Grace Jones has written a memoir & she’s coming for Rihanna, Nicki & more

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If I was a young pop star and Grace Jones came for me, I think I would honored. Even if Grace threw shade, even if she completely insulted me and my career, I would still be honored. To be insulted by Grace Jones is pretty great, because she cared enough to call you out. And so it is with half of the pop stars in the world today. Grace Jones has written her memoir, called I’ll Never Write My Memoirs. It will be out on September 24th. TimeOut London had an excerpt and Grace Jones is kicking ass and taking names. You can read the full excerpt here. Some highlights:

She doesn’t follow trends: “Trends come along and people say, ‘Follow that trend’. There’s a lot of that around at the moment: ‘Be like Sasha Fierce. Be like Miley Cyrus. Be like Rihanna. Be like Lady Gaga. Be like Rita Ora and Sia. Be like Madonna.’ I cannot be like them – except to the extent that they are already being like me.

She didn’t make money of her act: “I have been so copied by those people who have made fortunes that people assume I am that rich. But I did things for the excitement, the dare, the fact that it was new, not for the money, and too many times I was the first, not the beneficiary.”

On Rihanna: “Rihanna… she does the body-painting thing I did with Keith Haring, but where he painted directly on my body, she wears a painted bodysuit. That’s the difference. Mine is on skin; she puts a barrier between the paint and her skin. I don’t even know if she knows that what she’s doing comes from me, but I bet you the people styling her know. They know the history.”

On being told a young pop star wanted to work with her: “No! It will be good for her; she will draw from everything I have built and add it to her brand, and I will get nothing back except for a little temporary attention. No one could believe that I said no, but I am okay on my own. I am okay not worrying about a new audience. If the f–k don’t feel right, don’t f–k it.”

The “Doris” blind item (Britney?): “With this one, who I will call Doris, I thought she was trying on other people’s outfits: she’s a baby in a closet full of other people’s clothes, a little girl playing dress-up, putting on shoes that don’t fit. I could see what she wanted to be when I watched her doing something when she started out that was starker and purer. Deep down, she doesn’t want to do all the dressing-up nonsense; she loses herself inside all the play-acting.”

Nicki Minaj has no vision: “The problem with the Dorises and the Nicki Minajes and Mileys is that they reach their goal very quickly. There is no long-term vision, and they forget that once you get into that whirlpool then you have to fight the system that solidifies around you in order to keep being the outsider you claim you represent. There will always be a replacement coming along very soon – a newer version, a crazier version, a louder version. So if you haven’t got a long-term plan, then you are merely a passing phase, the latest trend, yesterday’s event.”

To all the Dorises: “Doris, I would say fame is all well and good if you want to take it to another level. If you have some greater purpose. Me, I am just a singer, on one sort of stage or another, who likes to have an audience, but not all the time. Listen to my advice; I have some experience. In a way, it is me being a teacher, which is what I wanted to be. I still feel I could go into teaching. What is teaching but passing on your knowledge to those who are at the beginning? Some people are born with that gift. With me, the teaching side morphed into the performing side. It’s in there. And these are my pupils – Gaga, Madonna, Annie Lennox, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Miley, Kanye West, FKA Twigs and… Doris.”

[From TimeOut]

The Doris blind item really does seem to be Britney, right? In another part, Grace references “Doris” trying to dance like Madonna. My guess is that Grace didn’t want to call out Britney directly. Although Doris could totally be the cipher for all modern pop stars. Anyway… Grace isn’t wrong. About any of it. But she says that she hasn’t profited from her act like the pop stars copying her, then slams them for making profits. That’s the only part that doesn’t really make sense to me. Like, is she saying that she’s the original and she’s not doing it for the money and thus, no one should try to make any money?

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Photos courtesy of WENN.

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140 Responses to “Grace Jones has written a memoir & she’s coming for Rihanna, Nicki & more”

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  1. GoodNamesAllTaken says:

    I am so scared of her.

    • Snazzy says:

      that last pic is terrifying. She most certainly is fierce!

    • Hannah says:

      Why is she scary? I watched her in interviews she’s a bit eccentric but scary?

      • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

        I was only joking – she just looks like she would be able to reduce me to shreds with a few well chosen words should I get up the nerve to faun over her – see V4Real’s post below. I love her, but I would never talk to her.

