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Post by SusieFierce on Aug 7, 2011 14:05:58 GMT -5
Um, and why is it so important that teens like Adam? Oh, I know our culture is slanted towards the young. I know teens are major buying forces --- for posters, backpacks, video games. But not so much for music. They pirate and share most of their music, don't they? I checked out Miranda Cosgrove and Selena Gomez live YTs. Miranda sounded very young, very whatever the current version of Valley Girl is. Selena had a pleasant sounding voice. I can see why the kids like them. They sound like the kids. Kids can identify with them. I can also see why the kids like Bieber. It has nothing to do with the voice, and everything to do with the image, the fame, the cuteness, the fantasy. Why would teens fantasize about Adam? He is almost their parents' age. Plus, you may disagree with me, but Adam is way too worldly, and way too darkly sexual for young teens. Despite kids being exposed to highly sexualized images earlier and earlier, there is something almost feral about Adam that I don't think young teens can yet appreciate. We don't expect teens to have developed a taste for gourmet cuisine, or for master works of art. So, why would we expect them to appreciate the vocal artistry of Adam? Or his showmanship? Or is personality, even? To me, Adam is for adult tastes. Every generation has their teeny-bop stars and songs. In my teen years it was The Monkees (a totally manufactured product), David Cassidy, Leif Garrett, baby MJ, Leslie Gore (it's my party and I'll cry if I want to). The songs included such great works as Chewy Chewy, Love Potion #9, Teen Angel, and anything from the Partridge Family. Ten years earlier it was Annette Funicello. Very similar to Miranda and Selina. I don't want Adam to market to tweens and teens, if it means creating such banal, disposable music, and such a cute, nonthreatening image. Adam is a sophisticated taste, and that's the way I like him. IMHO, YMMV, etc. Because like it or not, fair or unfair, teens are a key radio target market. They are still "impressionable" in the marketing sense (meaning they are easier to advertise too than adults who already know what they like and dislike). This will be very relevant for future film roles and endorsement deals. Also, teens help with longevity and the "cool factor." We want Adam to be perceived as cool as he actually is, not someone their parents like. I think it's a bit of a generalization to say teens won't get Adam's sexuality or the depth of his skill level. Some teens are very savvy. And even if they don't truly appreciate all the nuances, they can still appreciate facets (he has so many to offer). Bowie was HUGE when I was a teen and people certainly got most of his edgy sophistication. Also Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Boston, etc., were what we were listening to from about 13 on. Many of the "teen heartthrobs" are actually worshiped more by preteens. By the time they're 15/16, they're usually consuming pretty much adult content in books, TV shows and music. I remember the stock response when we were preteens (my sister was 4.5 years older) and Alice Cooper was big in the mid- to late-70s. If someone said they didn't "get" Alice Cooper, the older siblings would say, "You're too immature to understand." Still don't know WTF that meant, but everyone had the same response. And yes, it used to piss us off. I don't see Adam dumbing down his music or image for anyone; it's already written and if OOL is any indication of what he has created, banal is the last word I'd use to describe it. And if the stage show/edge/energy of Montreal are any indication, he's not doing it with is performance level either. I think they'll rise to his level, not the reverse. |
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tigerlily
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Post by tigerlily on Aug 7, 2011 14:12:25 GMT -5
The reason Adam, and other Idols, have more adult fans is due to the fact that the average viewers of AI continue to get older. I recently attended the Season 10 AI concert. Over the years, the make up of the audience has been aging.
Adam started out on AI, so he had more adult fans and older fans to start out with. That doesn't mean he can't or won't appeal to the younger crowd. Adam still has his share of younger fans, and as long as he continues to get his songs played on Pop radio, he will continue to gain casual fans who are younger.
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Post by kittykay on Aug 7, 2011 14:13:03 GMT -5
kittykay, that is interesting because my friend e-mailed Ground Control and they said the packages, for right now, are exactly the same as last year. I posted the e-mail in a thread a few days ago, but didn't save it. Perhaps the Mods and Ground Control are not communictaing well! :-/ I would love to see a t-shirt with an actual "iconic looking" photo from Glam Nation on it. There are so many to choose from and if using a fan photo is a problem, a sketch or even some action shots that Lee took could work. I haven't gotten the renewal e-mail yet! Has anyone said if new management will effect ALF? I have the Email, but would like to know options before renewing. I can't imagine anyone that isn't a hardcore fan renewing. The first year offered no value if you weren't doing a M&G. Is GC better with other artists? |
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Post by cheriemelissa on Aug 7, 2011 14:15:31 GMT -5
My membership expires 9/1 and still haven't received the email. Wonder why?
