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12-25-2003, 11:48 PM
Musical Idol and Icons Part 1
Here is the Link!
http://www3.cjad.com/content/cjad_n...asp?id=e122502A
2003 was a year of musical idols and icons, arriving and passing away
Updated at 12:22 on December 25, 2003, EST.
Johnny Cash in New York in 1994. (AP Archive/Jim Cooper)
TORONTO (CP) - It was a year of idols and icons in music in 2003 - the idols were finding stardom after mega-exposure on the television airwaves, the icons were fading into the musical twilight.
News of Johnny Cash's passing seemed to underscore the changing of the guard. His Sept. 12 death came amid chart battles between American Idols' Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken and only days before millions of Canadians crowned their own Idol, Ryan Malcolm.
With young stars like Avril Lavigne, Norah Jones, Justin Timberlake and Beyonce getting airplay and the magnificent acceptance of the Idol format around the world, a new pop movement seemed be taking shape, perhaps even signifying the beginning of an end to the years of rock 'n' roll dinosaurs dominating the charts and pulling in the biggest bucks on the concert circuit.
From the moment hundreds of kids starting lining up on a frigid April night in Winnipeg, it was hard to escape Canadian Idol.
The success of the franchise made it either a great year for music or a horrible one, depending on which side of the Idol fence you're standing on.
Part game show, part karaoke, Canada's 26-week-long version cycloned into a monstrous hit. Over 20 million votes were cast and three million people tuned in to watch the finale where 24-year-old Ryan Malcolm was crowned the winner.
The show, following a format that had been embraced in the U.S. a year earlier, broke Canadian records and sent a jolt of excitement through the jaded veins of music industry executives.
Idol seemed a proven way to get people back into CD shops and away from downloading programs like Kazaa.
Malcolm's first single, Something More, has remained at the top of Canada's singles chart for 11 straight weeks, outselling Pink, Radiohead, OutKast and even Britney Spears in Canada. The record, Home, debuted at No. 4 in mid-December.
By making multi-media stars out of musicians, the industry found a way to make CD-buying hip again among youth after years of sale decreases.
"It's brand extension," said George Stroumboulopoulos, host of MuchMusic's MuchNews. "The success of those Idol people in record sales is the same reason why people go see a movie with Tom Cruise . . . I don't think people look at them like music stars, they're television stars."
While nothing else quite compared to the level of excitement generated coast to coast by the Idol phenomenon, visits by two of the world's leading music stars come close.
Mick Jagger strutted into Toronto in July to help attract much-needed dollars to the SARS-battered city. More than 450,000 people from across Canada, the U.S. and even Europe danced along to AC/DC and the Rolling Stones in a giant field overlooking the city.
A few months later, Bono, wearing his trademark shades, endorsed the country's prime minister-in-waiting by appearing at the Liberal convention.
The year also saw a celebration of an important figure in Canadian music history.
Gordon Lightfoot's bout with a stomach ailment prompted others to fete the legend with a tribute album, induction into the Canada's Hall of Fame and a Companion of the Order of Canada - the country's highest honour for lifetime achievement.
"Gordon Lightfoot is one of our only towering figures (in Canada)," said Keir Keightley, an expert on the culture of celebrity who teaches at the University of Western Ontario, in London.
"We don't have another Gordon Lightfoot. There are other people who could be compared to Johnny Cash but who can we compare to Gordon Lightfoot?"
But what does the next chapter hold in Canadian music history? It's too early to tell if the Nelly Furtados and Avril Lavignes will make cultural impacts with their music.
Keightley thinks there seems to be a pop or urban idolization emerging in Canada, led by the Lavigne model of overnight success.
"There was a time when there was a very clear-cut sense of Canadian popular music having these folky roots and that's changing," he said. "Lightfoot is passing into history and the future of Canadian music is very likely elsewhere."
Alongside Lavigne, a horde of superstars continued to make an international splash, including Celine Dion, Shania Twain, Nickelback and Sarah McLachlan.
But a slew of Avril clones - lead by Lillix, LiveOnRelease and Fefe Dobson - showed that her influence was much more powerful than many originally gave the young singer from Napanee, Ont., credit for.
Less than a year after her debut album was released, the so-called skater girl walked the red carpet into the Grammy Awards with five nominations.
While she walked away empty-handed, she secured a spot as a force on today's music scene helping pave an anti-Britney road for girls who don't want to be packaged as tarty, lip-glossed sex symbols.
"Already she is used as an icon of a new school of pop idol," Keightley said. "It speaks to how much more quickly it feels like the popular culture is shifting. It speaks to the media saturation that she achieved . . . she hasn't hit the burnout point that you might expect."
South of the border, hip hop was embraced by the mainstream, with acts like Beyonce, OutKast, Jay Z and 50 Cent taking charge. Even Eminem's film 8 Mile garnered acclaim and was nominated for an Oscar.
Homegrown urban artists, however, weren't able to emulate the gigantic success of their peers in the U.S.
Bands like Toronto's In Essence and Vancouver's Swollen Members had radio hits at home but barely create a sizzle south.
