How To Create A Pop Star

[obs20]

Next time you see or hear a nice piece of music think again?

[ardeegee]

Nothing surprising in that clip. I think that it is well known to anyone older than the tween target audience that the pop industry is all about manufactured celebrity of flash-in-the-pan singers/groups who are marketed on their youthful good looks, not talent.

[desertblues]

Originally Posted by ardeegee

Nothing surprising in that clip. I think that it is well known to anyone older than the tween target audience that the pop industry is all about manufactured celebrity of flash-in-the-pan singers/groups who are marketed on their youthful good looks, not talent.

Like the Monkees in my days.
And the strategy works best on men (?): look in the ' who are you listening to' thread to see dozen of pretty young girls. How popular they are.
A lot of these girls that are posted there can really sing though
Personally: I would like to see some pretty young men there: no no Nellie Wilson but David Garrett or the likes. But then again: that's personal.

[ardeegee]

Originally Posted by desertblues

Like the Monkees in my days.

And boy bands since then. In my younger days, it was New Kids on the Block and 'N Sync that all the girls were dripping over and all the guys hated (for not unrelated reasons.)

And the strategy works best on men (?): look in the ' who are you listening to' thread to see dozen of pretty young girls. How popular they are.

In the US, the trend for the past few decades has been the males collected in "boy bands" but the females as individual singers. In Japan, the "girl band" industry is huge-- and much more blatant about their manufactured nature. There are groups were members are "retired" at 20 (the age of legal majority in Japan) with constant auditions for new, younger members. There is even one 48 member "girl band."



I really admire their talent.

[DixieGal]

"Take the Last Train to Clarkesville" will be a classic someday, performed in opera houses. See, you are already humming it.

[desertblues]

Originally Posted by ardeegee

I really admire their talent.

well; all thoroughly researched, I thought.......till I came to that last remark........men.....

[Mortis]

The music industry is all about marketing, marketing a product to be precise. Here they have had in the past Malaysian Idol and the Malaysian version "Acadimi Fantasia". I met a few of these "Kids" that have been on these shows and they are selling their souls to the machine that is the music industry. These kids sign up for a 7 year exclusive contract and are paid about $1000 (USD) a month, they are trotted out very much like cattle at an auction. The problem is that everyone thinks that the music industry is the good life, or that once discovered they have it made. The sad truth is that most entertainers that make it big, work their asses off. The other issue is that there really aren't that many good singers, most people sing like me, crappy and very few sing like my wife. Ask almost any artist to sing alone and unaccompanied, most will decline.

Its all a magic act and once you have been behind the curtain, the wizard is just like everyone else.

Because my wife is a singer and former pop star, I feel have a unique understanding of the music industry, at least here in Malaysia. Since nothing in Malaysia is new or unique to Malaysia, I suspect it is the same everywhere.

[DixieGal]

I think some of the recent crop of girls, esp Katy Perry and Lady Gaga, are very smart. They seem to have studied the Madonna music business model. They are very talented and gifted, like many many young women. But they seem to have the knack for understanding that it is a job and that they are marketing a product. Good for them!

[obs20]

Once upon a time there were many clubs and bars, Each bar had a band and a singer. Every wedding had a band and a singer and lots of people were able to make some kind of living playing in these venues.
Then they were replaced by machines so the players ceased being musicians because they couldn't make a living. When there were no more singers the machines began to manufacture them.

[desertblues]

Originally Posted by obs20

Once upon a time there were many clubs and bars, Each bar had a band and a singer. Every wedding had a band and a singer and lots of people were able to make some kind of living playing in these venues.
Then they were replaced by machines so the players ceased being musicians because they couldn't make a living. When there were no more singers the machines began to manufacture them.

Yes Obs, I agree with you there. In a way the fun and also the soul seems to be missing in the big music industry.
It is not like in the 70-ies, when there were so many experiments and so much really good music, made by passionate musicians. Music one could live by and through.
In this country we have some talentshows, where young singers are being coached by experienced older singers. It is really good to see how music can still be a craft that is being executed, rather than the machines doing all the work. Of course, it's TV and also commercial, but still, it is good to see the enthusiasm and the work of these young singers.
There are still a lot of good musicians around, but I can do without the artificial pumped up music that has an identical sound.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by DixieGal

"Take the Last Train to Clarkesville" will be a classic someday, performed in opera houses. See, you are already humming it.

Better than humming "Baby! Baby! Baby!" I'd say.

Of course, in my mind, I'm playing the Wes Montgomery take of "Last Train to Clarkesville."

[obs20]

Originally Posted by desertblues

Yes Obs, I agree with you there. In a way the fun and also the soul seems to be missing in the big music industry.
It is not like in the 70-ies, when there were so many experiments and so much really good music, made by passionate musicians. Music one could live by and through.
In this country we have some talentshows, where young singers are being coached by experienced older singers. It is really good to see how music can still be a craft that is being executed, rather than the machines doing all the work. Of course, it's TV and also commercial, but still, it is good to see the enthusiasm and the work of these young singers.
There are still a lot of good musicians around, but I can do without the artificial pumped up music that has an identical sound.

The problem with the talent shows is that the contestants only get 90 seconds to perform. They do not get the experience of having to work a room for an evening. It's a fairly mechanical performance with zero interaction between the crowd and the artist.

[desertblues]

Originally Posted by obs20

The problem with the talent shows is that the contestants only get 90 seconds to perform. They do not get the experience of having to work a room for an evening. It's a fairly mechanical performance with zero interaction between the crowd and the artist.

Well, I see it like this; with all respect.
When I talk about the talentshows, the ones I mean is where the singers get coached by professionals, singers and voice-coaches, and the interaction with the public is there, also because the public follows these singers week after week, and that same public sees those singers grow and appreciate that.
You know the music I posted in the "what are you listening thread'? That's the example I'm thinking of. I think that a group like that is very good; they interact with the public, they're real serious performers; each has a conservatory vocal training. I like watching these young folks works their b...s off (which is also shown each week) and take harsh criticism to learn from it.

[obs20]

That was a good video but the use of auto tune although not blatant was noticeable. It's pretty common today but the entire performance was still about a minute and a half. Most noticeable to me after repeated viewing was that the judges were standing and applauding but the audience remained seated. That's unusual, unless the performance was more exciting on the small screen than live.

I found this to be a fun video.

[obs20]

Yes there is some echo and possibly other shaping in the sound system but it is obviously all about the voice of Susan Boyle. Since embedding is not allowed just click through and watch on YouTube.