Saudi Arabia and its neighboring Middle Eastern countries are notorious for censoring 'sexual ' album covers by female artists in order to make the artwork more appropriate for a conservative audience . Record companies hoping to sell their artists 's albums are ever-more sensitive to the beliefs and cultural traditions of each market they 're selling to , and will often tailor album covers in order to avoid offence . In some extreme cases there have been reports of the Saudi government paying religious police members of the Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice ( CPVPV ) to manually alter from covers . Scroll down for video . Who wore it best ? Madonna 's 2008 album was censored with many agreeing the second verison was actually better . Cover up : Countries including Lebanon increased the dimension of the ball in front of her in order to cover her breasts . They ’ ve also colored her legs black in order to give the impression that she ’ s covered up . Going ga-ga : Lady Gaga 's behind was fully clothed when the album was released in the Middle East . The altered covers are found on music download sites such as iTunes as well as in regular stores . It has been reported in the past that police officers have unwrapped CD cases , removed the front and back inserts and carefully and painstakingly colored in with marker pen any photos baring exposed female flesh that is deemed objectionable . Some Islamic scholars specify which areas of the body must be covered ; while others require all but the eyes to be covered , using garments . Most mainstream scholars say that men , in contrast , should only cover themselves from the navel to the knees . The CPVP is a government agency that employs religious police , called Muttawa , to make sure that citizens adhere strictly to the teachings of Islam , especially those pertaining to dress , socialization , morality and prayer . The commission comprises approximately 10,000 Muttawa and has nearly 500 centers within the country . However , while police officers operating within the Middle East are willing to go to extreme lengths in order to make sure any album artwork is appropriate , it is actually far easier for record companies to simply produce separate versions of well-known covers . On cloud nine : Katy Perry is seen floating on a cloud on her main album cover , but is completely swaddled in the picture for her Middle Eastern Teenage Dream front cover ( right ) Dreamy : Looking lush on a sunbed , this is the original Katy Perry album cover . Nightmare ! Katy Perry 's album One of the Boys was heavily doctored by Saudi censors . Many labels now offer two cover options , particularly for their most popular performers , ensuring that the artwork will require no further doctoring and can be sold without causing offence . There have been some memorable redesigns in recent years with Kylie Minogue wearing a wrap to cover up her white swimsuit , on the cover of her 2001 record Fever , Madonna swapping her revealing dominatrix outfit in favor of a one-piece leather body suit for her 2008 album Hard Candy , and Katy Perry being consumed by clouds on 2010 hit Teenage Dream , all in the name of Middle Eastern decency . Almost all of Mariah Carey 's albums have been adjusted for audiences in Asia while Christina Aguilera has also been targeted by the censors . In Lady Gaga 's 2013 album , the cover was also altered for its Middle Eastern release . The blue orb she holds in front of her was enlarged to cover what was visible of her breasts . It 's a wrap ! In pictures for the Glitter album , Mariah is shown wearing tops that cover virtually all exposed flesh . Spot the difference : Mariah has been censored on a number of occasions , with many of her album shots proving too raunchy for Middle Eastern audiences . Cover girl : Butterfly by Mariah Carey showed the singer wearing a top covering her shoulders and belly button . Her legs were also colored to make her appear clothed . Of course , America has its own history of moral censorship of photos too . However censors in the U.S. typically do n't try to re-clothe people who are deemed to be wearing too little . Instead offending details such as belly buttons and exposed nipples are removed or blurred out . American Apparel is notorious for their ads of scantily clad 'amateur models ' of all sizes and the company was known to accept model submissions from 'real women ' around the globe . Earlier this week the company made a rebranding change that saw the company choosing to airbrush out some of the models ' exposed nipples and body hair making them look more like plastic mannequins . Tasteful : Kylie Minogue 's Fever album was redesigned to prevent anyone getting hot under the collar . Stripped : Christina Aguilera 's attempt to be sexy was kept under wraps in Saudi Arabia .
Religious beliefs in a number of Middle Eastern cultures require women to be covered . women ' re - imagine ' a lot of folk tales to reflect local customs and traditions .