The Importance of Image and Stage Presence

You'd think if a singer has killer pipes, they'd get picked up in the music industry for pure talent alone, but that usually isn't the case. Take the singing competition American Idol for example. A lot of performers come through season after season that are amazing vocally, but they are missing something that connects with the American voting public and they don't make it to the end. Many of us where shocked when Tamyra Gray got voted off Season 1, because it seemed like she was a much stronger singer than Nikki McKibbin and Justin Guarini who surpassed her (Season 1, n.d.).

Tamyra Gray

Although an amazing voice counts for a lot, image and stage presence are key factors that also play into music industry success for any artist.  As entertainment lawyers Xavier Frascogna & H. Lee Hetherington (2004) state, "constantly and objectively [measuring] the overall impression the artist makes on his or her target audience on and off the stage" is essential for "career survival" (p. 82). Perhaps Tamyra wasn't standing out enough with her image or making a big enough impact on her target audience in order to gain enough votes to stay longer in the Idol competition.

Britney Spears

While it seems some great singers get the boot too early on in their music endeavors, others that are less vocally impressive seem to have it made in the music business. If top selling artists like the Black Eyed Peas (BEP) and Britney Spears came out with slow a capella records, it's not likely anyone would be interested. BEP and Britney have great looks and fun dance tracks that allow them to put on exciting live shows. These factors outshine their lack of amazing vocal ability and are what have built them into the superstars they are.

Britney is not that strong of a singer, but she developed a very strong fan base wearing outfits like what you see to the right and dancing her butt off on stage. Even when she went through a pretty public personal crisis everyone was rooting for her to get back on track and return to the strong performer that she had been. With the success of her recent albums and concert tours, it appears she has done just that.

Doing a lot of humanitarian work definitely helps to boost BEP's overall public image, in addition to wearing crazy, unique outfits on stage and putting on fun, high energy performances. If you happened to miss BEP performing at this year's superbowl halftime show, here it is for your viewing pleasure:

Although they sound pretty bad, the whole show is such a spectacle and the overall performance so entertaining that you can't help but watch. BEP's image and stage presence are what save them - case and point why those two factors are essential to an artist's career.

References

Frascogna, X. M., & Hetherington, H. L. (2004). This business of artist management (4^th ed.). New York, NY: Billboard Books.

Season 1 Top 10 Contestants. (n.d.). Retrieved May 8, 2011, from http://www.americanidol.com/archive/contestants/season1/

Images
[Black Eyed Peas]. Retrieved May 8, 2011, from http://www.ticketsmore.com/black-eyed-peas-concert-tickets/index.html 
[Britney Spears]. Retrieved May 8, 2011, from http://www.gambling911.com/Britney-Spears-Robbie-Williams-110806.html
[Tamyra Gray]. Retrieved May 8, 2011, from http://remote.lohudblogs.com/2008/01/13/top-20-idol-contestants-of-all-time-10-tamyra-gray/