Photo: Getty Images1/5MadonnaSince I was very young, I’ve seen Madonna’s music videos on TV; I’ve seen her live performances on YouTube. She’s been such an influential artist for so many generations. It’s always very exciting to see how adventurous she has been onstage—what her persona is, with all the dances and the outfit changes. The Jean Paul Gaultier bustier, that’s my favorite! It didn’t matter what anyone said as long as she felt confident and comfortable, and that’s [something] to aspire to. Be feminine, be sexy, be confident. There’s so much strength behind that.
Photo: Getty Images2/5PinkPink is on my list because she’s one of my favorite artists. I love how ballsy she is, and there’s something so effortlessly cool about her. You watch her onstage doing all these acrobatics, and there’s just so much to admire there: Not many people can get up and do somersaults in the middle of their tour! She’s got this kind of no-giving-up, no-resting kind of thing about her. I feel empowered by her, and it’s not just her stage presence. It’s through her songs and through her social media. She is amazing.
Photographed by Annie Leibovitz, Vogue, July 20133/5Katy PerryI went to the show in London, and I love how fun it was, and playful—it’s a completely different style of production. She created this whole world, where everyone dressed up in blue wigs and gingerbread outfits to create this kind of candyland. She was able to bring the music videos to life, in a way, and I remember that being something in particular that fans really, really latched on to—being able to join in. There was something really fun about it. At the end of the day, she’s a bit of a chameleon, but it’s also something that Madonna was able to do: to go with the flow and change her look in different ways, but [remain] true to herself.
Photo: Getty Images4/5FKA twigsI think she’s a brilliant performer, the way that she puts together the dance and the music. FKA twigs definitely has a whole life and feel of her own. I don’t quite know how to explain it. I watched her perform live at Glastonbury; it was the middle of the day, but sometimes you felt so enchanted by her performance that it could have been four in the morning. It was really, really special. She is not afraid to be different, and that’s what’s amazing. She can wear anything or look any certain way, and she kind of breaks the barriers of what some people’s idea of beauty is. She makes everything look great.
Photographed by Scott Trindle, Vogue, December 20125/5GrimesWith Grimes, it’s the whole part of being different that’s so beautiful—and the fact that she produces her own stuff and she’s able to do everything. She’s such an individual. For her, she can wear whatever she wants and still feel comfortable in it. It’s really exciting—and really unpredictable. You never really know, in a way, what’s going to come next, and I think that’s really cool with an artist. Who the hell knows what her next album’s going to sound like? She’s so bold as well, from her dress to her makeup choices onstage. She’s able to reinvent herself but also stay true to who she is as an artist and what she believes in.
