You have to hand it to him....

As strange as he has become in recent years, you really have to credit Michael Jackson with revolutionizing what it means to entertain in the modern music world. I was reminded of this recently with all the talk of the exciting music performances on the BET Awards last week. I didn't watch them but have been trying to catch clips on You Tube. And it got me thinking....

If you look at those artists that have been praised as great entertainers in recent years, they all seem to follow the Michael Jackson formula in some way shape or form..... You can tell that when they were kids, they say around learning every move in Thriller, Beat It and Billie Jean. But it was those theatrics, big bold crisp synchronized dance numbers and signature style, without sacrificing vocal performance, that have become the blueprint for what an entertainer is in the modern world.

You can see the influence everywhere, across music genres, but I am most reminded of it when I think of a number of 3 current R&B artists, Usher, Ne-Yo and Chris Brown. The cool thing is that these guys have managed to let us know of the influence the gloved on has had but have each re-interpreted it with their own style.

Usher is an all around entertainer who now even has Broadway under his belt. While his street cred has suffered over the past year and talk of his opening performance at the BET awards was lukewarm at best, let me remind you of some of his earlier performances. Check out his video for "U Remind Me" --- especially the breakdown which starts at about 2:20. (You will have to follow the link -- embedding is not supported for this clip)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arE0UOtZfIw


Ne-Yo --- I have just recently "fallen in love" with Ne-Yo. It took me a while. I thought his name was stupid. His performance in Stomp the Yard didn't really make me take notice. And the fact that they played his songs like crazy on the radio had minimal impact since I was boycotting the stuff they played on the radio more and more. But there was a song or two that I liked, so I felt compelled to get his last two albums. Then, one of the unintended consequences of my new job was that I began to have a growing appreciation for Ne-Yo as a song writer. Since I have to test music for my job (and that is all that I will say about that) I have a subset of albums that I use for this purpose. One of them just happened to be Ne-Yo's "Because of You" album. And result of listening to it over and over was that, I really started to like the body of work. The combination of songs touch on a range of emotions, convey a range of tones -- so different from what we are seeing in popular music these days. So, I started paying attention. And I have to say, I love his new single "Closer" Folks who watched the BET awards were all a buzz about Ne-Yo's performance there. It is pretty evident that with this new album, Ne-Yo is evolving his image, with finely tailored crisp suits, hats, a real homage to 40's and 50's fashion with a modern twist. His new image speaks to culture and refinement with a Cary Grant flair and a Micheal Jackson "Hee, hee!" I am really excited to hear his entire album. I can't say that I have been really excited about any new music in a while now.

Take a look at Ne'Yo's Closer Video and then his performance at the BET Awards. I think you will see that little Michael Jackson flair (without weird, scary plastic surgery) in there.




I wish this was better quality but I think you get the picture.....



Now, Chris Brown.... You all already know about the secret crush I have on the little boy... But he just gives some of the best award show performances (not sure I would include this years BET awards as one of them but check out this one from the MTV Awards last year....

big?

So, last night my parents and I had to opportunity to so see "big." No, not the movie, it is a collaboration between Andre "Big Boi" Patton of Outkast and the Atlanta Ballet. Click here to hear some of the tracks used in the performances.

I definitely felt like I was seeing something historic, something never done before.... It was basically a modern ballet performance, a hip hop concert, and a visual media display all in one. Very interesting concept. Reality, however..... I felt like I had ADD watching this thing! There would be dancing on this part of the stage and then Like Big Boi and Sleepy Brown performing on the other part of the stage and then some visaul art thing going on in the back....

Also, the performances were a bunch of vignettes that didn't seem to have much continuity between them. And while I knew the songs, my parents nor likely most of the regular Atlanta Ballet season ticket holders had no idea what the songs were saying. But, with that being said, none of us really had any idea what was going on in this thing. And a few of the vignettes just mysteriously disappeared from the program, maybe because of time, maybe because the performers were not there, ut it didn't seem to be a planned thing since they normally announce program changes and substitutions before the performance starts.

With all that being said, i guarantee this was the first time that the Ballet company performed to songs with the words "hamhocks" and "probation" in them. It also this performance definitely opened up the audience to a whole new demographic --again probably the first time that folks rolled up to the front of the theater for a ballet performance in a stretch Hummer limo or folks in the audience were wearing their best embroidered jeans and hoodies or dress from Wet Seal.

It definitely was a cool idea though. Even if the execution was a little rough. I am impressed that Big Boi himself was open and dedicated to the idea of exploring expression of his music in another medium.

The History

This clip gives you a little bit of the history behind how the idea to do the ballet even happened.



The Explanation

Here is an explantion of the concept of the ballet



Rehearsals

Check out some of the rehearsals (I actually like looking at some of these better just because you have the opportunity to see how the dancing works with the music, which is something that got lost in the real performance)






Janelle Monae performance....

Here is a clip to give you an idea of one of the better vignettes from the actual performance. It is interspersed with rehearsals and shots from backstage but you get the idea.....