There are vocal powerhouse pop stars, who dominate with the sheer enormity of their gift; kaleidoscopically vivid pop stars, who dazzle with enthusiasm and energy; diligent pop stars, who chip away at success until they strike oil; cheeky pop stars, who understand the absurdity of the situation but manage to convincingly stay the course.
And there is Rihanna, who is not quite any of these things.
And while she has just released “Anti” (Roc Nation), her eighth album, that peculiar state of affairs is unlikely to change. “Anti” is a chaotic and scattershot album, not the product of a committed artistic vision, or even an appealingly freeform aesthetic, but rather an amalgam of approaches, tones, styles and moods. Depending on the moment, she is an electric vocalist or an indifferent one, an emotional savant or a naif, a singer who understands what her voice is best at and one who sounds like she’s merely following directions.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/29/ar...anti.html?_r=0
Anti is amazing precisely because of that, she's cool and she owns the songs in her own cool and detached way. 
