I think part of her appeal is exactly the fact that she is not like the typical pop star. She was successful without being supermodel skinny or doing the whole pouty sexpot pop star routine, but also without the rebellious anti-ettablishment schtick. She seems like a real person you might meet, maybe working at a fast food joint, who just wants to make some fun music.

When she twerks it's as a joke, not because she thinks it's empowering.

Of course once she achieved stardom the machine immediately started working on maximizing revenue, but so far she seems to not have turned into a diva.

Personally I don't enjoy her music that much, but she definitely has a sound of her own.