    • V4Real says:

      @Good names. You should be.
      I saw her many moons ago at a New York club called Webster Hall. She was standing next to me and a friend of mine at the downstairs bar in the Reggae room. My friend said to her “I love your boots”. Grace gave her the meanest bitch face I ever seen, stared her up and down, then turned her back to her and continue to enjoy her drink.

      I told my girlfriend she should pick that up. My friend said pick up what. I said your face off the floor. I laughed so hard along with others who saw what went down. About 5 minutes after that went down Grace left and as she passed by us she blew me a kiss with a quick smile and just glared at my friend. My friend was like what was that about. I said I don’t know but she doesn’t seem to like you much.

      • stinky says:

        awesome.
        tell me more…
        MORE!!!!

      • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

        That’s exactly how I imagine her – lol. Great story!

      • marmaduke45 says:

        @V4Real: That story is everything!!

      • Tiffany :) says:

        She gave your friend a MOMENT! A story to tell! Kind of like when Bryan Cranston was sassy with the fan at Comic-con. Sometimes they slip a little into character to make a moment memorable. Can you imagine if your friend had said she liked the boots, and then Grace replied “Thank you dear, I got them at Saks”. That would have been so mundane and too normal for such a legend. Your friend got a private show and a great story to tell her friends that keeps with Grace’s brand.

      • M.A.F. says:

        Christ, to be a fly on the wall when that went down.

      • Reeely?? says:

        It’s not like your friend insulted her…I don’t understand why GJ had to ice. She was in an Eddy Murphy movie that kind of belittled her art and nearly ruined her image. Still, it’s refreshing to have had her along with twigs now in the pop culture landscape.

      • Pmnichols says:

        This story just made my life!!! I’m so in love with it. She’s wicked! Love it.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      As a kid, I was scared of her. I didn’t get her at all. Looking back, I am SO GLAD I was introduced to her, because it was such a different version of femininity that what else was being represented in pop culture. In a land of implants and Kelly Bundy-ies, Grace was the non-blonde strong and muscular woman. Very bold and brave.

  2. QQ says:

    I LOVE this B*tch!! My GF recently saw her in Afropunk festival and said she wiped the floor with the youth *goes to listen to her FIERCE version of La vie en Rose*

    • Kitten says:

      Yeah she’s bomb.
      I love how she just has no f*cks to give.

      • QQ says:

        NONE all her F*cks died in 1965

      • Sixer says:

        QQ – I was just coming to say that! Hooray! A mention of her version of La Vie En Rose. A club remix of that during the rave period of the 90s was the anthem of my salad days. I love that song.

        Grace is bonkers. And fierce. And has a crazy vocal range. She can say what she likes.

        Also, happy feels for any mention of Keith Haring, whose stuff I love.

      • Lindy79 says:

        Ive seen her live at a festival a few years ago, she was 30 minutes late, strutted out like an ethereal BOSS and told the few knobs who booed her to f*ck off then launched into the first song. She had me at f*ck off to be honest.
        I got very emotional during La Vie en Rose also, always loved her version, she also got on the shoulders of a security guard for the end of it and he carried her over to the crowd… speechless

        Saw her last weekend at the same festival and it was even more epic.

      • stinky says:

        Lindy79 envy …. gawd!

      • Alice says:

        I think she could snack on Rhianna and Nicki and use Taylor as a toothpick.

    • I Choose Me says:

      Grace Jones is everyf*kingthing. I love her like I love chocolate cake. These current crop of pop stars only wish they had the verve, audacity, independence, talent and just sheer mothereffing cool that Grace has.

      I think Doris is either Beyonce or Christina Aguilera.

      • Elisha says:

        Beyoncé is a good guess. I don’t think it’s Britney at all. Britney is a way, way better dancer than Madonna. But also, that’s all Briteny’s good at, and doesn’t seem like Britney would even be on Graces radar. Grace is older (yet timeless and doesnt age!) and I think this could be a much older person than the current crop of pop stars. I mean it could be like Cindy Lauper for all we know.

  3. Mia V. says:

    I think Doris is Lady Gaga. Britney doesn’t seem the kind of person who knows who Grace Jones is and Gaga had a Grace Jones vibe some years ago and she is a copycat.

    • Luca76 says:

      Doris is Lady Gaga from the Guardian a few years back
      Any number of artists have asked to collaborate with her. Was Lady Gaga one of them?

