REVIEW in review: Blue October and So You Think You Can Dance (the why of hits...)

Blue October and So You Think You Can Dance
--What Makes A Hit?

Well, so much for the sunshine. Here in Seattle it's back to rain, which is depressing since its June. Oh well...there should be some sunshine in August! Something to look forward to!

What makes a hit song? Or a hit show? Or a popular, legendary painting? Or a hit dancer or dance company? Really, for that matter, what in general makes a hit regardless of the type of media/medium?

Quite honestly, no one really knows for sure. If we did, you wouldn't be seeing so many substandard songs/shows/etc all around you, being pushed by marketing departments, labels, studios and networks. You also wouldn't be seeing bad copycats of hits, or lackluster shows, music and the like being pushed because they happen to have a celebrity/famous name attached.

Still, it's not a crapshoot either. It's not a totally random process. It's quite logical if you consider logical as including emotional appeal--i.e. human psychology and culture. At its core, every hit or every celebrity appeals has an emotional appeal, touching something in the fans and supplying a deep seated need. We can identify with the emotions involved, and we care because those emotions are reflected in our own identity and needs at the time.

This doesn't mean that everyone is going to like everything. It means that for a large enough group, that hit song or hit show, or that character or celebrity (singer, actor, athlete, dancer...) touches us--representing either something that we want or representing something that we believe in. Over time, our needs will change as we have different experiences. The crush on this or that singer or actor will be outgrown and replaced with someone else. The song that you were crazy about when you were 12 may not appeal so much when you are 22 nor 62 and so on--nor should it.

It's about finding things that resonate with where you are in your life and what you need. Even within the same age, you find yourself sometimes wanting to hear soothing sounds and other times wanting more excitement. It depends on your mood at the time and your life experiences--if you're stressed, then soothing helps calm you. If you need to pump yourself up, you look for driving beats and louder music. (Some people calm or pump themselves by listening to music, others by going to art galleries, others still by watching or doing dance, or reading...you get the idea.)

So let's look at a couple of examples, and in turn, you'll see why I and other 'reviewers' (and labels, and producers, and so on) often look for these traits.

Blue October (the band) has a hit song called 'Hate Me'. What makes it special? Well, it's in a popular genre, popular because driving beats and energy generate excitement (and in their own way are relaxing as well, since you can listen to rock/alt music and 'escape' from your daily stresses and pressures.) Second, it's well done musically. The blend of musicians and producer are first rate, showing maturity and experience. The vocals are pleasing to listen to yet still emotionally evocative. In other words, the singer puts real emotion into the song, real sincerity and has a voice that stays on key and is melodious to the ear. Fans can spot insincerity a mile away. When critics, judges and the like talk about 'committing to a song, or a dance' this is what they are talking about--committing emotionally to it, physically, entirely, really being vulnerable during the song, the dance, the artwork--allowing your feelings to be shown to the world, facing the fear of rejection and ridicule that we all feel when so exposed.

Finally, the song is about love, something central to being human and the experience of life. Now, lots of songs are about love (some hits, some not) so obviously there has to be more, more than a catchy melody or angst ridden vocals. The lyrics here are about the deepest form of love, the kind that puts the one you love ahead of yourself. Here, the song is about recognizing that to be selfish and keep the lover around would destroy them. Here, the song is about wanting your lover to be happy, even if that means that you must be unhappy.

Again, lots of songs talk about that--the difference here is that 'Hate Me' turns the tables. It tells a story, like any good song, so that we understand the context (why the person singing knows that they are toxic to the happiness of the one who loves them) but it also includes a twist. Instead of being direct and saying 'I'm not good for you, therefore, since I love you, you must leave me' it says instead 'Hate me. Because I love you, I want you to hate me, even if that causes me horrible pain, because I know then that you will leave and find love with someone who is good to you.' See the difference? The twist in how the story is told takes the listener by surprise and that makes the song more interesting.

That twist in how to tell the tale, adds both humor and pathos--and interest. Combine that with a great delivery (vocals, musicality, sophistication in how the song is put together) and you have a much better chance at catching the fans attention (and the labels and the critics.) If you then add in pleasing visuals (how you appear to others), then so much the better. Face it, people like to watch good entertainers. They don't necessarily have to be beautiful but they have to have that IT quality, that charismatic quality that makes you want to watch them. Part of that is learned (how to entertain, different tricks to presentation) but part of it is internal as well (who you are inside and how well you can project that outward to an audience--your presence on stage. That's harder to learn, but it can be learned...because at its heart, it's about confidence and vulnerability. (This is different than the interest generated by 'train wreck' people like Paris Hilton--that's not charisma as much as it is about fascination with pathos.)

Fully committing to what you are doing and being confident in who you are, these are components of charisma! Vulnerability is included because you have to be able to reveal the real you when you are on stage--else, you seem aloof, indifferent or worse, insincere.

Believe it or not, actors have just as much problem with this as other performers...and they are supposed to be able to project feelings as part of their job. Many have problems with this and you can see it in their performances. Being vulnerable and sincere is harder than it sounds.

That's why I reward innovation each year with the Aha! Blogolicious! Media Innovator Awards. Taking something and finding an interesting, surprising but still pleasing way to present it is a key to artistic success--and at least a hopeful chance of financial success as well.

This process applies to all the creative arts. Let's look at what's been happening with So You Think You Can Dance, since that is a combination of two types of art (television and dance.)

