Monster

Dear readers,

I warn thee - the below will burn your eyes.

vs

The top picture is a terrible depiction of Musical Theatre. I did not feel like typing a long post, so I drew something horrendous for you all to see! These pictures should have been present in my first blog post... too late now! Please excuse my "skills" - it's been a long time since I've drawn anything decent, and I never was good at drawing. Images = 1000 words, right? So analyse away!

Mary Poppins image above is referenced from here, with major alterations. Lace texture on Gaga is from Google images.

Love,

Prince E 

A Musical theatre steak with a side order of Popcorn.

Before I get into it, I just want to take pride in how I fabulously succeeded in making the title of this post as cheesy and weird and dumb as possible. Let me reveal the thought process.
CHEESY= food.
TITLE+CHEESY= the title should reference food.
I know, genius.
...and also I kind of give an example through food/restaurants at the end of this post so yeah...
What can I say, I'm really hungry! This post is seriously delaying lunch for me. Ok, well now I shall start. Cue intense and scheming/plotting music. NOW-

Dearest Prince E,
                          Oh don’t worry little monster, I am definitely not saying that pop stars aren’t “trained”. But anyone can see that Musical theatre stars are trained a hell of a lot more. The pain and vigorous training that those dreaming of SINGING, ACTING and DANCING on stage go through can be described as nothing if not unbelievable. But sadly for me, you used Lady Gaga as an example of a Pop Star. And because of this, I cannot argue against you, for Lady Gaga is nothing if not a performer. Similarly to musical theatre stars, she acts, sings and dances up a storm. But pray tell, think of the other ‘pop stars’ which you so diligently left out. You merely brushed over the fact that some stars ‘lip sync’, but try going into that in detail and your argument will fall through.
After all, there is only one Lady Gaga. And you cannot leave out all the other pop ’sensations’.
OHMIGOSH I have so much in my mind that I could use to argue with you, but instead, I shall graciously move onto another topic.
I assume most people would know these shows: X-Factor, Australian Idol/American Idol/whatever country exists Idol, Britain’s Got Talent, The Voice. All of these shows are hunting for stars in the POP world. They are hosted by ’Pop experts’ and the people on the show are usually taken in as amateurs and then in a matter of months if not weeks, they become POP MEGASTARS!!!!
Really? I don’t think so. But you know what? It wouldn’t be too hard to believe that anyone could mould themselves into a mere pop star in a matter of weeks.
I ask myself, why is there no show called “So you think you can be in musical theatre?”. This is a question I have asked myself for years. Would I be the first to audition for such a show? Yes, yes I would.
But the truth is this will probably never happen. Why? BECAUSE IT TAKES YEARS OF VOCAL, DANCE AND ACTING TRAINING TO BE CAST IN A PROFFESSIONAL LIVE MUSICAL THEATRE SHOW and this cannot be taken lightly.
That’s a cold hard fact. Oh I wish it weren’t true, dear Prince, but it is. For I lied at the beginning of this rant. It turns out that I AM saying something about the training of Pop Stars. Or at least, of SOME pop stars.
Of course this does not include your Queen, Lady Gaga, so before you have a heart attack and begin to chant in gibberish, I want to say that we all know that GAGA is brilliant.

But think about it logically, imagine going to a restaurant which serves you music on a platter. You’re very hungry and basically want to order whatever takes the least amount of time. The chef offers you a dessert of Pop talent, easy to make. The recipe simply states that he must win a TV talent show.
…Or you can have an order of Musical theatre star. The recipe?
Well, that would take him years to recite.

Popgasm

Dear Princess G,

When I go to pop concerts, I usually have the artists/groups album already, and yes, if I have the album, I would have listened to the songs and probably know a lot of the lyrics – but isn't it absolutely exhilarating to sing along with the artist/group on stage, and to know that you’re metres away from someone you idolise for their sheer talent and personality? I just feel that it brings the artist and I closer (just a feeling, I remind thee) by having them pre-concreted in our minds.

Hey, I love it when music is played loudly. I can hear every single note at a pop concert, and the words of the song clearly. Knowing that a certain part you like (from the song) is coming up just increases the hype. It’s truly amazing, really. Mosh pits = © Yes, we can’t see our feet, but who wants to look at our feet when we’re jumping about to our favourite tunes, sung by our favourite artist/group? Over crowdedness? Yes, please! Imagine going to a concert with a few people – how bleak is that? Multiply that by 446791 and it results in the pop concert experience.