      “I just don’t play with other acts as a rule,” she says, with rare discretion.

      What does she think of her? “I really don’t think of her at all. I go about my business.”

      Has she copied her? “Well, you know, I’ve seen some things she’s worn that I’ve worn, and that does kind of piss me off.”

      Is she talented? “I wouldn’t go to see her.”

      So, did she ask to play with her? “Yes, she did, but I said no. I’d just prefer to work with someone who is more original and someone who is not copying me, actually.”

      http://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/apr/17/grace-jones-interview

      But Doris also is a metaphor for all pop stars.

    • Neah23 says:

      They are all copycats.

    • MSat says:

      Me, too! “Doris” basically owes her entire career to Grace.

      God, I love Grace Jones. She’s the real deal.

    • tifygodess24 says:

      I agree Doris is not Britney. Britney wasn’t copying or mimicking Graces career but someone like Gaga now that I believe.

      • Twink says:

        But at the end, she mentions both Gaga and Doris like they’re two separate people.

      • Artemis says:

        Yup, Britney actually said that Janet is her idol so if anything she copied from her.

        Spears never wore crazy costumes either, that is a dead giveaway that leads to Gaga.

    • Jayna says:

      I think Doris is Lady Gaga also. She said stark and pure. Stark wouldn’t be Britney. She was bubblegum pop. Gaga was doing small clubs when she was Stephanie, and stark and pure would go more with her pre-Gaga performances.

      • teacakes says:

        yeah, there is no way this is anyone but Gaga. The crazy costumes, stark and pure/more authentic sound in her early years, the dressing-up doll feel….. all Gaga. Or at the very least, there’s a heavy dose of her in “Doris”.

        Bad Romance was still a great song though. And she had the voice. Shame she’s now being upstaged by Miley Cyrus and crap like that.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      I agree. This:
      “I could see what she wanted to be when I watched her doing something when she started out that was starker and purer.”

      REALLY doesn’t apply to Britney. Britney was in an all girl pop band for 2 minutes before she went solo. Unless she’d be calling the Mickey Mouse Club starker and purer.

    • V4Real says:

      I agree, she is definitely talking about Lady Gaga. People who knew her in HS said she never dressed like that before she got into the business. Of course Gaga claimed she dressed that way before she started performing.

  4. Abbott says:

    LEAVE DORIS ALONE!

  5. Saywhatwhen says:

    “If the f-ck don’t feel right don’r f-ck it’! Straight up yaaaaad!!!! All that fierce confidence is so amazing. So much strong sense of self. School them Ms. Grace!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  6. aims says:

    Grace is a pioneer. She’s fearless and brilliant.

    • Dhavynia says:

      Yes! If no one knows who she is I will suggest they look her up. No one can be like Grace Jones because there is only Grace Jones. She definitely can wipe the floor with all these so called singers of today

    • Anna says:

      I love her soooooooooo much! Just showed her video for “Corporate Cannibal” to my students today as the opening to this semester’s class. Let us bow before the queen, the empress of all that is to get our “school” priorities clear! lol!

  7. Jenns says:

    “There will always be a replacement coming along very soon – a newer version, a crazier version, a louder version. So if you haven’t got a long-term plan, then you are merely a passing phase, the latest trend, yesterday’s event.”

    Truth.

  8. Neah23 says:

    “she saying that she’s the original and she’s not doing it for the money and thus, no one should try to make any money?”

    That wasn’t my takeaway from her comment just that even though she was the first to come up with these acts she didn’t financially benefit from them, while others profited off copying her.

    She seems to not care that they profited from her act, but is bothered that they didn’t give her credit for it.

  9. HK9 says:

    Grace is an old school G. She just told the truth, that’s it, that’s all.

  10. Tiny Martian says:

    Omg, I’d forgotten about Grace Jones! And I looooved her so. This article reminds me why: she is a fierce warrior woman!

    That being said, I think her message is pretty clear: don’t be a sellout. Be original, be creative, be daring, and be true. And if you get rich that way, then great! But if you claim originality all while weakly imitating those who have gone before, and if you behaviour is marked by antics which are purely attention getting without any artistic inspiration behind them, then that’s a cop out.

    • BearcatLawyer says:

      SHHHHHH! Don’t let Grace hear you say that! She’ll shank you for forgetting!!!!!

