Quote:
Originally posted by Sam Jay
I disagree with you. Not all of what you said, granted, but the majority of it.
The GP respond to change. Rihanna changed her image from the good island girl who made catchy reggae-influenced pop to a bad girl in her "Good Girl Gone Bad" era, and to this day it's still one of her most successful eras of her career. Miley Cyrus shot down the good girl stereotype she had from Hannah Montana with We Can't Stop and her stunts during her Bangerz era, and look how that turned out for her. She got her first #1, and even outsold Lady Gaga in first week album sales. P!nk released a ballad instead of So What 4.0 and it went #1. Katy Perry released a "safe" single Unconditionally and it didn't do that well, but then she releases a trap-influenced pop track and it, again, tops the charts.
Whether you may think so or not, stereotypes are a big part of our culture. And as soon as an artist fights that stereotype, that commands attention. Kesha dropping the dollar sign in her name isn't just a simple little irrelevant name change that doesn't mean anything, it means everything. It's signifying a new beginning for her. And I know that this means absolutely nothing if she just churns out another TiK ToK 4.0 and all credibility of this "new" Kesha will go out the window, but I really don't see that happening. This era can be big for Kesha, and the removal of the dollar sign will certainly have something to do with it.
What I'm doing isn't counter-productive. I'm a non-factor when it comes to Kesha's career. I'm just a fan making posts on an internet forum. What I'm doing has literally no effect on anything. I'm not trivialising the dollar sign, if anything I'm glorifying it by demonstrating its importance, whereas you on the other hand are the one trivialising it by acting as if it won't matter if she keeps it or not, which I disagree with. Her dollar sign may have been recognisable to some, but the removal of it isn't going to mark the be all or end all of her career. Nor is it going to make her some random indie alternative act or something. As you have said, she's first and foremost a pop star, which is one of your points that I do agree with. But just because she's a pop start doesn't mean that she has to make the same tired party-pop "Let's dance all night"-type pop music. Pop is such a vast genre these days that her pop could mean anything (literally, no Gaga pun intended!)
Gaga is a separate case though and I won't go into it here although believe me I do have plenty to say.
The divide between the electropop Ke$ha and this new Kesha is being exaggerated, I completely agree. But there is most certainly a distinction. She's the same person as she was before, but not the same artist. Put it this way, I'd be extremely surprised if we get a Crazy Kids 2.0 on the next album.
|
Yes but with every example you mentioned here from Rihanna to Miley, the change in public perception had nothing to do with something as trivial as a symbol in their names. They did not change their name, they completely changed their images where it counted, their look and their sound. Removing the dollar sign from her name is trivial and the fan argument that people will interpret her differently because of its removal is a superifical stan way of thought. It will not change peoples perception of her. What
will, however, is how she fronts her look, her conviction in selling herself, and what kind of music she releases. As it did for Rihanna and for Miley.
Once again, I really don't care if she keeps the $ or not, I just really don't agree with what seems to be the majority of Ke$ha-fan opinion on the supposedly positive aspects of its removal. It doesn't matter enough for it to be removed or for it to have any kind of effect on her career if its not there. Its as pointless as Gaga changing her name from Lady GaGa to Lady Gaga, with no capitalization on the second Ga lol
what's your fav song so far?