Sorry sorry baby, you said what? I don’t quite comprehend. Different, you say? Sure? (sarcasm present). The people standing at the pop concert are waiting for their beloved artist/ group to come out – and music suddenly booms out of nowhere – and the concert begins – it’s quite spontaneous. It sounds like you’re saying that pop artists aren’t trained, and they don’t sing at the “height of their voices”… I really hope that is not what you’re saying… that would be quite ludicrous. Pop artists/ groups give their all in their performances - excluding the one’s lip syncing – even they have sacrificed a lot of get to the position they are in now, take Lady Gaga for example – she isn't an overnight success, it was years of hard work that got her to where she is now, “I was working as a gogo dancer on downtown NY to pay my bills and try to meet someone who would see the shining star in me. I was born a superstar. It’s just that the rest of the world didn’t know yet”. Love you Mother Monster. ©

Popgasm, anyone?

Love,

Prince E

Note: I’m terrible at rebutting – I did my best! 

You can try to stop my dancing feet, but I just cannot stand still!

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed how unnatural it feels to SIT still in a seat while watching a group of talented musicians, actors and dancers perform right in front of you? They’re usually accompanied by some awesome loud music which the people on stage are rocking out to and there you sit as still as flat water.
Anyone agree with me? Well anyway, that’s how I feel. Recently I saw the musical Hairspray. It was amazing (which I know is what I say about most musicals I see because let’s face it, MUSICAL THEATRE IS THE BEST).
I think that this aspect of musical theatre (watching it) is probably the only thing that really annoys me. But - at least you can see the whole thing. The entire performance, that is. Not like a rock concert, where everyone’s jumping and it’s so crowded that you can’t even see your own feet. Although, you can dance and move freely I suppose.

Anyway, I have 2 points to make in this post. When my grandma saw Mamma Mia, she said she felt like dancing in the aisles. When me and my friends saw Hairspray, I felt like I should stand up and start singing “You can’t stop the beat!”

So what I’m trying to say is, musical theatre EARNS the audience’s love. When you go to a pop concert, you’ve usually already bought the artist’s CD and heard all the music that you’re going to hear at the concert. So by buying the concert ticket, you’re love for the music/artist has already been established. The concert audience stands up before the artist has even come out! And quite frankly, sometimes the music is sooooo loud that you can’t even really hear the specific musical notes or even words of the songs. (not always, but sometimes.) But you still jump and scream because you ALREADY know you like the song.
Musical Theatre is different.
Although some musical songs are famously heard, there are a lot which most of us don’t remember. And when we purchase a theatre ticket, in most cases, we haven’t seen the show before. So we sit in our seats quietly. Still. Watching. And suddenly, the music gets louder, the singer reaches the chorus!! The amazing trained vocalists sing at the height of their voices and move their bodies to the beat at the same time creating a frenzy of MUSICAL THEATRICALITY!!!!!! WOW THESE PEOPLE ARE FREAKING AMAZING!! MUSICAL THEATRE IS AMAZING! I LOOOOVE IT!
And so your love for the show grows and grows (assuming you like musical theatre, of course) and you leave the theatre in absolute awe.
Suddenly, a thought comes through your mind, “I wish I could have danced and sung with them. It’s just so unnatural to sit in my seat while I realise my undying love for musicals.”

And there it is.

POP = whatever
MUSICALS = forever

Muse

Lady Gaga - style icon, a muse.

Where would we be without her? She has more influence than the famous editors in the fashion world, models and designers put together. Her extravagant outfits in her music videos have inspired her fans worldwide to dress like her (and alike) and have created a close knit community between her fans. Her style is very elaborate - drawing in trends and culture traits from all time periods, thus making her the most diverse and unique style icon of our time, and in the future too.

So you want a dress/look like Lady Gaga? How you ask? Simple! Seeing as though she is the word on everyone's lips, there are costumes of her outfits from specific videos available online! Her use of bodysuits (red, white and black) is very popular in the videos and in online stores (check out ebay) - especially the blue swimsuit seen in Poker Face. Want her "disco stick"? You can buy that too! And those round sunglasses she wears in Paparazzi? With a simple click online, you can have this item at your doorstep (within so-so days)! Not only is her fashion popular, but her makeup. She adores to make a statement by wearing long false lashes and bold colored lipstick. There are tutorials on YouTube that teach you how to achieve her look effortlessly. She has greatly popularised the short blonde bob and the long straight blonde hairstyle. I have seen girls walk around in blonde wigs for Halloween, strutting their stuff in their Lady Gaga outfit = bonus = more candy! (I know, I'm unfair). I'm in the mood to don my blonde wig now ...

Lady Gaga: Lip color, sunglasses and false lashes

Remember her (very famous) hair bow? It's such a cute accessory that makes ones outfit 10000x cuter. I remember making a hair bow for my Year 12 graduation night. I was in such a hurry to make it - whilst studying - with this bunch of low quality extensions I purchased at the Variety Store. It looked terrible - I'm cringing at the memory - BUT very Lady Gaga! And I also had the fringe to boot! This is only a minor influence of her on me.

How has she influenced you? Answers would be lovely!

Love,
Prince E