    • WR says:

      The problem is that it’s impossible to be original. Everyone is influenced by what came before. It’s impossible not to be. Pete Seeger is a hugely respected musician but even he said “Most folk music is the product of plagiarism. That’s what I learned from Woody Guthrie. You borrow a tune here, then change it a little bit. You borrow some words there. Then add to them. You don’t claim to be original.”

      I think Grace is setting up impossible expectations for younger female musicians. It annoys me too that male musicians can be crazy and get little criticism for it. Many of today’s great classic rock stars were outrageous but no one puts them down for it. When young females do it today they’re accused of covering for a lack of talent and told be boring or no one will respect you.

    • Otaku Fairy says:

      @WR: Everything in your last paragraph is spot on. I don’t think that’s what she’s saying, but it’s definitely the gist of what a lot of people say.

      I also agree that it’s impossible to be original in that “Nobody has ever done this before” way now. I’m more for letting people be what they want to be than wanting them to be something that has never been seen before, because that seems kind of impossible. We’ve seen different variations of everything in regular people and in celebrities from plain jane to princess to hippy to goth to business woman and everything in between. None of it is new.

  11. FingerBinger says:

    I don’t believe Britney knows who Grace Jones is. It has to Lady Gaga.

  12. Hannah says:

    Lady gaga is ” Doris”. She once publically called her out for copying her, but they seem friendly as of late so I think she doesn’t want to slam her publically.

  13. Tash says:

    “If the f@ck don’t feel right, don’t f@ck it” – words to live by

  14. Nev says:

    Love it!!!!!! Madame Nutcase.

    Soooooo happening.

  15. Luca76 says:

    I love what she’s got to say about being transgressive and actually shocking people. The only real way to shock is to be genuine and to live your art and that’s why to an extant Miley and Nikki and etc are the same product created by record label and not really shocking anyone and replaceable. The industry likes to package them and make them in a box because they make more money and keep all the power that way.

  16. Guest1 says:

    Everyone will be cheering her on by default because all those women she called out are pathetic excuses for ‘artists’ but I find Grace Jones intolerable. I read her (authorized?) biography & I rolled my eyes so much I thought my eyeballs would roll off. She sounds so full of herself (per usual) in this interview. Me, me, me. Diana Ross knows how it’s done. Her backhanded compliments are so sassy it reminds you why she’s an original diva.
    Edit: how in the world did you come up with Britney? She would be my absolutely last guess.

    • TrixC says:

      Yes I agree. I don’t know her music that well but I’m sure she’s very talented, but she just comes across as egotistical and bitter with these comments. If you’re such a legend let your work speak for itself, you shouldn’t need to tear other people down.

      • jwoolman says:

        The excerpts given here don’t sound like tearing anybody down to me. She talks about taking the long view rather than the short view. She doesn’t slam the ones she mentions.

    • Jayna says:

      I agree. I don’t know how anyone would think Britney. She started out with Disney and moved right to teen bubblegum pop. There was never a stark and pure performance for Grace to see. It was definitely Gaga when you looked at her little club shows in NYC as Stephanie before she switched to Gaga to become huge.

      And I also think she comes off way too full of herself in some of those comments. Others are insightful.

    • Val says:

      I felt the same way reading this. “They’re copying ME and I’M not getting paid for it!” Um… excuse me? I understand that she was a pioneer in her time, but get off your high horse. Sure today’s stars are much more manufactured than then, but you can’t keep asking people to pay you dues.
      You came, you inspired, and then a new generation arrived. Get over it.

  17. Nancy says:

    I think all the aging divas think the young ones are copying them. Just as the divas before Grace probably thought the same thing. Madonna thinks it, Beyoncé does even at 34. If copying ones style is a compliment, she should be happy her name is still coming off of people’s lips…when people of a certain age don’t have a clue who she is or was.

    • Neah23 says:

      The younger artists are copying them it one thing to pay homage to someone and another to take credit for their ideas or acts. As she said she doesn’t care if young people know who she is that’s why she doesn’t collaborate with todays performers.

      • Anna says:

        Right? This. And let’s not forget that she was a fierce, androgynous *Black* woman and we know how Black creativity gets appropriated throughout history especially in U.S. with little to no credit for the originators. Grace knows this and she is not bitter or asking for dues. She is simply stating facts. OG. And I don’t agree that she thought the same thing. There is *maybe* a passing connection to some Josephine Baker costumes but there was no one ever like Grace Jones. She was her own thing, created her own thing, and everyone else is *decades* behind her. She doesn’t have to front because she is always so far ahead of the game that it’s like not even worth her time to bother.

