March 23, 2022
As some of you may know from looking
at my Face Book page, I absolutely love watching The Voice. Now, I never did
watch American Idol when it first came on twenty years ago, and I can’t even say
why. I do watch it now, for the most part, but that only began after I
became a big fan of The Voice.
Well, let me be honest here,
in the interest of complete transparency. I only started watching American Idol
in its current form, because when they brought it back, the show had Luke Bryan
as one of its three judges. I love Luke Bryan—for his smile, for his talent,
and for his devotion to family. A perfect trifecta, as far as I’m concerned.
But I digress.
What hooked me on The Voice was
the form of the auditions. They’re “blind” auditions—so called because the
coaches (not judges) sit in these big ass chairs, and the chairs turn. When the
artist comes on stage to audition, the coaches have their backs to them. They
don’t see what the performers look like—they only hear their voices. And it’s
based solely on the voice they hear that the coaches may choose to “turn around”,
and that turn means the artist has been accepted to be on the show. If only one
coach turns, the artist is on his/her team. But if more than one coach turns
their chair, then the power, as it were, to decide what happens next is in the
hands of the artists. At this point the coaches have to convince the artist to
pick them. Four chair turns happen, and the banter and competition between the coaches
is sometimes as entertaining as the music.
This year, the Voice is only
going to be on once instead of twice. That means that we all have to wait until
September to see the next season of it. In the meantime, American Idol is on right
now, with the auditions finishing up next week. And on this past Monday, David
and I sat down to watch the premier episode of American Song Contest.
We didn’t know what to expect
of this new show, hosted by Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dog. During the opening
minutes, the hosts promised that the music we would hear—performed by artists
who had already achieved varying degrees of success—would be “Grammy” quality. Although
there were several different genres of music presented, the show did not
disappoint. All of the artists were very talented. We plan to tune in each week
until the end, which will be in May.
I’ve always loved music and
that’s a part of why I enjoy these shows. “Music has charms to soothe the savage
breast” is a well-known quote that harkens back to a 1697 play by William Congreve.
I’d say there must be something to that if we’re still quoting it in 2022. And I think I can say on behalf of us all that
our “breasts”—our hearts—have all been a bit too savage, of late. Though perhaps it’s more accurate to say they’ve
been savaged. Regardless, I think we can all use a bit more music in our
lives. Music can take us from our ragged reality to a place where, for a few
minutes at least, we can catch our breath. We can let go of our aches and
pains, be they physical or emotional, and can float on the soothing notes of
whatever genre of music we love best.
But another aspect of these
shows that draws me to them is that these people are artists. I’m an
artist, too. Creating stories is an artistic endeavor. My stories deal with
emotions, and relationships—part of the entire human experience. Songs deal
with the same thing. The best songs tell a story in a couple of hundred words
that coveys a message that people can relate to.
My stories are quite a bit longer
than a song, of course, but they are written to the same end—to convey a
message that people—the readers—can relate to. There are times when I struggle
to put words down on the page. Times when my self-confidence falters. The
aspects of my personality that suit being a teller of tales about people, their
emotions and their relationships are the very same aspects that prevent me from
ever growing a thick skin—or ever (I hope) becoming egocentric.
When you watch The Voice and
American Idol, you get glimpses of the whole person who’s striving to take
their artistic journey to the next level. They speak of struggles with self-confidence
and struggles to find acceptance—to find an audience. And for those of us who
are also artists, we get to be touched by one who’s journey echoes within us.
For the time that I’m tuned in
to these shows, and engaged, I find myself, to a small extent, looking into a
mirror.
And that reflection can be
very reassuring.
Love,
Morgan
http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury
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