Can Iggy Azalea Convince People To Stop Hating Her?

Much of today's water-cooler talk is centering on Iggy Azalea's stint on last night's Late Late Show. She and host James Corden sang along to her hits, discussed her plans to have Demi Lovato as a bridesmaid, and went wedding-dress shopping for the first time. You can watch the video of their antics below. The rapper came off as grounded and chill — the kind of gal you'd be happy to join in breaking it down to "Pretty Girls" while cruising down Sunset in a wedding dress. But, will a star-studded wedding and some strategic talk-show appearances be enough to salvage the Australian's career following a canceled world tour and serious backlash? Her Great Escape tour was delayed and then scrapped last month. Azalea blamed struggles over creative direction, but it was a far more serious issue that led to her pulling out of Pittsburgh Pride earlier this month: Those within the LGBTQ community had protested her inclusion in the event, given her past tweets using homophobic language. Azalea subsequently apologized for the tweets, and appears to be in crisis mode. Then, of course, there's the issue of accusations that Azalea is appropriating Black culture. Her name has popped up several times in the recent Rachel Dolezal coverage. Just yesterday, the International Business Times linked her "blaccent" (their words) to Dolezal's efforts to pass herself off as Black. The article quotes Timothy Welbeck, an African-American Studies professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, as saying that Azalea is "attempting to divorce hip-hop [and Black identity] of its context." Furthermore, he said she and Dolezal "took admiration and an affinity to a point of offense." So, what's next? Iggy Azalea is said to be working on a new album for 2016. This could be an opportunity to scale things back, experiment with new sounds, and soften an image that many find offensive. After all, Miley Cyrus was able to emerge from backlash by throwing her efforts into celebrating LGBTQ causes. A move like that may not feel 100% genuine coming from someone who's just been deemed inappropriate for a gay pride parade, but there must be a more positive direction for Azalea to pursue. We hope she finds it.