"Record sales haven't been what we ultimately want but we understand the process," said Smooth, of In Essence, in a recent interview. "This whole R&B, urban scene is still very new to Canada. We're trying to break something new here. We understand what we're up against."
He attributed the genre's stalled momentum to a lack of radio support.
"There's just not the number of radio stations playing urban music as there is in the States."
Radio stations flipped formats at a dizzying pace this year, with many urban stations changing over to adult contemporary. There are less than eight radio stations currently playing R&B and hip hop.
"The Canadian urban scene is working from a much different starting point than rock and roll," said Stroumboulopoulos.
"Canadian hip hop will find its voice internationally but right now it's building its own voice in Canada. There's great talent out there. You won't find anyone who's better than Kardinal or K-OS."
Globally, Norah Jones, Lavigne and Beyonce led a battalion of young music-makers hoping to make a lifelong imprint on the scene.
They were able to overthrow the comeback of bubblegum queen Britney Spears, whose only memorable feat this year was a smooch with Material-Girl-turned-book-author Madonna. Christina Aguilera and her "dirrty" image was talked about more for its humour than its musical influence.
Buoyed by Internet buzz and chat rooms, indie bands continued to make a splash and indie labels proved their value as a farm league for the majors.
Sam Roberts, Billy Talent, the New Pornographers and Kathleen Edwards were all part of the indie steam engine.
"Labels have smartened up and realized that you can sell 4,000 copies of a record and make your money back," said Stroumboulopoulos. "They've created a very reasonable break-even point and because of that we get Broken Social Scene, Danko Jones and Hot Hot Heat."
"It's been an amazing year," agreed Amanda Newman, one of the co-founders of Paper Bag Records. The Toronto-based label recently celebrated its one-year anniversary with a healthy roster of "buzz" bands including FemBots, Stars, Matthew Barber and Hawaii.
But it was Victoria's Hot Hot Heat that was most often called the highlight of the year by music critics.
Pushed to the limelight by the boutique label Subpop, Hot Hot Heat received critical U.S. acclaim at the end of 2002 through the New York Times, Rolling Stone and Spin.
The melodic punksters said it was weird that they caught on faster south of the border.
"It does seem a bit odd to us," singer and keyboardist Steve Bays said earlier this year.
Part of a larger musical moment that included the Strokes and the White Stripes, the band's brand of new, new wave rock 'n' roll resonated with music fans looking for a retro sound.
"The Hot Hot Heat story is the older Canadian story of 'you have to make it elsewhere to get respect at home.' This is the classic Canadian actor, filmmaker story," explained Keightley, who includes the band as one of the year's best. "They tapped into the zeitgeist in an international sense."
Here is the Link!
http://www3.cjad.com/content/cjad_n...asp?id=e122502A
2003 was a year of musical idols and icons, arriving and passing away
Updated at 12:22 on December 25, 2003, EST.
Johnny Cash in New York in 1994. (AP Archive/Jim Cooper)
TORONTO (CP) - It was a year of idols and icons in music in 2003 - the idols were finding stardom after mega-exposure on the television airwaves, the icons were fading into the musical twilight.
News of Johnny Cash's passing seemed to underscore the changing of the guard. His Sept. 12 death came amid chart battles between American Idols' Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken and only days before millions of Canadians crowned their own Idol, Ryan Malcolm.
With young stars like Avril Lavigne, Norah Jones, Justin Timberlake and Beyonce getting airplay and the magnificent acceptance of the Idol format around the world, a new pop movement seemed be taking shape, perhaps even signifying the beginning of an end to the years of rock 'n' roll dinosaurs dominating the charts and pulling in the biggest bucks on the concert circuit.
From the moment hundreds of kids starting lining up on a frigid April night in Winnipeg, it was hard to escape Canadian Idol.
The success of the franchise made it either a great year for music or a horrible one, depending on which side of the Idol fence you're standing on.
Part game show, part karaoke, Canada's 26-week-long version cycloned into a monstrous hit. Over 20 million votes were cast and three million people tuned in to watch the finale where 24-year-old Ryan Malcolm was crowned the winner.
The show, following a format that had been embraced in the U.S. a year earlier, broke Canadian records and sent a jolt of excitement through the jaded veins of music industry executives.
Idol seemed a proven way to get people back into CD shops and away from downloading programs like Kazaa.
Malcolm's first single, Something More, has remained at the top of Canada's singles chart for 11 straight weeks, outselling Pink, Radiohead, OutKast and even Britney Spears in Canada. The record, Home, debuted at No. 4 in mid-December.
By making multi-media stars out of musicians, the industry found a way to make CD-buying hip again among youth after years of sale decreases.
"It's brand extension," said George Stroumboulopoulos, host of MuchMusic's MuchNews. "The success of those Idol people in record sales is the same reason why people go see a movie with Tom Cruise . . . I don't think people look at them like music stars, they're television stars."
While nothing else quite compared to the level of excitement generated coast to coast by the Idol phenomenon, visits by two of the world's leading music stars come close.
Mick Jagger strutted into Toronto in July to help attract much-needed dollars to the SARS-battered city. More than 450,000 people from across Canada, the U.S. and even Europe danced along to AC/DC and the Rolling Stones in a giant field overlooking the city.