        Grace Jones forever!!!!

    • Guest1 says:

      Exactly. They give these young artists too much credit. Seriously, does Miley even know who Grace Jones is? And as far as your other point: “I know when you were little girls you dreamt of being in my world. Don’t forget it. Respect that. Bow down bi—es.” Anyone? Bueller?

    • Redd says:

      I think she has a point.

      There are few truly creative people. One was Bob Fosse, and his fingerprints show up all over. Beyonce borrowed from him, so did Madonna, Michael Jackson built his entire dance persona on Fosse.

      The teams of choreographers, musicians, and stylists who create the younger generation’s “package” draw inspiration from and make references to other artists. I think Lady Gaga does a lot of her own stuff, but many of the other ones don’t seem to.

      • hmph says:

        Oh please, Bob probably stole a lot of it from some poor black folks which was very common back then.

      • Nik says:

        @hmph

        So true. Fosse was heavily influenced by African vernacular dances. He spent his younger days going to the predominately black south side area in his city to imitate the dancers there, most notably Bill Bojangles Robinson. He’s not any more original than Miley is.

      • Anna says:

        @hmph and @Nik: agreed.

  18. Redd says:

    I’m with her on trends. When you get old you’re like, wait, leggings are back in again?

  19. MSat says:

    The best part is when she calls out the STYLISTS. I fully believe that! The artists are young and dim and don’t listen to music that’s older than the 90s so they don’t have any context. But the stylists know – and they are more than happy to rip off artists like Grace!

    • The other paige says:

      Great point about the stylists!
      I saw the atrocious miley Cyrus styled exactly like Edie Sedgwick, the same person who didn’t even know who jay Z was a couple years a ago…

    • Val says:

      That’s not true though, Rihanna has mentioned that Grace was an inspiration… on more than one occasion.
      Lady Gaga asked to work with her (she refused).
      It’s not like they’re ignoring her and don’t know who she is!

  20. Colette says:

    She sounds bitter IMO.I don’t hear Gladys,Patti,Diana Ross insulting the younger singers.I don’t hear Stevie Wonder calling himself a musical genius.

    • bondbabe says:

      I agree. I like Grace to an extent, but to me, this just sounds like whining. You CAN promote your originality without blatant insults…or, you can remain silent and know you’ve owned it.

    • Lia says:

      LOL, Aretha throws shades on the youngins all the time!
      I don’t classify these as insults, but moreas her thoughts on these new popstars : they aren’t trendsetters, they follow the stream.

    • WR says:

      Everyone always puts down the younger generation in general not just in music. The classic music greats from the 60’s and 70’s dealt with put downs and they’re all respected now. And the people being put down today will be putting down the younger musicians of the future. Putting down the younger generation is a stupid and tiresome thing to do.

    • Otaku Fairy says:

      I do see how it could be a mix of ego/bitterness and an easy way to get press while claiming to not be out for attention, but the blind item element to it (Is Doris Lady Gaga? Beyoncé? Britney?) adds fun to it. Very clever.

  21. KJ says:

    Snatch those wigs, Grace!

  22. stinky says:

    slave to the rythym

    • Wonderbunny says:

      Oh man. That was such a great song. I had forgotten about it.

      I thought Grace Jones and Dolph Lundgren were a really hot couple. He was hot for not being intimidated by her (as I imagine many other men would’ve been) and well…she was just plain hot 🙂

    • MSat says:

      Pull Up to the Bumper!
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc1IphRx1p

      Gaga WISHES she did this song. 😉

      • I Choose Me says:

        I freaking love that song. A Jamaican artist called Patra sampled that song back in the day and when I told people Grace Jones did it first they did not believe me.

  23. Magnolia says:

    I doubt Britney knows who Grace Jones is either. Despite how much we all love Grace, she is not MTV accessible right now, so I am not sure why a white, former Disney star would want to work with her.

    Why couldn’t Doris be Beyonce? She already called her out as Sasha Fierce in an earlier comment so we know Grace is not crazy about Bey.