Yesterday, on the first elimination show, I wasn't surprised at the three couples in the bottom three, even though the judges were. The judges (dance oriented people) were surprised that Faina and Cedric were not favorites of the fans. I wasn't. The judges are likely looking at the contestants as dancers and therefore considering their entire body of work, not just their current performances or individual dance solos. They also probably ignore the personalities, except when onstage, and even perhaps the audience reaction to the performance, and focus more on the technical aspects.

My belief is that the audience, the fans, in contrast, are judging the contestants by television standards--are the dancers likeable? Do they manage to resonate with the likes, hopes and needs of the fans who watch them? It's more about the people and their current performance (entertainment value) than about their technical skill. True, the dancers can't be horrible, but the caliber of the competition rules that issue out. We've already seen with ABC's Dancing With The Stars (which uses a combination of judges and fan scores to determine rankings) that likeability plays a huge part in the process, though typically the combination of skill and likeability will ultimately determine the winner. It's not purely a popularity contest.

So why Faina and Cedric? Well, my belief is that the fans have been watching all along. They've seen how Faina complains a lot and seems to go into a 'poor little me, I'm a victim' mode when she is stressed. This may be unfair, but that is how she is being portrayed through the video footage shown. The fans also remember Nigel's dismissal of Cedric, even going so far as to say he might bring down his partner. Thus, given their so-so performance on Wednesday, it's not surprising to me that they were low on the fans' list.

However, given that, we also see how the two dance shows differ. SYTYCD doesn't really allow a lot of fan control of the situation. They've made sure that it's the judges who choose who goes and who stays (at least until the very end.) The fans only get to limit the judges choices, but cannot control the process beyond that. Even when the judges knew that certain couples performances, or individual solos were HEAVILY favored by the studio audience, the judges often ignored that audience reaction and went with their own biases. You could tell from the hisses (when the judges didn't like them) or the cheers (during the performance or the judging when it agreed with the audience) whom the studio audience favored.

Hence, I wasn't surprised at the bottom three. I wasn't surprised when Ashlee was chosen to go home. I was surprised when the judges sent Nicky home, since judging by the audience reactions to his solo (versus Cedric's solo), I, personally, would have assumed that Cedric was the one going home.

But that's the nature of subjective judging, the real surprise seems to be that the judges don't get this fact. Mary's tearful angry reaction that Faina was in the bottom group demonstrates this disconnect perfectly. She was going by Faina's auditions, not her actual performance or her victim personality that seemed to indicate that she (Faina) felt she deserved special treatment. Nigel's reactions were more subdued but then he is both a judge and the producer of the show--no matter how much he claims that he is being objective and fair, he is still thinking also like a producer. That means he's by nature trying to figure out who will make the most interesting reality game show television--reality game shows tend to need a lot of drama and will try to force it if necessary. Thus, keeping Cedric might be more motivated toward keeping a possible 'drama' moment around. He also would be aware of the actual rankings, so he could simply be choosing to drop the lowest ranked couple for convenience sake.

All this is speculation, don't mistake that. These are things that could be happening in order to make the show more interesting, as far as the producers think. Reality game shows (and this is definitely of that type) don't necessarily reflect 'reality'...hence, how contestants are portrayed can be manipulated by editing and other tricks, including subjective choices about who to drop. The only true thing you can be sure of, is that fan votes are counted and used to create the rankings. If they tried to alter that, then they'd be off the air as such a scandal broke.

But hopefully you can see that performance, personality and technique are all important--not just technique. That's why I always emphasize that how you present yourself to the world is critical to your success--and why it must be an HONEST presentation, created through vulnerability, self-confidence and sincerity. (Having a good sense of humor about yourself helps, too.)

The choices you make are your choices. You are not a victim. Being a victim doesn't sit well with others, and only results in sympathy in small doses. Most people would look at celebrities, singers, bands, dancers and others in the public eye and think 'wow, they have it all.' If those people constantly complain about their life, not appreciating what they have, then it wears thin even on the most ardent of fans. Fans are willing to show sympathy--if they genuinely like you--but how can they genuinely like you if you act entitled? Or self-serving? Or uncaring about their feelings and hopes?

Would you like someone like that? If you said yes, then I'd suggest you ask yourself 'why?' Why would you like someone that treats you badly? You deserve better. You deserve to be appreciated and loved for who you are and anyone that treats you badly, rich or poor, famous or non, isn't worthy of you.

As a performer, you are both performing for yourself and for them. You need that connection with others--for more than financial gain. It's a spiritual connection in a way--it's about being human and part of the human experience. So... Bring joy to others. Bring hope to others. The more you give unselfishly, because you honestly want to make others happy, the happier you will be -- and the more love you will receive in return. Your art will expand beyond your wildest dreams.

So, that's about it. No MySpace band music review this week. Why? Because I didn't find one that I thought had sufficient merit. Hey, it happens! Hopefully, next week, I'll have better hunting.

But at least now you can understand better what I'm looking for -- and more importantly, why I look for certain types and traits. I also believe that you don't need a major label or a celebrity connection to be a hit-maker. The best of the best didn't rely on connections or famous relations. They are passionate about what they do and unafraid to not only show that passion and emotional need, but also unafraid to put in the work required to reach a level of technical perfection to back up their passion.

That makes a potential hit.

Have a great weekend!

CG Anderson
owner & chief bottle washer
Little Dogs Media
blog: http://ahablogolicious.blogspot.com/
Aha! Blogolicious! Musings and Meanings of Non-Sensical Events and Canada... (a music/art/dance/media review site with a bit of humor to mix it up)

Remember, Obstacles are Actually Opportunities...look at the why behind the what...