What makes an artist? Artists include many people, from dancers to painters to musicians to actors. Artists are basically people who are involved with the fine arts. But for the purpose of this blog post, when I say "artist", I will be referring to singers and rappers. "Artist", is what people nowadays call singers and rappers and bands. But often times when I scroll down Billboard.com's Top 100 Music Hits, I don't see many "artists". My definition of a true artist is a talented person or group who pours their heart out into their work, and often have something to say to the world. But when taking a glance at our pop culture, especially music, I feel that there aren't as many real artists as there used to be, or that they are struggling to be noticed under the weight of many untalented posers who think they are real musicians and only sing about alcohol, sex, drugs, and partying. They don't have what it makes to be an artist. I believe that talent is something that should be recognized and valued, and that a true artist should not only have talent, but a right mindset.
Let's look at Lady Gaga. If you know her, you would know that she is one of the most famous and "unique" people in pop & music culture. Her style may be considered debatable and frowned upon by some. Despite the fact that I don't truly understand her music, she is one of the few pop artists that I have respect for. Here is why. There was once a segment in the Korean news where Lady Gaga made a statement about how she always actually sings live, because her fans pay money to watcher her sing, and to lip sync in front of them would be to rob them. This plus the fact that she always performs (meaning INCLUDING singing live) allows me to respect her even if she belongs to a genre that is generally flooded with auto-tuning and lip synced performances. Also, there is the fact that Lady Gaga cares about the music she makes, and has something to say. "I aspire to try to be a teacher to my young fans who feel just like I felt when I was younger. I just felt like a freak. I guess what I'm trying to say is i'm trying to liberate them, i want to free them of their fears and make them feel that they can make their own space in the world" is what she said - it is evident that she puts real meaning behind her songs. As abstract as she may be, Lady Gaga has real talent that she shares with the world, and she has what makes an artist; a real musical talent, passion, and something to say to the world.
Now let's look at some people who don't deserve the title, "artist". In my opinion, most of Korean idol groups (boy bands & girl groups) aren't true singers and rappers. If you watch Music Bank on KBS World, a TV program where many idol groups perform, what you would get is a bunch of teenager girls and boys covered in make up, dancing, trying to look cute or sexy, and lip syncing to a recording that everyone knows they aren't singing. According to a Wikipedia page, in 2009 18 new groups debuted, in 2010 34, and in 2011 59. Music Bank is a live show that airs every week, and you can always see new groups trying to gain attention. But Music Bank has lost the true meaning of "live". Adding on to how I previously described the idol groups' performances, Music Bank also showcases new girl groups dressed provocatively, enjoying their 3 minutes of fame, and there's always that moment in the middle of the song when one group member stands in the middle and pretends to belt a note. Anything "live" about the show is the dancing the groups do. Going back to the number of groups debuting every year, it is shown that the numbers are growing every year. This is because teenagers love idol groups, and many of them also want to BE the idols. So companies like SM Entertainment exploit these young hopefuls, making them believe they could be famous too, train them and turn them into one of the many "idols" that flood Korean pop culture. These are why many of these idols aren't real artists - they're merely wannabes trained to dance by people who just can't wait to make money out of them once they become famous. But sadly, the reality is that in Korea, fake vocals and repetitive dancing are what the teenagers consider as "music" and "talent".
There are people who are clearly real musicians or people who are definitely posers. But sometimes, it's not so concrete. Ever heard of Greyson Chance? He is another YouTube sensation, whose video of him singing Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" at a local talent show got viral and landed him in front Ellen DeGeneres, where from then on he got signed and got sucked into the world of pop music. Greyson Chance is a tricky case, since he really does have talent (an amazing voice), but he in my opinion wasted it by joining the pop genre the fame and fortune. Should he be labelled as a true artist? I'll let you decide. But it is worth mentioning that it isn't just the talent that makes you an artist, but the effort and the thought that goes behind your music. It has been long since I first lost respect for a number of YouTube celebrities who go on to become professional singers, for many of them change as a person, and make music for different reasons than before. They start doing it for the money, and start forgetting about the passion they used to put in behind their music. People's opinions may differ, and everyone likes money, but I believe that a true musician's first priority wouldn't be making money.
"A record deal doesn't make you an artist; you make yourself an artist." (Lady Gaga) I couldn't agree more with this saying. I believe that talent is something that's worth valuing and recognizing. With so many people wanting to be famous and the choices they make to achieve it, the value of talent and effort seems to be diminishing. And with so many people engaged with pop (music) culture, it seems that the definition of an artist has changed, or, being ignored. A true artist is someone who has real talent, someone who has put time and effort into their work, and someone who truly cares about their work. I refuse to call the majority of the people belonging to the pop genre as artists, because they are "artists" only by record deals. The reason I insisted on using the word "artist" to refer to some talented people was because of the connotation behind that word. To me, the word "artist" almost has a glow to it. Not anyone can be an artist; you got to have talent, passion, and the purpose to become one.
