Over the past two decades with the rise of social media, now more than ever recording artists have to raise their profiles even higher to get noticed and stay on the charts. And the old saying “Any publicity is good publicity” seems to be very true for today’s celebrities. Just ask Madonna who rode the wave of good and bad articles written about her.
But social media has made it easier to get your name out there. It’s not like in the old days with press releases. You would have to do something extreme to be seen around the world. Back in the 80s there was a blonde woman who went by Angelyne in L.A. who took out giant billboards with her photos on them. She was a B-list actress and even an evern worse singer. But everyone knew who she was when she decided to invest in these billboards. Angelyne was invited to many events and even made a list of B-movies as well as releasing three albums. Her plastic surgery to look like a blow up doll slash Playboy mansion cartoon really transformed her. To this day she is still a fixture in Hollywood.
But today, celebrities can leak a sex tape, say something politically incorrect or better yet….make an appearance at an event that no one was expecting. This was the case when Beyonce performed her country song “Daddy Lessons” with The Dixie Chicks at the 50th Country Music Awards. I didn’t watch the show. Even if I had known Beyonce was going to be there I wouldn’t have watched anyway. I’m not that big of a Country Music fan. I like a few artists, but it’s just not my genre and it reminds me of a lot of the racist people I encountered when I lived in Florida where I grew up.
Now according to who you ask, some say that Beyonce was amazing while others will say that they were annoyed that she was there. And my question is….why would they be annoyed? Is it because she is one of the most powerful women in the music industry? Is it because she opened the year with a political statement performance during the Super Bowl Halftime Show? Is it because she now makes complete video albums? Is it because she sells out arenas around the world? Or is it just the fact that a Black Woman stole the spotlight from the CMAs in general?
In this very divisive year of the Trump presidential campaign, we have all watched a plethora of racists grab the media attention. Back in February Kid Rock felt it was okay to throw shade at Beyonce in a Rolling Stone interview. Why would he feel that comfortable to verbally attack her? Two reasons….backlash over “Formation” and a desperate attempt to get some attention. I’m certain that Kid Rock does not have the same amount of fans as Beyonce. They aren’t lining up in Japan to see him. And no one is writing about his duet with Jamey Johnson at this year’s ceremony either.
But my point is….Trump’s rhetoric has brought the racial divide to the forefront. Being endorsed by the former KKK leader, David Duke and not commenting on it speaks volumes about who Trump is. At every turn he has played upon the hatred and racism that still lives in the heartland of the United States. The disenfranchised who believe that they are losing their world to people of color. The folks who yearn for the days when you could say a joke about women and stereotypes without being chastised for it. Hell…you would be applauded. Now, those Blacks and Mexicans are so sensitive. We gotta stop those Muslims from coming here. They wanna kill us! And what the hell do they mean by “White Privillege”? I cain’t find a job because of these jungle bunnies and spics running around! And don’t get me started on how the Jews own every damn thing!
Sadly…this is America today. And believe it or not, it’s not just America. It’s happening all over the world.
The hatred and racist comments that followed after Beyonce’s performance at the CMAs really showed how far we haven’t come. Interesting enough….fox are so worried about being called a “racist” that they don’t even realize that their actions and worse are just that. On social media like Facebook and Twitter, a lot of the good ol’ boys decided to vent their disdain for Beyonce questioning why she was even there at the awards at all. Many are claiming that they were upset about her being there because she is considered a Pop artist. Really?
No one said anything about Justin Timberlake performing with Chris Stapleton at the CMAs last year. How about Steven Tyler’s duet with Martina McBride at the CMA Music Festival this year? And I heard Pink has recorded a duet with Kenny Chesney for his new album. I’m sure they will be performing that next year. Is anyone gonna say anything about these crossover duets? And are they raising such a stink about their Country Artists like Leann Rimes, Shania Twain, Lady Antebellum and Taylor Swift crossing over into the Pop chats?
And why is it okay for Lionel Richie and Darius Rucker to go perform at the CMAs without incident? I guess they are throwbacks to Charlie Pride. But God forbid a strong Black Woman used her voice and songwriting skills to record a Country song.
But don’t think that this is just a “white racist” issue. I remember back in 1988 when Dione Warwick said that George Michael shouldn’t have even been nominated for “Soul Album Of The Year” at the American Music Awards. Many felt that Bobby Brown should have won that year. Well, in my opinion, Dionne and her “psychic friends” needed to shut up. Between that comment and her trying to sit Snoop Dogg and Suge Knight down to chastise them about their “rap lyrics” in the 1995, I really felt like she was out of her element. I mean…here was an Adult Contemporary artist from the 60s telling others what they should and should not do in the music industry. Could you imagine if she had done that to Prince or Madonna? Blue Eyed Soul artists like George Michael, Hall & Oates and let’s not ever forget the ultimate Teena Marie have made great contributions to R&B Music. And the raw rise of Hip Hop gave a voice to the inner city like no other art form had done before. I don’t agree with all of the lyrics in Hip Hop, but I will fight for their right to say them.
And just like discovering that I had Trump supporters on my social media, I have now discovered that I have some undercover racists who won’t admit that they have a problem with a Black Woman commanding the stage at the CMAs as well. I’ve lost a few friends behind this election and this performance.
I guess the sad thing is that CMAs caved and took down all references to Beyonce’s performance. After being called out about it by TMZ the Country Music Association issued a statement to CNN that said they had not removed the content and the full performance was still available on their site. All YouTube videos posted by fans have been pulled and most definitely they had to disable the comment section since there was plenty of racist ones left.
The race conversation has been brought to a head. Regardless of the outcome of this election, the United States is going to have to sit down and take a good long hard look at racism. Too many people are dying because of the color of their skin. Black lives matter. White lives matter. Red lives matter. Blue lives matter. LGBT lives matter. There can be no walls. And whatever walls have been put up must come down (like a band-aid being ripped off a wound) in order to begin the healing process of this nation. Take ownership in what you have contributed to “racism” (that goes for all sides because we are all guilty in some way).
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