Why Artists Who Don't Write Their Stuff Are Not Really Artists

[Alien Tulip 12,428]

No it's not just the painting, he also is engaged with musical compositions, besides, I think Jazz is a bit different from pop where you improvise basically 3/4 of a song.

Any genre can be. Legends like Whitney Houston and Celine Dion didn't/don't write their own lyrics but when you see them perform you can see the pain in their face expressions and the tears pouring out of their eyes because they are performing and letting out emotions because they applied their life to those lyrics and are basically showing the audience what the song is about. 

[PrinceGaga 7,498]

To me they are both artists but one I respect a hell of a lot more than the other.

There are some artists/singers that don't write their music that I love and respect. However I have a soft spot and I only stan hard for artists who can write their own. I feel like I can connect to the artist on an emotional level and actually know that the words they are singing are lyrics that they cried over and spent hours or days (or sometimes only minutes) at a piano or guitar or whatever else with a bottle of wine spilling his/her heart out being miserable or whatever their creative process is. There's something really special and organic about that to me that I love (the writing of TEOG comes to mind).

Beyonce is an artist/singer I respect and like but I'v never felt connected to her or found her relatable. I can't see past the 'machine' you know? With Gaga, I KNOW it's all from her and when I put on a song for the first time everytime I think 'okay, what is GAGA telling me here?' 'okay, this is HER telling me to be strong' - you see?  

 

[MonsterMum 2,532]

Any genre can be. Legends like Whitney Houston and Celine Dion didn't/don't write their own lyrics but when you see them perform you can see the pain in their face expressions and the tears pouring out of their eyes because they are performing and letting out emotions because they applied their life to those lyrics and are basically showing the audience what the song is about. 

Which is why they were called vocalists as a more respectable phrase then singer cause we all can sing but not everyone can be known as a vocalist.

[KyliesChild 16,907]

But a singer can be classified as an artist by a certain way. Let's take Gaga for an example. I classify her as an artist because:

1. She is a great live performer.

2. A beautiful singer that makes people feel emotion and to express theirselves.

3. She writes music.

4. She produces to a certain degree.

The point is, a singer does not have to write music to be classified an artist.

[Angel Down 2,807]

To me they are both artists but one I respect a hell of a lot more than the other.

There are some artists/singers that don't write their music that I love and respect. However I have a soft spot and I only stan hard for artists who can write their own. I feel like I can connect to the artist on an emotional level and actually know that the words they are singing are lyrics that they cried over and spent hours or days (or sometimes only minutes) at a Piano or guitar or whatever else with a bottle of wine spilling his/her heart out being miserable or whatever their creative process is. There's something really special and organic about that to me that I love (the writing of TEOG comes to mind).

Beyonce is an artist/singer I respect and like but I'v never felt connected to her or found her relatable. I can't see past the 'machine' you know? With Gaga, I KNOW it's all from her and when I put on a song for the first time everytime I think 'okay, what is GAGA telling me here?' 'okay, this is HER telling me to be strong' - you see?  

 

You last sentences are what I precisely believe as well...

[DemeLarell 931]

No it's not just the painting, he also is engaged with musical compositions, besides, I think Jazz is a bit different from pop where you improvise basically 3/4 of a song.

Umm.... I believe that improvisation statement is inaccurate when it refers to the vocal artist. There is improv but not 3/4 because if that was the case it wouldn't be the original song they intended to sing any more. 

[Alien Tulip 12,428]

Which is why they were called vocalists as a more respectable phrase then singer cause we all can sing but not everyone can be known as a vocalist.

If that's the case then many songwriters aren't artists then since many write bad songs since anyone can write songs just like anyone can sing. There's a plaque at the MoMA exhibit and if I remember correctly it was talking about how an artist isn't just a creation but a moment of liberation and solitude and I remember Gaga at the art museum in 2009 saying she related to a certain painting. 

[gagzus 15,259]

so singing is not art? 

technically no, neither is being a regular musician because anyone can learn to sing just like anyone can learn to play a musical instrument. If you're willing to put in the effort and love it then you can.

The art side of a musical artist comes from performance, poetry (aka writing songs) and the general aura you bring and how you can control others' emotions with your music and appearance. Most pop singers are just that- they're people who have learned how to sing pop music, which often requires little to no vocal effort depending. It's all about the aesthetic and nothing more.

Gaga however is an artist (as are many others in the Pop sphere) because she thinks of everything beyond the singing. Most pop singers sing and have teams to make their songs, concepts, performances and that shows in the lack of emotion and energy a song or performance has.

[giskardsb 12,565]

A great singer add's their interpretation and performs the song in a way that elevates the songwriters intent to a new level.  That is art.

However, there are not many great singers at that level in Pop, and the pop medium doesn't really allow for great vocalists to really add their art to the art of the songwriting.

 

[MonsterMum 2,532]

Umm.... I believe that improvisation statement is inaccurate when it refers to the vocal artist. There is improv but not 3/4 because if that was the case it wouldn't be the original song they intended to sing any more. 

Well I see Jazz like this, you get handed a road map where you need to go to place D but you need to pass place A,B,C as well. How you do it is up to you, walk, bike, train, they all get your there at different speeds, do you go in the dark or light, alone or with more then one people, to me that is a bit different then a sort of one dimensional pop song if that makes any sense.

[inuborg 4,136]

I could never respect and/or appreciate "artists" who do don't write their songs. Every single one of my faves write their songs. And I mean, pop stars, rappers, indie singers, etc.

Now there is Opera singers and extremely technical singers who I believe have great ability. But Rihanna, Britney, Iggy, etc, aren't Opera singers. 

[Angel Down 2,807]

I could never respect and/or appreciate "artists" who do don't write their songs. Every single one of my faves write their songs. And I mean, pop stars, rappers, indie singers, etc.

Now there is Opera singers and extremely technical singers who I believe have great ability. But Rihanna, Britney, Iggy, etc, aren't Opera singers. 

SLE 

[comrade 33]

I could never respect and/or appreciate "artists" who do don't write their songs. Every single one of my faves write their songs. And I mean, pop stars, rappers, indie singers, etc.

Now there is Opera singers and extremely technical singers who I believe have great ability. But Rihanna, Britney, Iggy, etc, aren't Opera singers. 

are you saying you don't respect or appreciate artists like

elvis presley, whitney houston, aretha franklin, dusty springfield, frank sinatra, diana ross, ella fitzgerald etc etc etc?

 

interesting

[MonsterMum 2,532]

are you saying you don't respect or appreciate artists like

elvis presley, whitney houston, aretha franklin, dusty springfield, frank sinatra, diana ross, ella fitzgerald etc etc etc?

 

interesting

You wanna compare these people to Britney and Iggy?

Really now? 

[lego 44,165]

If you don't write your own songs, you need to be at least extraordinary singer/vocalist and performer, that makes you an artist.

 

If you have writing camps and professional lyricists + mediocre voice - you're an entertainer/singer.

 

So people should stop bringing up Whitney or Celine or even Tony only to defend Rihanna or Britney.

They are in totally different leagues.