Music And Who Sings It

I was listening to and enjoying Aaliyah's song, "I Care 4 You" (track 6 on her last album), and a thought crossed my mind: if someone else was singing this song, would I like it so much? Especially if it was some large, unattractive, angry black mama-lookin type, like maybe Aretha Franklin (or someone else but I can't think of any other good examples at the moment). The thing is, as much as "who's singing it" isn't supposed to matter in determining whether you like a song, it does to me. I hope that doesn't make me superficial or a male pig. Aaliyah bit the dust anyways. Oops, I hope that doesn't make me insensitive.

It's just that in a song such as that one, an artist like Aaliyah is almost perfect to sing it. Something about her persona just gives off the right feeling that flows with the song, a certain smoothness about her style that goes beyond her voice. I don't think it's merely because she's pretty, but it's gotta be more than that. Something hard to describe, but perhaps "smooth" is the best way of putting it.

Maybe it's kind of like rappers; we have come to expect nothing but ghetto young black guys such that anyone who does not fit that description has virtually no chance of connecting with the public and succeeding as a rapper. Eminem is more exception than the rule, obviously, and it could be argued that he is not taken as seriously as a rapper, more as a novelty white guy who can rap and ruffles feathers by his controversial lyrics. But it's not just the expected image, or the credibility issue for the fans and public. Something about personalities like 2Pac or DMX or Dr. Dre just matches with the type of music they do. It would just not feel right otherwise.

So, my conclusion is that the best musical artists are those about whom we can say, "only (given artist) could pull that song off, and nobody else." Some songs that come to mind are: "Tonight, Tonight" by Smashing Pumpkins, "Mysterious Ways" by U2, "Big Poppa" by Notorious B.I.G., "On Bended Knee" by Boyz II Men, "Black" by Pearl Jam, and "You Drive Me Crazy" by Britney Spears. Haha sorry had to throw that last one in there.