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Post by justgill on Aug 7, 2011 14:15:57 GMT -5
Cassie - I saw your post last night, and remembered that I had also set the Vocal Masterclass thread that way and was no longer getting messages. (You'd think I'd have noticed before, wouldn't you??) So remembering this, I thought I'd go check on my profile page: At the top is a line that says "Member's bio-Modify Profile-Bookmarks-Social Networks". When I clicked on Bookmarks last night, it told me I had no threads bookmarked, and gave me a chance to set what kind of notification I wanted (e-mail, private message). So I set that to e-mail, and then set off to see if I could "bookmark' the Vocal Masterclass thread. I right-clicked on the Vocal Masterclass thread listing on the Atop home page, and one of the choices on the pull-down menu was "Bookmark this link". I clicked on that, thinking that would solve the problem and I'd post you a note about it...BUT when I went back to check, my profile still told me I had no threads bookmarked. That discouraged me enough (it was very late by this point!), so I gave up and went off to bed. I hoped that you would have an answer from someone wiser than I, but I guess it hasn't happened yet. I'll keep reading and hope that Q3 or one of the mods can find a way to bookmark the thread for us. Anyway, I did try - Or maybe they already have, and this message is way late... :D Thanks. I did get an answer about how to set it up, but when I went to see my bookmarks, it was there. It just isn't sending out email messages to me. I checked to see if my email account had sent it to the spam folder, but it hadn't. Others of you that have set up email notification, are you getting that notification? when you say you set it up, did you actually go in to your profile and use the 'bookmarks' tab or just select the thread from the live page? I just did and it worked ok for me. Perhaps it's a requirement that you go into that area 'manage bookmarks' and 'update profile' from there to make it work ??? |
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mariep
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Post by mariep on Aug 7, 2011 14:19:18 GMT -5
Great, great post. So true about kids not being READY for Adam. Just the fact that they like Bieber is good. Think about it, would you want your teenager on a date with Adam? No matter how nice he is, he's a MAN, not even a non-threatening one as someone like KA would be. That, in my opinion, is why all of you are so intrigued with him. Edgy I'm not getting this at all. Maybe you can elaborate. What does the red part have to do with anyone, not only teens, liking/playing/purchasing Adam's music? As adults we may be intrigued with his edgy, sexy look, but I would not say that's the only reason we stan him. No it's not ALL about the voice, but that sure has a lot to do with it! |
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babs12
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Post by babs12 on Aug 7, 2011 14:23:00 GMT -5
My membership expires 9/1 and still haven't received the email. Wonder why? I just went to ALF the other day and had to log in with my e-mail. I, too, registered around the 1st of Sept. Just today, I got an e-mail regarding renewal. When was the last time you went to ALF? It had been ages since I had been, so I had probably dropped out of their radar. Just a thought. |
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tigerlily
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Post by tigerlily on Aug 7, 2011 14:28:15 GMT -5
Great, great post. So true about kids not being READY for Adam. Just the fact that they like Bieber is good. Think about it, would you want your teenager on a date with Adam? No matter how nice he is, he's a MAN, not even a non-threatening one as someone like KA would be. That, in my opinion, is why all of you are so intrigued with him. Edgy I'm not getting this at all. Maybe you can elaborate. What does the red part have to do with anyone, not only teens, liking/playing/purchasing Adam's music? As adults we may be intrigued with his edgy, sexy look, but I would not say that's the only reason we stan him. No it's not ALL about the voice, but that sure has a lot to do with it! I'm not getting it either. I wouldn't want my teen daughter to date a 29 year old man. PERIOD! I don't care if the guy is Kris Allen or Adam Lambert- he is still too old for her! But, I certainly don't care if she buys his music or attends one of his concerts. This past year she went to a John Mayer concert and he is too old for her also. Plus, I wouldn't want her to date him even if they were the same age due to his attitude towards the women he has dated in the past. >:( |
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Post by whatyasay on Aug 7, 2011 14:29:11 GMT -5
I received at least 4-5 emails reminding me to renew (membership expires 9/1). Maybe they know me pretty well and that I don't check my personal email as often as I should!
I also hope the change in management improves AFL! I find it an incredibly unfriendly site. I find AO better (yes I do - I can't even log into AFL without regularly having to request a reset of my password).
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Post by rabbitrabbit on Aug 7, 2011 14:29:44 GMT -5
I agree with SusieFierce and Tigerlily just based on observation, since my digging for statistics is getting confusing (although this is an interesting article on top 40 cycles over time that says it's essentially a teen format www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/Radio_46/Behind-the-rise-and-fall-of-Top-40-radio.asp). If I understand what I've read on this board correctly under 24's and under 34's are the most important demographics for radio play in Adam's format, radio sells singles, and single sales continue to grow as album sales drop. Still of course there is a wide range between tween, teen, college and 34. But from what I've seen on twitter especially, Adam has a lot of cross-over with Bieber and Selena and Jonas brother fans. When I scan his new followers from time to time, I notice two things in particular along with the regular wide range of new worldwide followers. 1) Lots of Brazilian fans, 2) lots and lots of Belieberts. They (like many of us) see Adam as cute, adorkable, presh, positive. When he's sexy onstage it turns from intense to goofy on a dime and he cracks himself up. He gets coverage in Tiger Beat tween genre magazines with teen stars that are more than a decade younger than him. Strange maybe, but true. They appreciate his music as fun and catchy with lulzy lyrics. I think he can be appreciated on many levels and by many really diverse audiences. IMO it's not a great idea to marginalize any of them. As a 14 year old I was listening to punk and hardcore music, Adam is a sweet teddy bear in comparison. I was totally into my dad's Doors collection at 12 and 13 and had a full-length Jim Morrison poster. Kids and teens have varying tastes, maturity and development levels, but I really think Adam appeals in such a range of ways. |
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