A few months later, Bono, wearing his trademark shades, endorsed the country's prime minister-in-waiting by appearing at the Liberal convention.
The year also saw a celebration of an important figure in Canadian music history.
Gordon Lightfoot's bout with a stomach ailment prompted others to fete the legend with a tribute album, induction into the Canada's Hall of Fame and a Companion of the Order of Canada - the country's highest honour for lifetime achievement.
"Gordon Lightfoot is one of our only towering figures (in Canada)," said Keir Keightley, an expert on the culture of celebrity who teaches at the University of Western Ontario, in London.
"We don't have another Gordon Lightfoot. There are other people who could be compared to Johnny Cash but who can we compare to Gordon Lightfoot?"
But what does the next chapter hold in Canadian music history? It's too early to tell if the Nelly Furtados and Avril Lavignes will make cultural impacts with their music.
Keightley thinks there seems to be a pop or urban idolization emerging in Canada, led by the Lavigne model of overnight success.
"There was a time when there was a very clear-cut sense of Canadian popular music having these folky roots and that's changing," he said. "Lightfoot is passing into history and the future of Canadian music is very likely elsewhere."
Alongside Lavigne, a horde of superstars continued to make an international splash, including Celine Dion, Shania Twain, Nickelback and Sarah McLachlan.
But a slew of Avril clones - lead by Lillix, LiveOnRelease and Fefe Dobson - showed that her influence was much more powerful than many originally gave the young singer from Napanee, Ont., credit for.
Less than a year after her debut album was released, the so-called skater girl walked the red carpet into the Grammy Awards with five nominations.
While she walked away empty-handed, she secured a spot as a force on today's music scene helping pave an anti-Britney road for girls who don't want to be packaged as tarty, lip-glossed sex symbols.
"Already she is used as an icon of a new school of pop idol," Keightley said. "It speaks to how much more quickly it feels like the popular culture is shifting. It speaks to the media saturation that she achieved . . . she hasn't hit the burnout point that you might expect."
South of the border, hip hop was embraced by the mainstream, with acts like Beyonce, OutKast, Jay Z and 50 Cent taking charge. Even Eminem's film 8 Mile garnered acclaim and was nominated for an Oscar.
Homegrown urban artists, however, weren't able to emulate the gigantic success of their peers in the U.S.
Bands like Toronto's In Essence and Vancouver's Swollen Members had radio hits at home but barely create a sizzle south.
"Record sales haven't been what we ultimately want but we understand the process," said Smooth, of In Essence, in a recent interview. "This whole R&B, urban scene is still very new to Canada. We're trying to break something new here. We understand what we're up against."
He attributed the genre's stalled momentum to a lack of radio support.
"There's just not the number of radio stations playing urban music as there is in the States."
Radio stations flipped formats at a dizzying pace this year, with many urban stations changing over to adult contemporary. There are less than eight radio stations currently playing R&B and hip hop.
"The Canadian urban scene is working from a much different starting point than rock and roll," said Stroumboulopoulos.
"Canadian hip hop will find its voice internationally but right now it's building its own voice in Canada. There's great talent out there. You won't find anyone who's better than Kardinal or K-OS."
Globally, Norah Jones, Lavigne and Beyonce led a battalion of young music-makers hoping to make a lifelong imprint on the scene.
They were able to overthrow the comeback of bubblegum queen Britney Spears, whose only memorable feat this year was a smooch with Material-Girl-turned-book-author Madonna. Christina Aguilera and her "dirrty" image was talked about more for its humour than its musical influence.
Buoyed by Internet buzz and chat rooms, indie bands continued to make a splash and indie labels proved their value as a farm league for the majors.
Sam Roberts, Billy Talent, the New Pornographers and Kathleen Edwards were all part of the indie steam engine.
"Labels have smartened up and realized that you can sell 4,000 copies of a record and make your money back," said Stroumboulopoulos. "They've created a very reasonable break-even point and because of that we get Broken Social Scene, Danko Jones and Hot Hot Heat."
"It's been an amazing year," agreed Amanda Newman, one of the co-founders of Paper Bag Records. The Toronto-based label recently celebrated its one-year anniversary with a healthy roster of "buzz" bands including FemBots, Stars, Matthew Barber and Hawaii.
But it was Victoria's Hot Hot Heat that was most often called the highlight of the year by music critics.
Pushed to the limelight by the boutique label Subpop, Hot Hot Heat received critical U.S. acclaim at the end of 2002 through the New York Times, Rolling Stone and Spin.
The melodic punksters said it was weird that they caught on faster south of the border.
"It does seem a bit odd to us," singer and keyboardist Steve Bays said earlier this year.
Part of a larger musical moment that included the Strokes and the White Stripes, the band's brand of new, new wave rock 'n' roll resonated with music fans looking for a retro sound.
"The Hot Hot Heat story is the older Canadian story of 'you have to make it elsewhere to get respect at home.' This is the classic Canadian actor, filmmaker story," explained Keightley, who includes the band as one of the year's best. "They tapped into the zeitgeist in an international sense."