot of people simply disregard her. Syd...is Syd lol.

since when is syd darkskin? and if you read my whole op i pointed out people of all sorts of shades who aren't attractive or dont make themselves who are both struggling and who made it

 

[Cynic]

breh...you're missing the whole point of the thread. seems like everyone else got it and is commenting accordingly...thanks for trying.

Success isn't based on attractiveness - if it was then Miguel and August Alsina
would be Usher/Chris Brown or Frank/Weeknd level

Tinashe would be the new Rihanna

The people you posted make alternative R&B which isn't accessible to the masses
or the black community
It's niche AF. Even cacs who make that kind of music like JMSN and Mayer Hawthorne
aren't buzzing like that

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

Success isn't based on attractiveness - if it was then Miguel and August Alsina
would be Usher/Chris Brown or Frank/Weeknd level

Tinashe would be the new Rihanna

The people you posted make alternative R&B which isn't accessible to the masses
or the black community
It's niche AF. Even cacs who make that kind of music like JMSN and Mayer Hawthorne
aren't buzzing like that

attractiveness is not the only thing, no, but these people are consistently making good - great music, wondering if better looks or more effort into their look would help them achieve more success is plausible.

and i already addressed this "alternative" r&b fallacy...as well as the issue with tinashe


lastly, miguel and august had mainstream success, they didn't put out music to maintain it, miguel especially...august's music fell off but he also had a million health issues

 

[Ziggiy]

Ari Lennox and Jorja Smith fine as fukk but still are kind of on the “bubble” as it were.


I honestly think alot of these artists just aren’t connecting with the target audience the way the OG generation of artists did. Maybe with the rise of social media the lack of “mystique” is gone and alot of these artists flaws are on full display instead of being cultivated as art for their music.

But again, Summer Walker blew up and she’s a mess on social media so it could be more about the team you have around you

 

[Sbp]

this is true now, but men bought r&b/soul well into the 00's...that's for another thread, when did males become too hard to buy/listen to r&b soul...

Early 2000s. Early Millennial shyt. I remember dudes getting clowned for having RnB CDs in their stash save for a few (Kells,Usher,G and a few others). I'll accept some of the blame for my participation in that c00nery smh

 

[Cynic]

attractiveness is not the only thing, no, but these people are consistently making good - great music, wondering if better looks or more effort into their look would help them achieve more success is plausible.

and i already addressed this "alternative" r&b fallacy...as well as the issue with tinashe


lastly, miguel and august had mainstream success, they didn't put out music to maintain it, miguel especially...august's music fell off but he also had a million health issues

More effort = more $$$ spent on advertising or more publicity via antics

Summer Walker
Tory Lanez
Jaquees
Ella Mai
Kehlani
HER

These artists are all enjoying some level of success.

Miguel always puts out great music but he's caught trying to live in a Bruno Mars + The Weeknd and Frank Ocean world.

 

[IllmaticDelta]

And Missy now looks better than she ever has lmaooo

IDK about that but Jill Scott was always

 

[DonRe]

I mean daniel looks like dave chappelles character in the lucky professor. He panders to a lighter shade crowd too.

Ari is cute but regular.

but then you have jacquees midgetness and he gets hoes consumers. He is also talented. Similarly bryson.

HER seems asexual. She cute too. Summer is bad. Syd da kid is a legend to me but she aint chasing the male glare.


this rnb era is weird though. Not bad, per se. But you have countless options of looks and sounds. Im glad too. Its like when tribe hit the scene and de la. It aint one note to fukk with.

 

[You Win Perfect]

The style of music is inherently sexual. How the singer looks is part of the package

/thread

 

[IllmaticDelta]

The style of music is inherently sexual. How the singer looks is part of the package

Not really true. There has never been a real correlation in the R&B world between popularity and looks.

 

[FeverPitch2]

bytches go crazy for Syd.
SZA is beautiful but she's also insane so that takes some notches off of her overall sex appeal.
I think you're used to singers from the last millennium who have 20 mfers on their payroll to groom them for any public appearance from photo shoots to interviews to being "caught" by paparazzi.
Catch those same folks on an off day.
"
The new singers dont have the money for a "glam squad" like Beyonce, Mariah, or J-Lo. These kids are fresh out of their bedrooms.
Being left to their own devices, they're not savvy about image and dont generally know that appearance and image helps to sell the music.

Here's a perfect example of your own look vs. having some help:

Here's not really having a look (1st album) vs creating one (5th album):

 

[Playaz Eyez]

In 5 years she'll still be making money touring whereas Summer Walker will probably be broke on a VH1 reality TV show.

Or back to stripping