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Whoa there, Sinead O’Connor! The photo above, believe it or not, is the official artwork for the singer’s upcoming album, called “I’m Not Bossy, I’m the Boss,” which will be out in music stores on August 12. With this title, she couldn’t have come up with a better cover.

Wearing a black leather dress and rocking a fierce brunette wig (and proving that she can make the bangs work), Sinead is shown in the artwork clutching a glittery guitar while looking sideways of the camera.

Unlike the Sinead we know from everyday life, who favors the no-makeup / natural look, the “Boss” Sinead went heavy on the dark eyeshadow and face contouring, to the point where she’s almost completely unrecognizable.

We believe some Photoshop is also at play here.

However, don’t expect this Sinead to show up at the next press event, because this is just a persona she came up with to promote the new album, a woman who fits in with the spirit of the material. Still, it’s shocking to see the difference, especially since we know that Sinead – the real one – has always rebelled against norms of beauty, challenging everyone’s ideas on femininity and female beauty and thus staying true to her own.

Back in the day, Sinead shaved her head because music executives were telling her she should grow out her hair and wear short skirts because she’d be much “prettier” then and thus sell more albums. She’s been standing up for her beliefs ever since.

She’s doing it now too, even though you could be, at first, tempted to think she’s “prettying” herself up to draw attention to her material. What she’s doing is tapping into industry’s expectations of a female artist and using them to serve her own agenda. So far, it’s working.

In a post on her official website, Sinead explains the unusual name, tracing it back to the female empowerment movement Sheryl Sandberg created.

“Originally I had a different title, The Vishnu Room, but a few months back when I saw the phrase ‘I’m not bossy, I’m the boss’ and became aware of the Ban Bossy campaign, I wished I could re-name the album, since indeed it can be tricky being a female boss and I think Sheryl’s campaign is a terribly important one,” Sinead writes.

“At the stage I became aware of the Ban Bossy campaign it was too late to change the album title because the sleeve was already in print. But last week when the record company received the promo shots, which included the cover shot you now see, they asked if could they change the planned cover to the current one, and that allowed me the opportunity of changing the title,” she continues.

So she’s now a happy bunny for getting her wish.

Source : Softpedia.com