"Rihanna, Miley, Britney, Robin Thicke. We could go on and on about celebrities determined to one-up one another in shock value.

Oh, RiRi's latest selfie is of her behind? Eh, no matter -- that has nothing on Justin Bieber's affinity for going shirtless in concerts while grabbing his crotch. Not crude enough? There's always Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" video where he's boasting about his penis size.

Thankfully, several singers avoid such sexed-up attention-seeking ploys, relying on their raw talent to captivate audiences.

No need to censor these celebs. Check out our roundup of subtle stars who pack a gimmick-free performance punch."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...?utm_hp_ref=tw

Adele doesn't do flashy videos or performances. I love her for that.

lol Adele's lack of gimmicks is a gimmick within itself.

Adele has a gimmick though tbh (at least while on stage). Her entire style (musically and visually) is very 60's throwback.

It's just she doesn't rely on it.

That would be only if she was marketed that way on purpose... and she's not.

But again, she does have a throwback gimmick while on stage. It's just not noticeable because it's not try hard and ridiculous.

That made absolutely no sense

Every major mainstream artist has a schtick. I don't care what anyone says. If you're successful, you're pandering to a certain crowd which requires some kind of gimmick.

I just read the list and What a joke. It looks like it was written by a ATRLer really.

That's why I love my Adele girl

So many guitars in that list.

Or maybe we're so accustomed to seeing disingenuous entertainers that we assume the genuine are an act. I don't think Sara Bareilles or Ed Sheeran, for example, are anything but themselves.

And every single one of those people (minus ADELE) are completely irrelevant. So?

seriously, why do people put such a negative spin on gimmicks? these are entertainers. Let them do the things that ordinary people can't!

i can sit on a chair and sing. i can't emerge from an egg with alien horns whilst playing classical music on the piano and then breaking into a furious choreography routine.

Oh yeah Sara Bareilles is the typical plain jane girl who plays piano singing catchy self acceptance/love songs like that Vanessa Carlton chick and Ed Sheeran is the grungy guitar type dude like Jason Mraz. There's always a schtick. Because it's a thing called marketing. How are they going to "sell" the artist to the public. Every successful mainstream artist has a gimmick. They may be unaware of said gimmick, but there always is one. The fact is these schticks have been done before and will continue to.

irrelevant??

I don't mind being entertained by some of these gimmicks. I don't like it when gimmicks are a replacement for talent.