subject: Are the A.M.A. awards about Artificially Made Artists or American Music? [print this page] Are the A.M.AAre the A.M.A. awards about Artificially Made Artists or American Music?
By Takuan Amaru
It has been said by many that after the assassinations of Tupac and Biggie, that Hip Hop went from the hard street vernacular of "keepin' it real" to the softer, more artificial images of "bling-bling", shiny, colorful clothes as well as tighter fitting jeans.
Could the same could be said about the entire American Music Industry?
2010 American Music Awards
Despite arguably talented artists like Lady Gaga, Usher, Rihanna and Taylor Swift taking home hardware, it was the fact that another musician, young Justin Bieber, not only dominated the night's event with 4 trophies, but also won the coveted "Artist of the Year" award, that sealed this event to be labelled by one blogger as simply, "silly."
"I'm sorry as fun as some of the AMAs performances were, I cannot in good conscience condone a music awards show that would name Justin Bieber as the Artist of the Year. I get the kid is popular and that fans vote for the AMAs, but to name Bieber as THE artist who musically surpasses all other artists for the year is just silly."
She goes on to compare Bieber's nomination as being "no different than Bristol Palin winning Dancing with the Stars" as well as the AMA's as being nothing more than a "popularity contest."
If any doubt remained as to the veracity of her statement, the announcement that the New Kids on the Block and the Back Street Boys, despite beingwell past their teen years, would be performing together made it known that this was indeed more about media fame and popcorn teenage idol worship rather than a genuine celebration of musical innovation and genius.
Dubbed in many music sources as "arguably the first mega-famous boy band and one of the last combined to sing...", these two "Johnny come lately" heart-throb teen dance groups were both created by manager Johnny Wright from the legendary blueprint left by the immortal Jackson 5.
Everyone knows this...so why would the media dub NKOTB as "arguably the first mega-famous boy band"?
NKOTB and BSB have even announced an upcoming summer tour together as one "Supergroup." It may appear ironic to some that this collaboration of two old, teenie-bopper groups would be tagged with phrases such as "new" or "first time together" to describe such an "over-the-hill", tired extension of one bubble-gum wrapper philosophy that spanned two generations of youth.
Again, check out the statistics and see the results for yourself:
Viewers who tuned in to this year's musical fiasco were down 17.72 percent from 14.24 million fans last year when a real artist, the late Michael Jackson, was being posthumously recognized (i.e. he wasn't even performing live, no pun intended), to only 11.72 million viewers this year for the "Bieber - 'Supergroup show."
NFL quarterback, Michael Vick, despite what some may think of him personally for his peculiar pugnacious, canine pastimes, seems to still be regarded by many as a genuine talent. Vick's Philadelphia Eagles squared off against the rival New York Giants on NBC's "Sunday Night Football" during the same time slot as the American Music Awards and averaged 23.2 million viewers to be the week's most-watched program.
The fact that the audience was the largest for a November NFL prime-time game in 14 years may demonstrate that although the "industry" as well as the mainstream media may be about creating artificial, studio-enhanced celebrities, the American public can still distinguish the "real thing" from the latest "Johnny (Wright) come lately" gong show winner.
