On 7 Dec 2001, at 11:34, Michael Yarbrough wrote: > Seriously, I mention the demo/psychographic info not > to rag on them, but just because they're not exactly > who you'd *expect* to go for Alicia, but they love > her. I'm fascinated by the obvious question: why? > > Her rendition of the Donny Hathaway song was pretty > good, and that is one of the things specifically > mentioned by my officemates. In fact, there were a > lot of surprisingly good performances on that show. > It's the first time I've *ever* liked Faith Hill. > > Bob's question and mine is not so much why is Alicia > as popular as the Belly Button Brigade, but why is she > so much more successful than the Erykahs or Jill > Scotts who ply similar trades with much more depth and > unique charisma.
I think Alicia's popularity stems from not only the fact that she is very attractive (and thus "marketable") but also that she is the marquis act for Clive Davis' label J Records. After being tossed out of Arista under the guise of being too old (having passed BMG's draconian age limit for members of the executive suite), Clive was intent on proving that he was really sacked for being too successful and thus too powerful. (BTW - Arista has been a shell of its former self since the reigns were given to L.A. Reid.) Clive is arguably one of the most powerful record executives when it comes to media manipulation (probably only second to Tommy Mottola). He has the press in his pocket. (Witness Whitney Houston's embarrassing and public drug abuse descent which even the mainstream media started covering after Clive's departure. Her problem started long before she married Bobby Brown but Clive kept the wolves at bay for years.) And he has pulled out all the stops for Alicia. Success breeds success for new artists and he made sure that her album charted high the first week. She's had all the right magazine covers and television performances. It's been years since an independent label has pulled off something like this. Clive is proving that he can not only have success with immense talents like Whitney & Aretha but also with mediocre talent like Alicia. Alicia's appearance on Oprah undoubtedly helped her with the soccer mom set, although she sounded like she was at a high school talent contest to me - nervous vocal cracks and all. (India Arie was on the same show and did only a little better. Jill Scott, however! Quite simply, she rocked the house.) I thought Alicia's performance of the Donny Hathaway tune was rife with pitch problems and not fitting the genius legacy of the man, let alone the fairly high calibur of performances that evening. (If you want a treat, hear Kenny Lattimore or Donny's daughter Lalah perform it.) If you want the real goods on "new soul" check out the new album from Alicia's label mate Angie Stone. Brenda Finally returning from a long absence driven by work - something quite welcomed given the slow year I was having. You guys sure have been busy lately! I've still got another 700 posts to read to catch up. I'll write more later, particularly answering some of the things addressed to me specifically and to report on seeing Ryan Adams at the Troubadour (smile!) and Shelby Lynne at the House of Blues (high as a kite - her not me!). n.p. - Eagle Eye Cherry - Promises Made (Does anyone else think that this sounds alot like a Cat Steven's tune?)
