Rihanna: ‘Women are definitely dominating music right now’

Rihanna graces the cover of the September 2011 issue of Glamour and expresses her opinion that female recording artists are currently dominating the music industry.

“There’s a pack. It’s me, Gaga, Katy Perry, Beyoncé ... who else? Ke$ha, for sure,” she tells the publication. “Women are definitely dominating music right now, and that’s because we are competitive beings. I feel like music hasn’t been this exciting in a while.”

The “S&M” singer also discusses how she treasures her friendship with Perry because most of her pals are men.

“When I met her [Perry], it was such a breath of fresh air,” she says. “I just couldn’t believe this chick had no edit button... Katy and Lady Gaga came out of the gate exactly the way they think, the way they wanna dress, the way they wanna speak.”

Rihanna, who has been criticized for donning overtly sexual outfits during performances and releasing music videos with controversial imagery, acknowledges that serving as a role model for young girls has been a burden.

“In the beginning of my career, it was really strict for me. I couldn’t wear pink or red lipstick; it was just bizarre. We had a young fan base, and they were trying to keep me fresh. But I just really wanted to be myself. I wanted to be sassy, the attitude, all these things that I am,” she says.

“I want to set the right example and, at the same time, live my life. I feel like pop stars can’t be rock stars anymore because they have to be role models, and it takes the fun out of it for us because we just want to have fun with art.”