Cowell, Songwriters, and Pop Idol
Published September 24, 2002
It's tempting to wonder what would have happened had George Martin not cast aside the Beatles' proposed first A-side - a flimsy version of Gerry Marsden's How Do You Do It? - in favour of Lennon and McCartney's Love Me Do. Would the Marsden song have been a hit? Would they have been dropped if it hadn't?
Before the Beatles, chart music didn't divide into the "fake" stuff (pop) and the "real" stuff (rock). Singers had no desire to prove themselves by writing their own songs. It simply wouldn't have occurred to them. The structure was already in place. Jobbing songwriters would provide the material for the likes of Billy Fury or Tommy Steele, who would then tour the postwar dancehalls of Britain, six or seven on the same bill, singing their latest hits. To see how much we've returned to that world, look no further than the Pop Idol Big Band Tour that followed the TV show: 10 pretty young things touring the arenas of Britain, singing other people's songs to rapt teenagers. Just like the olden days.
The professional songwriter is back with a vengeance, servicing the constant demand for material needed to fill albums by the likes of Will Young, Gareth Gates, S Club 7, Britney Spears, Blue, Holly Valance, Westlife, Atomic Kitten, Liberty X and *Nsync. Ask Cowell how he feels about the songwriters he works with, and the icy persona familiar to viewers of Pop Idol transforms itself into something approaching obsequiousness: "In one year, maybe five top-drawer, grade-A songs might appear, and my job is to get them for my artists. Everyone else is after those songs, too. So what do I do? Well, I try and keep on good terms with the songwriters."
- Cowell, Songwriters, and Pop Idol
- Published: September 24, 2002
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- Section: Music: News
- Writer: Eric Olsen
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PLZ FORWARD TO: SIMON COWELL - AMERICAN IDOL
I know you're really into honesty, so here's some from me to you: the last American Idol show, Sept 23, 02, sucked bigtime. It was just a theme park extravaganza with too many kids on stage, too much hype, AND the ever arrogant Tamyra, Christina and Ryan were tiresome....Their meanspirited exclusion of Nikki was so obvious and obviously painful to Nikki. She's a trooper, no doubt, but enough is enough. Tough shit that Tamyra, Christina and Ryan didn't make it to the top three...Their contempt for Nikki on stage is palpable. How graceless can they get? They're ostracizing Nikki is obvious. They intentionally high five each other leaving Nikki out...what's that about??? Sorry, but Nikki was dissed every week, but still, her act to stand strong in the face of ongoing criticism has to be wearing and profoundly painful. How can a sensitive singlemother with her heart cracked open from having a child to raise alone, keep up the "I'm okay with it" act? The fact is America loved Nikki. No, she didn't ahve the super great voice to have beat out the other girls, that's true. But, fuck it, you know as well as I do, those other three just don't appeal. They aren't intesting. They don't have the stage presence or performance or the magnetism. Nikki is not only the better performer, but is the most appealing. Not finding songs that she can do is a huge disservice to her and her fans. What kind of music producer are you. Not all your stars have great voices. Give us a break. I still say with a great band behind Nikki and songs that fit her, she'd make it to stardom, past the tiresome, redundant, boring, unappealing, haughty, yawn, arrogant Tamyra and Christina, and ditto, the slithering, Ryan. I'm sure I'm not the only one that thinks so. Also, while you may want to hold on to your high and mighty judge and musical jury claim, the other truth is: that Nikki made even you squirm. I know you wanted her to succeed, so show her some consistant support. Develop and cultivate her voice, she'll be a big star if you can fix her right. Best wishes. a fan who's seen it all. D. Bader