If I had a pound for every time a musician said to me, “I would never go out with a singer, they’re crazy,” I would be eating out a bit more than I do. There is no getting away from the fact that singers are funny creatures. I feel I can say this, because I am one.
As a singer, I think we all want to make our mark with enough originality to set us apart – so our voice, intention and creativity can truly be heard. But I guess the trick lies in having enough appeal to reach the masses.
There are artists who are “universally” liked, and cut seamlessly across genres. I don’t know many people who don’t like Freddie Mercury, Prince or, more recently, Bruno Mars and Adam Lambert.
But then there are the contentious ones. The ones who are purposefully provocative and antagonistic.
Somebody who has sparked a lot of discussion in my house is Miley Cyrus. And please don’t judge me but I have come round to her. The reality is I don’t know what Miley is like, but the girl can sing.
Last year, I went to see Dolly Parton at the O2 and what a master class in professionalism that was. Whilst I was floating on the Dolly cloud, I decided to research some of her songs and who had covered them. This led me to Miley Cyrus - the Backyard Sessions, I clicked on Jolene and it was great. Take a look for yourself:
As my 17 year daughter, very succinctly said the other day, “So what if she does ridiculous things. Just because you’re a bit slutty or vulgar, it doesn’t make you a horrible person or a bad singer.”
I can’t argue with that.
I guess there is a separate issue of the example being set…do artists have a responsibility to their fans? Or should they experiment and be true to whatever they are feeling at the time?
Does creativity allow us to behave however we choose? What do you think? I think I feel another post coming on…And which artists do you love or hate?