  24. I don't understand says:

    I love Grace for putting the younger stars in their place. None of them are pioneers. Half of them are so manufactured that people only think they have talent when in reality, they have a face/personality.
    I can see why she made the comment about not profiting off her own image while others have come behind, ripped off their entire persona, and made millions. It would make me angry!

    • Anna says:

      Agreed. And yet she is chill about it. As someone wrote above: Grace Jones is the OG. I get so tired of youth who think they created shit and it’s like, no, this all came from xyz. I am all for elders getting their due but especially as an artist I have a major issue with theft especially when there are certain demographics that are routinely ripped off…

  25. Erandyn says:

    “I don’t even know if she knows that what she’s doing comes from me, but I bet you the people styling her know.”

    And there’s Grace Jones, wearing a headdress plagiarized directly from Gerald Brom. Maybe Grace doesn’t know, but I bet you the people styling her know.

    Here’s a side by side comparison:
    https://www.facebook.com/Brom.Artist/photos/a.10150407891428884.368056.88604418883/10153131071683884/

  26. Hannah says:

    The quotes are amazing:

    ‘If you haven’t got a long-term plan, then you are merely a passing phase, the latest trend, yesterday’s event’ she writes.
    ‘They dress up as though they are challenging the status quo, but by now wearing those clothes, pulling those faces, revealing those tattoos and breasts, singing to those fractured, spastic, melting beats – that is the status quo.
    ‘You are not off the beaten track, pushing through the thorny undergrowth, finding treasure no one has come across before. You are in the middle of the road. You are really in Vegas wearing the sparkly full-length gown singing to people who are paying to see you but are not really paying attention. If that is what you want, fine, but it’s a road to nowhere.’

    Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2015/09/10/grace-jones-says-beyonce-rihanna-and-lady-gaga-are-basically-copying-her-5384981/#ixzz3lLWBij5J

    • Otaku Fairy says:

      I don’t think any of those women have ever claimed to think that they’re THE FIRST or THE ONLY women to do anything that’s considered edgy, scandalous, or that goes against the tradional idea of proper, wholesome, pretty, palatable womanhood. Every era has had artists and regular people like that, and I don’t think this is a bad thing. I haven’t heard any of them claim to be the originators of their genres of music or style of singing either.

  27. Me too says:

    This trick must not be too familiar with Sia or her work. How can she possibly group Sia in with those people?!!? She is a true artist and original talent. Yes, her most recent work is very pop. Older work, not so much.

  28. Corrie says:

    I love Grace. She does and says no wrong.
    Kaiser: “That’s the only part that doesn’t really make sense to me. Like, is she saying that she’s the original and she’s not doing it for the money and thus, no one should try to make any money?”
    No, she’s saying pay homage. Give credit back to whom you’ve copied – not for profit but for respect.

    • sofia says:

      You see that a lot in rock: “Oh that riff a bit ACDC!” and the band says “Of course it is, we love their work!” And that’s it, it’s not a full copy, it’s homage because people get inspired by someone else’s work and that’s how they find their own thing who will later inspire someone else (if they’re lucky) but they recognize it and see it as a good thing.

    • Colette says:

      Does Grace pay homage to the people who influenced her?Michael Jackson talked about being influenced by Otis Redding,James Brown,etc.

  29. Frosty says:

    Grace is badass, love her. Damn, there were so many awesome women performers back in the day – Grace, Siousxie, Exene, Nina Hagen, Wendy O – too many to list really. Ah, I miss them so much

  30. Vampi says:

    Doris is Beyonce I think. Damn Grace is awesome! Scary in a GOOD way.

  31. InvaderTak says:

    All hail the Queen! This this this to all of it!!! I don’t care who Doris is. She could be any of them or all of them. I have to get the book.

  32. Jayna says:

    Eh, Madonna had all kinds of sides to her. She was very original in her own way also. The first concert of its kind, Blond Ambition, with the different acts to it changed the landscape of pop shows. And throwing Annie Lennox in? I love Grace, but she acts like she was the only original at anything in some of those remarks.

    By the way, Madonna lovers. Madonna’s tour opened last night in Montreal to rave reviews. Very intimate.

    Here’s a stunning performance of Heartbreak City/Love Don’t Live Here Anymore done solely on a spiral staircase. Like I said, many different sides to Madonna for why she was so huge. And her pop ballad performances are a big part of it also. Her vocals sound great even on this youtube video.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL1hEvPaSuQ

  33. Taylor says:

    I like her. She’s not afraid to call out pop stars, and she’s not doing it for attention. She has a lot of valid points.

