Kampala — WE have been treated to pictures of the Tooro princess looking so lean, she would make soccer star David Beckham's anorexic wife Victoria die of nugu. She also has a blazing song called Haturudi Nyuma (Let's not retreat). It features a hitherto unknown Burundian vocalist, Kidum, a continuation of Juliana's professed preference for collabos with male artistes ever since she broke the I-Jay partnership with Iryn Namubiru.

Juliana's music has been a carefully packaged affair, operated in two-year regimes. Each of her songs always has sufficient "breathing space". If her songs were children, the health ministry would have chosen them as the archetypal family planning model. Call Juliana at the tail-end of any of her musical regimes and ask her why she is so "quiet", and she will bluntly tell you she is holed up in the studio whipping up "my upcoming album".

But back to the issue of her looks. Among our female artistes of substance, Juliana is easily the most sensitive when it comes to her image. At social events, she typically stands there, tossing her hair back, holding a soft drink or wine glass, looking very conscious.

Her standing posture is always at "attention". Sometimes, she appears to be in fright, as if half expecting an eagle-eyed paparazzi to take pictures of her without warning. That exactly is what happened at the BLU3 Be Free concert at Lugogo last month. Pictures of a seemingly pencil-thin, haggard-looking Juliana, trying to grab herself a drink made the splash, variously describing her as "malnourished".

It's the second time her weight is grabbing so much attention. The first was during the last PAM Awards gala in October 2008 when her leopard-print dress made people say she had grown "fat".

"Of course, the PAM Awards comments hurt me, but not that much," she says. "I was like 135 or 140 pounds. It is true I had gained weight, so I was okay even when there were speculations that I was pregnant.

I like a bit of weight. If I lose a lot of it, I don't feel sexy. Beyonce's and Alicia Keys' are my ideal sizes. They ain't fat, but have enough flesh."

But if Juliana really wants us to believe that she is better off carrying the "fat" tag over that of "malnourished", then she had better work on a few things. Like her hairstyle. Cornrows should be a no-go area for her.

They only make her long, chiselled dog face appear thinner. If you look critically at her physique, Juliana is smaller from the torso upwards, and the last thing she needs are sleeveless tops and cornrows. Well, to look "normal", she needs big hair as a bare minimum.