Singer Janelle Monáe has sparked debate following their dramatic and unexpected NSFW-style shake-up in a new clip.
In February this year, Monáe, who uses they/them pronouns, released a new single Float ahead of an announcement about their new album, The Age of Pleasure due for release on 9 June.
Now, the second single released from that album, titled 'Lipstick Lover', has got fans talking about their style evolution from suited sci-fi/fantasy to their new sexy era.
Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter
Monáe shared a teaser clip of the NSFW video that clearly shows a more sensual style from the 37-year-old as they can be seen emerging from a pool wearing a translucent skin-tight t-shirt with the word “Pleasure” written across the front.
Through the wet t-shirt, the performer's bare breasts could be seen, meanwhile, other clips showed that Monáe is exploring a more sexually liberal style with snippets of their face next to a woman’s bare bum.
Meanwhile, another video has emerged online of Monae exposing their breasts while performing live.
The rebrand has sparked debate among Monáe’s fans, with some loving the evolution and others disagreeing.
One person wrote: “The Janelle Monae showing more skin vs suits is a transition that was coming. The suits paid homage. They represented the foundation of her career. It’s natural to change.”
Another argued: “Rebrand of the century, I need more women to change their lives for better just like Janelle Monae.”
Someone else questioned: “Did they clone Janelle Monae? Cuz the sudden behavior change is extreme to me lol.”
“I need a Janelle Monae interview cause I need to know what sparked the change,” another tweet read.
Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
