Staying Power: What Makes a Music Career Last?
Michael Jackson
Despite dying at 50, his career spanned four decades. He was one of the few who gracefully made that difficult transition from child prodigy to adult superstar!
Was it our fascination with his plastic surgery? Or the undeniably catchy beats? Or his ability to seize on universal topics in his lyrics? Maybe so for “Man In The Mirror” but I still don’t know what “Billie Jean” is all about!
Dare I add
Madonna to this list? I think I do dare! She had her first top 40 hit in 1983,
and is still going strong, creating original content and touring to this day.
I can’t tell you how much admiration I have for these artists! Their success reminds me of how important it is to take good care of yourself.
Though it’s hard for me to know for sure (since I’m not, nor was I ever, personal friends with any of these superstars), I have to imagine that they each managed to get enough sleep each night to remain creative (okay, so maybe Michael needed assistance with this…); they took care of their voices and bodies; they remained limber enough to perform. They found ways to reinvent themselves. They took chances.
They evolved.
Who will be the next enduring superstar? Will it be Lady Gaga? Bruno Mars? Will Beyoncé and Jay-Z always be King and Queen of the Prom? Will Katy Perry be making us roar in 2050? Tell me what you think!
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I love beyonce. One of the few female artists that truly deserve to be compared with Madonna.
This album release was monumental regardless of the views of a few salty atrl members. While others have tried it before, none have sold as much. You even said it yourself. Michael and Madonna opened doors to artists to have long careers due to unique attributes. Even you have to admit that strong businesspeople such as Beyonce, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Alicia Keys, and Britney Spears (until very recently) have survived due to showing the general public that their cheap copies (Willa Ford, Jessica Simpson, Amerie, Ashanti...the list goes on) are not worth their time nor touring dollars. (And to add one more thing, if selling 100M copies has been done already....wouldn't future people who achieve the same thing be criticized with your delusional reasoning?)
