I
N SEPTEMBER 2017, RIHANNA
unveiled her Fenty Beauty line
and had the entire industry re-
thinking its approach to beauty.
In her choice of exclusively
casting women of color for the
brand’s debut campaign, and in the
40 different shades of foundation she
pushed, Rihanna launched a broad-
er conversation about diversity and
inclusivity — and raked in an estimat-
ed $570 million in revenue last year,
according to Forbes.
On Oct. 1, Lady Gaga will carve out
her own nook of the business with
Haus Labs, which will be available
globally. Drawing inspiration from her
early days of applying drugstore cos-
metics that would shape her dramatic
persona, Gaga and longtime makeup
artist Sarah Tanno’s line marks the first
major beauty brand to sell exclusively
on Amazon, and also Gaga’s first inde-
pendent business venture.
They also have revealed an unorth-
odox campaign whose diverse cast
includes men, such as identical twin
models Jake and Joseph Dupont, and
reimagined the application process
through “tools for self-expression”
(e.g., metallic color for the eyes — or,
really, for wherever).
Pop stars using makeup to reshape
gender and racial boundaries is
nothing new. Just look at Madonna,
or Mick Jagger’s lip-stained pout,
or David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust.
But perhaps one of the earliest and
most critical figures to set the tone
for today is Little Richard. What
the Georgia-raised pop visionary —
whose pancake foundation and overt
eyeliner were inspired by under-
ground drag bars in the South — did
differently than, say, Elvis Presley,
who was also wearing makeup in
the mid-1950s, “was secretly bring
out queer culture by putting things
right in the public that people didn’t
realize were coming from queer
spaces,” says Stephan Pennington,
Tufts University associate professor
of musicology.
Gaga is on a similar, yet more explic-
it, mission. “We are celebrating every-
one,” says Tanno. “At the forefront [of
the brand], as much as the products,
were questions of how we were going
to spread messages of bravery and
kindness and inclusivity.”
Adds makeup artist James Kaliardos,
who helped launch Fenty as a resident
artist: “Women are smart enough to
see an eye shadow and not have to see
it on a blond person for them to want
to buy it, but we’ve been fed that mar-
keting analysis. Fenty proved it was
complete bullshit.”
What Gaga and Rihanna are also
proving, in the process, is that pop
stars choosing to run their own
brands rather than front someone
else’s wield more power on a global
scale. And they can do this — and
stay connected to fans — without
releasing music. Rihanna and Gaga
haven’t delivered new albums since
2016; Selena Gomez, whose com-
pany July Moon Productions filed a
trademark in July for her own beauty
line, hasn’t put out a full-length in
four years.
As was the case with Little Richard,
timing — the emergence of TV as a
platform — helped bring the under-
ground into public visibility. But it was
the music itself that aided acceptance.
In Charles White’s 1984 biography The
Life and Times of Little Richard, the
singer’s sister Peggie explains how he
wouldn’t wear his pompadour around
their father. “Daddy didn’t want him
to,” she says, but it became acceptable
once he understood “that it was part of
the makeup of an artist.”
Kaliardos, a longtime collaborator
of Miley Cyrus, sees a throughline to
today. “Everything we put out there
tells people to accept or not accept
people, and we have to be aware of
how we do that,” he says. “There are
pop stars who just do a look — and
then pop stars who really take you
on a journey.”
LIFESTYLE
Laying Down The
Foundation
As Rihanna and Lady Gaga keep fans on standby
for albums to focus on their respective
beauty brands, their message of inclusivity draws
from an unexpected pop pioneer
BY BROOKE MAZUREK
Six years ago, singer-song-
writer-producer Phil Good
was working as a touring guitarist
but wanted to start a career of
his own. While on the road, he
connected with manager David
Conway and his business partner
Brandon Goodman (Billie Eilish,
Finneas), who were on the hunt
for a new client.
“I always have been a fan of
Phil’s,” says Goodman. “He has
the innate ability to write big
melodies and produce catchy
music that feels fresh and spe-
cific to him.”
Born Jared Maldonado in
Portland, Ore., Good grew up
listening to Slipknot, John May-
er and Death Cab for Cutie.
But at Conway and Goodman’s
suggestion, he moved to Los
Angeles in February 2016 and
branched out stylistically. He
has produced vocals for Chaka
Khan’s daughter, Indira Khan,
and more recently co-wrote
stripped-down alt-pop track
“Hazel” on Carlie Hanson’s 2019
EP, Junk.
As his résumé grew, Good was
intent on staying independent
— until Elektra Records reached
out in fall 2018. The label had
noticed that his self-produced
electro-pop track “Be Somebody”
kept showing up on various
streaming services’ playlists. By
October, he was on a plane to
New York for a meeting, and after
two minutes with Elektra Music
Group co-presidents Gregg Na-
del and Mike Easterlin, he knew
it was the right fit. He signed in
February. Nadel, too, says it was
a no-brainer: “His music is rooted
in great songwriting, which is a
cornerstone for the label regard-
less of genre or style.”
Good’s major-label debut sin-
gle, “Wonder,” arrived Sept. 27,
and he says his upcoming debut
full-length will follow the same
pop-leaning path. He’ll test the
new material out this fall when
he hits the road to open a tour
of 400- to 700-capacity venues
for Jaymes Young.
“I’m more comfortable [now],”
says Good of signing with Elektra.
“It finally feels like I know what
I’m doing.” —GAB GINSBERG
SIGNED
Phil Good
LABEL (^) ELEKTRA RECORDS
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.42 BILLBOARD • SEPTEMBER 28, 2019 ILLUSTRATION BY KLAWE RZECZY