For pop performers, style is substance -- and songs may come last

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: Feb 18, 2001 Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune Submitted By: Nicksphotographer Written by Jon Bream - Star Tribune From Elvis Presley's gyrating pelvis and the Beatles' mop tops to Michael Jackson's beaded glove and Britney Spears' bejeweled belly button, image has been an essential ingredient in pop stardom. A hit on the radio can make an act a star. But it's the image that propels the artist to multimillion album sales and superstardom. "Everything You Want" was one of the five most-played songs on U.S. radio in 2000, but does anyone know what Vertical Horizon's lead singer looks like? Or his name? Yet what music fan doesn't remember Faith Hill's satin sheath in "Breathe" or Creed singer Scott Stapp's chin-length mane in "Higher," two other hits in the year-end Top 5? With the advent of MTV in 1981 and the explosion of the Internet in the '90s, it has become more important than ever to put a face -- and ever-changing outfits -- on the singers of hit songs. Between Web sites, magazines and TV appearances, today's pop stars might get more visual than musical exposure. New artists are no longer signed to record contracts on the basis of vocal ability. It's about the total package -- voice, body type, look, personality and ability to seduce the camera. The songs come later. In this visually driven world, established artists feel compelled to fashion new images in order to remain fresh. Take the Backstreet Boys, who will play a sold-out show Saturday at Target Center. They've gone from clean-cut to hirsute, presumably to differentiate themselves from 'N Sync and the glut of other well-scrubbed boy bands -- but turning off some preteen fans in the process. "Backstreet Boys wanted to say they were growing up some, and they were more involved in this album [writing songs for the first time]," said Amy Doyle, MTV's director of music and talent programming. "They each took the individuality approach as opposed to five guys in white suits, like on the cover of their last album." If it were just about the music, young people could get the tunes from the Internet, said Jeremy Helligar, entertainment editor of Teen People magazine. "They are buying into the lifestyle of the artist and the whole package. "Video is such an important part of the package that you have to be about as good an actor as a singer," he continued. "In the '70s, Joni Mitchell was just a singer/songwriter. Now, you are more of an entertainer than just one thing. Everyone with a Top 10 record gets a movie deal." In a coup of cross-pollination, Jennifer Lopez hit the jackpot last month, becoming the first star to have an album ("J.Lo") and a movie ("The Wedding Planner") debut at No. 1 in the same week. She laid the groundwork as a presenter at last year's Grammy Awards. The next morning, her provocative dress -- not Santana's record-setting sweep -- was the No. 1 Grammy topic. Think of it as the crucial first step in the launching of J.Lo. "Jennifer Lopez is not really the most gifted singer; she can sell a few more CDs if her clothes are tighter," said KDWB-FM morning personality Angi Taylor. "I wish image weren't as important as it is. In pop, it's half talent, half packaging." Visual pizazz certainly contributed to the success of Spears, the Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync, R&B star R. Kelly and rapper Mystikal, who together sold about 40 million albums for Jive Records in 2000. "Image is very important for all genres of artists," said Janet Kleinbaum, Jive's VP of artist marketing. "It's important for a fan to want to be like their favorite artist. It motivates them to stay interested and, we hope, ultimately buy albums." Christina DeCuffa, 17, a senior at Sibley High School in West St. Paul, was a big 'N Sync fan. But she said bye, bye, bye to her favorite boy band -- not because of the music, but because 'N Sync heartthrob Justin Timberlake started dating Spears. For her part, Spears, 19, has managed to push the envelope much like Madonna, without tarnishing her image. Her breakthrough video, "... Baby One More Time," was playfully suggestive in a high-school setting. Then she came on like a Lolita-wannabe in a Rolling Stone photo spread. On last year's MTV Music Video Awards, she stripped down to a clinging, revealing bodysuit that could have been appropriated from a Las Vegas floor show. "Other artists would have really gotten hurt for it, but instead it only expanded Britney's legend," said Steve Kurtz, who managed pop princess Christina Aguilera for 3? years until last fall. "She moves to the edge a little bit but it's never that far. She's approachable, she's friendly, she's likable. People are willing to give her a certain element of latitude." BEAUTY ROADIES For nearly 20 years, Madonna has been a master at reinventing her image and her music, staying in the public eye without oversaturating the marketplace. Two or three years might transpire between each Madonna album. That's the old-school approach. With Spears, the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync, the new CDs have come practically back to back. They never go away. Nowadays, if a hot act stays away too long -- e.g., No Doubt, Hanson and the Wallflowers -- they might become yesterday's news. "I don't think there is such a thing as overexposure anymore," Kurtz said. In fact, for hot stars, it's about orchestrating one visual opportunity after the next: MTV's "TRL" program, magazine spreads, awards programs, talk shows, concert tours, music videos, TV specials. With, of course, a different outfit for each (or eight, in the case of Spears' stint as host of the American Music Awards last month). Country star Jo Dee Messina, who launched her first headline concert tour last week, works with fashion stylists in Nashville, Los Angeles and New York -- even though she's hardly as style-obsessed as Hill or Shania Twain. Whether it's a tour or a video shoot, big-time female stars typically carry a four-to five-person beauty crew -- separate stylists for makeup, nails, wardrobe and hair, plus perhaps a colorist or extension specialist. "They need to look good all the time," Kurtz said. "The Globe, the Enquirer and the Star, they all love to grab that one picture when the artist isn't looking their best, throw it in there and put some crazy headline under it. It's not that these female artists feel the need to look good all the time; their public kind of demands it." Even rockers are preoccupied with how they look. Buckcherry singer Josh Todd said he's always thinking about image. An admirer of the visually evolving Prince, Michael Jackson and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, he thinks an artist should change his look from one album to the next. For Buckcherry's debut disc, he dyed his hair black. Now, for the band's sophomore CD, he's reverted to his natural blond. Fans demand that stars change their looks. "If they wear the same thing every time, it would get boring," said DeCuffa, who said she has coveted clothes worn by Madonna and Aguilera. Fans want to dress like the stars whom they worship. At Wet Seal, a young women's clothing shop in the Mall of America, about 80 percent of the merchandise is inspired by music stars and their videos, according to assistant manager Stacey Williams. She picked up copies of Teen and Teen People magazines, pointing out the similarities in the clothes of the singers from Destiny's Child and Pink and the items at Wet Seal. But the stars have to be careful not to go overboard. "If someone started wearing stuff I didn't like or was too revealing, I would lose interest," said Krista Swangler, 16, a sophomore at Armstrong High School, who turns to Lopez for fashion cues. Sometimes, artists' images confuse fans. Kailee Peters, for one, isn't buying the Backstreet Boys anymore. For this 17-year-old from South St. Paul, it's not the look, it's the lifestyle. "You can't be a boy band if you're married," she said, referring to two of the Boys who wed last year. Ah, to true fans, image is everything. Comment on this item. 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