Rihanna to 'scale back' her sexy image

Rihanna is toning down her outrageous outfits as she promotes new album Talk That Talk in a bid to ensure the focus is on her music.

The Umbrella hitmaker is known for her raunchy stage costumes and bold hairstyles, but now she's sporting a more natural look to avoid becoming a "gimmick".

Rihanna explains, "I kinda just wanted to scale right back instead of having a look. I didn't want to make it such a big deal about what hair colour or what cut (I have). I just wanted to go right back to something simple and something flexible, something a little more natural. It's more about the music. I don't want to become a gimmick - ever. Well, I ran out of (hair) colours, so that's why I decided to go back to my natural color.

"I'm just really having fun with the music and the style is a lot more accessible. It's more lifestyle, it's not so much a look or a costume, which I really enjoy."