ThrobbingHood
Breh&Breh Associates™
A lot of people talk about artists who just have “it .” That X-Factor you can’t explain. When you see them, you’re automatically drawn to what they do. Even if you’re not fond of their music, their persona hooks you in and shines through in their performances.
We already know the greats (James Brown, Michael, Prince, Whitney, Janet, Nina Simone, George Michael, Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye, Aretha, Freddie Mercury). They had unique voices, stage presence and vulnerabilities in their songs you connected to.
I’ll give you my examples of those who have/had it:
Rihanna: She just has this effortless chilled vibe. She’s not a great singer but she brings life to her songs with her unique voice. Outside of music, she’s still being herself and can appeal to every group without pandering.
Usher: He’s an example of a high level performer. He’s our generation’s Bobby Brown. He’s smooth with the dance moves and voice and again, he makes it seem so effortless. When you hear his voice, you know it’s him straight away, and his live performances are equally as great.
Madonna: She’s not the greatest singer. Or the best dancer, and arguably the original culture vulture (actually Elvis has that title but I’m talking in terms of the last 40 years). That being said, she knew how to keep reinventing herself and stay relevant for decades. Yes, she employed a lot of shock value, but even that can wear thin. The fact she’s lasted for decades says something.
Aaliyah: She’s an example of someone who just had “it”. She didn’t have the strongest voice, she didn’t have a curvaceous body but she carried herself with such effortless swag. She could dance smooth, her style was unique and her voice was the perfect compliment to Timbaland’s production.
Mariah Carey: She’s an interesting one. If you followed her career during her first three albums, all you got was a “voice” and not much of her personality. Her unplugged album started to showcase the Mariah we see now but you could tell her image was still heavily restrained by her ex husband.
Once she broke away during the Butterly era and onwards, and she was doing the music she wanted, that’s when we saw a much more charismatic Mariah being herself. That’s a example of evolution and growing as an artist.
That said, there are plenty of successful artists who I feel personally lack charisma, and they get by on other attributes.
Taylor Swift: Need I say more? Her inoffensive bland whiteness propelled her to these heights we see.
Dua Lipa: She’s an example of an artist that’s extremely bland and has little to no personality in her music. When you hear her songs, there’s just no “oomph”.
No distinct personality, just insipid. It’s like someone plucked an Instagram model and told her to do her best karaoke impressions. You can listen to her songs (at your own peril) and still know nothing about her. Her songs feel impersonal like she’s just there to do a job and go home.
Justin Timberlake: his career has been carried by heavy weight producers. If I’m wrong, Watch his lacklustre Super Bowl half time show, or listen to his flop Man In The Woods album. There’s only so long other people’s talent can carry you.
Take away the Neptunes and Timbaland and and ask yourself, would he have had the success he did? The songs he made were classics but that was in spite of him, not because of him. There are way better singers and dancers and his voice isn’t unique.
He spent his first album cosplaying as Michael, 2nd as Prince, and tried to come into his own during his 20/20 experience but by then, a lot of time had pass between 2006-2013.
Jason Derulo: Again, suffers from the same affliction that Dua does. He’s the R&B FloRida… they make catchy songs for the clubs but no one I know really checks for their albums or waits for it to drop.
And the funny thing is, he can sing and dance but his music doesn’t match. There’s no signature sound or style. Just following the trends of the era.
Beyonce: yeah, I know I’ll get a ton of flack for this. Let me preface this by saying I think she’s arguably the greatest live performer right now. She can sing and dance effortlessly. That said, her music really fell off.
She tries way too hard to push this “image” of herself which is contrived. But, she’s put in so Much work, her legacy allows her to put out bland music and her stans will blindly praise it even if it’s a dud.
Now, is she more talented than 99% of artists out today? Absolutely, without a doubt. She can do everything at the highest level, but again, her persona in recent years is so contrived, there’s an impersonal connection. Maybe it’s just me.
We already know the greats (James Brown, Michael, Prince, Whitney, Janet, Nina Simone, George Michael, Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye, Aretha, Freddie Mercury). They had unique voices, stage presence and vulnerabilities in their songs you connected to.
I’ll give you my examples of those who have/had it:
Rihanna: She just has this effortless chilled vibe. She’s not a great singer but she brings life to her songs with her unique voice. Outside of music, she’s still being herself and can appeal to every group without pandering.
Usher: He’s an example of a high level performer. He’s our generation’s Bobby Brown. He’s smooth with the dance moves and voice and again, he makes it seem so effortless. When you hear his voice, you know it’s him straight away, and his live performances are equally as great.
Madonna: She’s not the greatest singer. Or the best dancer, and arguably the original culture vulture (actually Elvis has that title but I’m talking in terms of the last 40 years). That being said, she knew how to keep reinventing herself and stay relevant for decades. Yes, she employed a lot of shock value, but even that can wear thin. The fact she’s lasted for decades says something.
Aaliyah: She’s an example of someone who just had “it”. She didn’t have the strongest voice, she didn’t have a curvaceous body but she carried herself with such effortless swag. She could dance smooth, her style was unique and her voice was the perfect compliment to Timbaland’s production.
Mariah Carey: She’s an interesting one. If you followed her career during her first three albums, all you got was a “voice” and not much of her personality. Her unplugged album started to showcase the Mariah we see now but you could tell her image was still heavily restrained by her ex husband.
Once she broke away during the Butterly era and onwards, and she was doing the music she wanted, that’s when we saw a much more charismatic Mariah being herself. That’s a example of evolution and growing as an artist.
That said, there are plenty of successful artists who I feel personally lack charisma, and they get by on other attributes.
Taylor Swift: Need I say more? Her inoffensive bland whiteness propelled her to these heights we see.
Dua Lipa: She’s an example of an artist that’s extremely bland and has little to no personality in her music. When you hear her songs, there’s just no “oomph”.
No distinct personality, just insipid. It’s like someone plucked an Instagram model and told her to do her best karaoke impressions. You can listen to her songs (at your own peril) and still know nothing about her. Her songs feel impersonal like she’s just there to do a job and go home.
Justin Timberlake: his career has been carried by heavy weight producers. If I’m wrong, Watch his lacklustre Super Bowl half time show, or listen to his flop Man In The Woods album. There’s only so long other people’s talent can carry you.
Take away the Neptunes and Timbaland and and ask yourself, would he have had the success he did? The songs he made were classics but that was in spite of him, not because of him. There are way better singers and dancers and his voice isn’t unique.
He spent his first album cosplaying as Michael, 2nd as Prince, and tried to come into his own during his 20/20 experience but by then, a lot of time had pass between 2006-2013.
Jason Derulo: Again, suffers from the same affliction that Dua does. He’s the R&B FloRida… they make catchy songs for the clubs but no one I know really checks for their albums or waits for it to drop.
And the funny thing is, he can sing and dance but his music doesn’t match. There’s no signature sound or style. Just following the trends of the era.
Beyonce: yeah, I know I’ll get a ton of flack for this. Let me preface this by saying I think she’s arguably the greatest live performer right now. She can sing and dance effortlessly. That said, her music really fell off.
She tries way too hard to push this “image” of herself which is contrived. But, she’s put in so Much work, her legacy allows her to put out bland music and her stans will blindly praise it even if it’s a dud.
Now, is she more talented than 99% of artists out today? Absolutely, without a doubt. She can do everything at the highest level, but again, her persona in recent years is so contrived, there’s an impersonal connection. Maybe it’s just me.
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Ella Mai is another one. These two are definitely getting by on light skinned privilege.
