ABSTRACT
The music industry's best-in-class "songstresses" develop into divas, with big budgets, big demands, and big performances. Adele has long been exotic in her look, her sound, and her ability to cross formats with ease, but she has also arrived at the point in her career where fans, critics, and peers talk about her musical talent more than her looks, her body, or her relationships, and thus occupies the coveted position of diva in the Lifecycle Model. Many of Minaj's stories revolve around sexuality and sexual prowess—and her explorations of such matters are more sexually explicit and aggressive than any of her pop star peers. Provocation takes many forms in the music industry, but the most commonly expected form is sexual provocation by transgressing the cultural norms of the time. The next phase of the Lifecycle Model arises when female artists are thought to have gone too far, provoking a reaction of disgust or ridicule rather than genuine entertainment or enjoyment.