    • Artemis says:

      She has a memoir to promote and the quotes given attention are about the most famous current performers, I doubt this is not meant to bring attention to Grace/her book!

  34. G says:

    There is only one GRACE! Bow down bitches! LOL!!

    She’s absolutely right about longevity in the business. Nicki, your fake bootie will only take you so far honey.

  35. Dappadaph says:

    Love Grace……loved her 80’s music and when she was in the movie “Boomerang” as Strange. She was hilarious and as outrageous in the that movie as she is in real life.

  36. Ash says:

    After I gave away most of my possessions last summer, I vowed not to spend money on too mny things such as books and the like. However, I think I’ll be making an exception for Grace’s autobiography. LOVE HER.

  37. Doc says:

    I love Grace Jones’s music. I love her appearance, costumes, the works.

    It bothers me though, how mean she is to these girls. I wonder what would’ve happened to Grace, had she started out doing music in the same decade as Britney or Gaga or anyone else… These girls she calls out where very young when they started being chewed up by this music production monster, that cares solely about profit and leaves a trail of screwed up women (if they’re lucky to survive).

    All these people she mentions are easy targets, out in the spotlight, made fools of themselves long before her words came along. The real news to me would have been if she started calling out production houses, managers, parents…

    I plan on reading her memoir and I hope she has some words of wisdom as well and not only the aforementioned.

  38. Selena Castle says:

    Oh this woman is such a pretender. She has always thought that everyone was copying her. Annie Lennox…. PUHLEEEEEASE! Annie was making music before Grace crawled out of her garage to jump on the disco bandwagon using shock and awe to her advantage. A minimum of talent and a willingness to be touched up by her audience is the only thing that has given her a cult following.

  39. Fever says:

    I think Doris is Beyonce too.

    She referenced Beyonce as Sasha Fierce offhand – she didn’t call any other artist by their nickname, alter ego or stage persona.

    Also when Beyonce first came out she was much more R&B oriented and much “wilder” – wilder vocal runs, more ethnic hair (afros – Goldmember’s theme song anyone?), just funkier.

    Beyonce is a great artist but she’s also a pretty fraudulent artist. She’s been caught red-handed on multiple occasions “borrowing” inspiration – including the countdown video and other songs and sets. She played up the Tina Turner comparison for years. The entire Beyonce album was her trying on Janet and Madonna.

    When you get right down to it Beyonce has no real identity as an artist – she’s an excellent mimic, she’s a perfectionist, she’s got a great ear and a great visual sense. But she’s not saying anything. And I think that Beyonce is the only person that Grace would deign to personally comment on with such tender shade.

  40. Sopha says:

    It’s kind of interesting, on one hand she says she wants to be a teacher and a mentor and give young pop stars advice. But on the other hand she refuses to work with them because she would get nothing from it …

  41. kitty-bye says:

    This is so awesome. I was just singing one of her songs the other day! I love her 😀

  42. Ben says:

    No idea who she is, other than being in a really shitty Bond film.

  43. Chaiselongue says:

    If she was really badass she’d name Gaga, take the flack from the little monsters and start a proper discussion about the current pop scene.
    Instead, like every ageing B lister trying to flog a memoir, she’s drumming up controversy with a ‘guess who’ .

    Slave to the rhythm and Pull up to the bumper are great songs. Other than that I’ve never cared much for Grace Jones. However, I recognize that she does her own thing and doesn’t compromise. She’s an impressive female pop star.

    Kate Bush was truly unique (though influenced by the likes of Bowie) and has been copied musically and visually (her videos ) by male and female. Sadly, she won’t ever write a memoir.

  44. Darlene says:

    I love her so much.

  45. Gorgonia says:

    Grace Jones is a great singer and a wonderful performer (I adore her singing “Victor should have been a jazz musician), but I think, as an original and talented artist, she could avoid wasting time to shade all these young pop stars. Some of them is copying her? So what? Coco Chanel used to say she was happy to find the copies of her works in the department stores: this was the sign she invented a style.

  46. Madpoe says:

    She scared me in the 80’s! Kinda still does. She’s interesting still.
    On a different note: I Love Bjork!