Do you guys give credit to "manufactured" artists who don't write their own music?

Richmma80

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The biggest names in music. Micheal Jackson, Mariah Carey, Madonna, Beyonce, backstreet boys, Elvis, the list goes on...

They have teams of people making their music, writing the lyrics, teaching them dance moves, marketing, etc.

We all know the names, but what exactly do we give them credit for if they didn't come up not only with their biggest hits, but ALL their songs and music videos, even when and where they make public apperances, what to say to the public, being coached on what to say when accepting the awards
 
I give credit for their talent, but not their creativity.

They have teams of vocal coaches teaching them how to sing and hit those special notes and expert dancers teaching them how to dance and even how to act
 
Depends...

What songs are we talking about here Chief?

Because I could go either way...
 
They have teams of vocal coaches teaching them how to sing and hit those special notes and expert dancers teaching them how to dance and even how to act

There are alot of people that you can cycle into there and be given a team, but if they don't have a look , appeal and magnetism to draw people in they will just be a flash in the Pan Pop Star with 0 staying power.
 
The biggest names in music. Micheal Jackson, Mariah Carey, Madonna, Beyonce, backstreet boys, Elvis, the list goes on...

They have teams of people making their music, writing the lyrics, teaching them dance moves, marketing, etc.

We all know the names, but what exactly do we give them credit for if they didn't come up not only with their biggest hits, but ALL their songs and music videos, even when and where they make public apperances, what to say to the public, being coached on what to say when accepting the awards
I wouldn't call them "artists" per se, they're more performer than anything else.

It's not much different than what was going on at Motown Records or at the Brill Building.

Do you think any less of those performers?
 
The biggest names in music. Micheal Jackson, Mariah Carey, Madonna, Beyonce, backstreet boys, Elvis, the list goes on...

They have teams of people making their music, writing the lyrics, teaching them dance moves, marketing, etc.

We all know the names, but what exactly do we give them credit for if they didn't come up not only with their biggest hits, but ALL their songs and music videos, even when and where they make public apperances, what to say to the public, being coached on what to say when accepting the awards

The first time Michael hit the Stage to sing Billy Jean and do the moves you'd be hard pressed to find another artist to recreate that type of enthrallement on the audience.
 
Most are entertainers, not artists. An artist creates, an entertainer...entertains. Having said that though, there is value in just “entertaining”. Huge value. In fact, being an entertainer is valued far more than being an artist. Relatively speaking, artists don’t have much value.
 
They have teams of vocal coaches teaching them how to sing and hit those special notes and expert dancers teaching them how to dance and even how to act

That doesn't guarantee success. They have to have a certain "it" factor, or else they'll just be a backup dancer at best, like 99% of the people who attempt to chase that dream. It's also unfair to say that none of them have any input whatsoever on where they take their image and career. They're not robots that you just turn on and off. It's a collaboration, and at the end of the day, they have to be on the ball to make it work. You can teach anyone anything, but being able to perform on game night is the margin between success and failure.
 
All the producers, teachers, writers, coaches in the world could never come up with another Michael Jackson or they woulda done it by now
If you arent old enough to remember him at his peak in the 80's then you might not understand how special he was but theres never been another like him
Michael Jackson, Prince, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston are the legends that they are because of their natural talent and charisma, you can sharpen it through training and hard work but you cant create it out of thin air
 
I give credit for their talent, but not their creativity.

This.

Everyone listed is exceptionally good at performing.



Now, let's contrast that to say......... Bob Dylan.

Bob Dylan is a legendary artist. Incredible lyricist.


But is Bob a talented performer?

Let's take that a step further, is Bob a talented vocalist?

I love Bob Dylan's songwriting, but I'd say he's not a very good vocalist at all.


Now, Jimi Hendrix performed Bob's work All Along the Watchtower and that "cover" is LEGENDARY.

It's outstanding.



Now Jimi was no hack, but Jimi's ability to PERFORM Bob's song took it to a completely different level that Bob could personally never reach on the stage.
 
I was surprised when I heard maybe it was Prince who wrote a song for some other big name singer to sing.
 
Jackson wrote quite a lot of his own stuff, had other people come in to help but he wrote Billy Jean, Beat it, Don't Stop Till You Get Enough, Bad, etc indeed most of the tracks which tend to be regarded as his best work now.

Its actually the non Jackson written tracks(Rock With Me, Thriller, etc) that I think now sound rather more "of the time" were as his own stuff had a harder dance edge to it
 
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But is Bob a talented performer?

Let's take that a step further, is Bob a talented vocalist?

I love Bob Dylan's songwriting, but I'd say he's not a very good vocalist at all.

Dude, what are you smoking? Bob Dylan is one of the most talented and iconic performers of all time.... he literally made his name performing. Jimi's version of Watchtower is amazing, but it's a total different vibe from what Bob did. It doesn't mean Bob isn't also super talented. You need to go back and watch prime Dylan.

 
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