I think that's part of what makes an "it" person work. It is manufactured, but it is also "true" (by some definition of the word). I'm not criticizing Rihanna (

I think that's part of what makes an "it" person work. It is manufactured, but it is also "true" (by some definition of the word). I'm not criticizing Rihanna (or even Katy Perry, though I think musically Rihanna is occasionally more ambitious) in stating that they are building a manufactured product, anymore than I am criticizing friends who work for Apple or Google. It is a product, and they're good at helping build a product that people want to buy. I'm also not generally envious of them, despite being a lifelong musician and occasionally thinking, "it'd be nice to make a good living making music". The lives they lead, while extraordinarily privileged, are also demanding in ways that most non-famous folks never experience. Staying "real" through that experience probably is an admirable trait...and maybe why Rihanna being "real" is such a big deal to musicians who are less obscenely popular and rich. He's likely interacted with enough primadonas to know famous people become sheltered, surrounding themselves with buffer layers of assistants and staff to protect their privacy/ego/time/etc.