Main Pop Girl

Just when we thought that the good sis Azealia Banks had well and truly buried her career once and for all when she incited the rage of the world's most fearsome fanbase, the Directioners, 2016's version of the Hydra has reared another one of it's ugly heads - and this one is noticeably paler than the last. Just months after referring to former One Direction singer Zayn Malik as a "curry scented bitch", the formerly well-renowned rapper has taken once again to the Internet to reveal to her rapidly diminishing fanbase that she has begun the process of bleaching her skin. Describing the process as "body modification", Banks claimed that skin bleaching was little more serious than wearing a weave. "Nobody was upset when I was wearing 30-inch weaves and tearing out my edges and doing all that type of shit like that," she mentioned. "You guys loved it!" Banks made the revelation in a 21 minute livestream on Facebook, a medium she has resorted to since the suspension of her Twitter account several months ago. Rather than endure the entire 21 minutes of agony, feel free to peruse this shorter clip posted by WorldStarHipHop on Twitter below: When the issue was pressed on Instagram, Banks made correlations between skin bleaching and cosmetic surgery, saying, “What's the difference between getting a nose job and changing your skin colour?” Banks refused to accept claims that she may be shunning her African American ancestry through the practise, saying that such accusations were "petty" and "stupid". "I don't really think it's important to discuss the cultural significance of skin bleaching anymore because just as African American people in this world, or Black people, you assimilate," she said. "There are things that you accept not out of necessity, but things that become the norm because it's just happening all of the time." What do you think of Banks' revelations? Is she right to say that she was pressed into the practise by her fans supporting beauty techniques like hair weaves and nose jobs? Or is skin bleaching just one step too far? Let us know your thoughts below!

In what's possibly the most natural by-product of the Internet age, the lines between an artists personal and creative lives have been blurred and warped beyond distinction. While it used to be possible - obvious, even - to distinguish between the Cher who enacted the role of native American sex goddess on stage and the Cher who liked to have TV dinners with her husband Sonny and her daughter Chastity, musicians of the digital age tend to blend the personal and artistic together more seamlessly. The appeal of artists like Lady Gaga and Lana Del Rey is not only their admittedly catchy tunes, but the ambiguity regarding their histories. In Gaga's case, there is an obvious tension between the Italian girl Stefani who sings jazz in downtown bars and the Gaga who performs at Madison Square Garden; in Lana's case, it seems impossible to consolidate the roles of trailer trash, meth addict, cult groupie, Brooklyn baby, west coast artist and international superstar into the one person. The latest artist to explore this dichotomy is Allie X, the Canadian-born pop singer who sits happily in the middle of hyperreal and surreal. With her signature look of poker straight hair, near-omnipresent sunglasses and sharp, geometric fashion, the singer looks more like the design of the perfect popstar than a singer herself - and her enigmatic past, which has encompassed personas such as Allie X Andra and ALX, does nothing to clarify the situation. All we know about the girl born Allie Hughes is her Canadian heritage (although she now resides in Hollywood), her art school past and the few online artefacts we've managed to excavate from before her pre-pop past (check out her dramatic performance on the Sound of Music-inspired talent show How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria here). But when it comes to the character of Allie X, the possibilities are almost endless. Behind those dark-rimmed sunglasses is a mind capable of crafting some of the catchiest pop melodies we've heard in a while ('Prime' still stands as one of my favourite pop songs from the past five years), as well as some of the strangest burlesque showtunes you'll ever hear (check out her piano rendition of latest single 'All The Rage' above). And if you thought that bubblegum pop and cabaret were a weird mix, just wait until you experience Allie's visuals. Her first official music video for 'Catch' plays out like a lazy-eyed trip into the schizophrenic creator of GIFMaker's secret lair; while the latest production for 'Too Much To Dream' is a washed out take on the neon lights of the Vegas strip. 'Too Much To Dream' and 'All the Rage' - along with 'Old Habits Die Hard' - are all we've heard from Collxtion II, the sequel to Allie's debut album released last year. This time around, X is planning an unconventional release style for the album which will involve her uploading a slew of final songs, demos, voice memos, remixes and piano versions to her social media pages before allowing her fans to choose which songs should be perfected in order to make the final product. To make your voice heard and decide the outcome of the album, stay tuned to Allie's official Spotify, YouTube and Twitter accounts for updates. Past, present, and future are all X. You decide the outcome.