I have faith in people's talent. I'm sure the future will bring a new popSTAR to the stage someday.

Madonna's just marketing, fashion and cabala.

Michael Jackson is dead.

So I guess Prince..... yes, he is. And a lot, lot more than that.
[Edited 9/19/08 4:39am]

Sophianestesia said:

masina79 said:

Im under the imression that to the general public:
Madonna is a pop star
Michael Jackson is a definite Wacko, but also known as the popstar he was
Prince uhhhh didn't he change his name a while ago and then stopped recording?

I would probably say so, yes. Them 3 stars in particular just seemed otherworldly, in the sense that they were not like you and me. Today, a popstar is seen doing regular things and have very little mystique about them. They seem like you and i but in a privileged position. I guess its the times aswell. I mean, with the net, we get glimpses of starts on a daily basis doing mundane tasks. We read their blogs, buy 'their look', where their trainers and perfume. compare that to sticking a poster up on your wall which you pulled out of the centre of smash hits. I remember loving Mike jackson as a kid in the 80's, the rare times a video would be shown on terrestrial tv, it was like magic. I can watch the motown 25 anni special a hundred times a day on youtube today.

Sophianestesia said:

So true!!
Prince

Prince,MJ and Madonna are the last iconic "pop stars" that really mattered.They have all done things that today's so-called artists will never be able to do.I mean,think about it...

Who's the Madonna of this generation?
Who's the Michael Jackson of this generation?
who's the Prince of this generation?

There are alot of people trying to imitate them,but the three of them are originals.I think the days of huge,influential pop icons are over.

3121 said:

Exactly! Back in the 80s,Prince,Madonna and Michael seemed larger than life.Kids were spending their money trying to dress like them.Hell,in 1984,even I wanted a glittery white glove....lol...Back then,pop artists had their own unique look and style.These days,every pop artist dresses alike.Nobody is taking any chances and coming up with their own look.There's no mystique about these people.




Back in those days,a new music video was an "event".I remember in late 1983,kids would rush home,turn on MTV and wait for the next airing of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video.You don't see that kind of excitement/enthusiasm these days.To those of you who lived through Michaelmania of 1983/84,you know what I'm talking about.It was a fun,wild ride!

SoulAlive said:

Yes, I can remember how we were in school discussing wich new video's would be broadcast. It was like a teaser: at the end of the show, we have the NEW clip from Prince (for example).
I recall seeing SOTT (clip) for the first time. Man, that was weird, but also something to talk about.

I wouldn't call them the last pop stars but I would call them one of the last icons in pop music. There will never be anyone, let alone 3 people, in pop to be as big as they were at one time ever again IMO. The times are too different and people want their music faster than ever before. Even though I was a kid when it happened, I'm glad I was born at a time to see them and still remember them at their commercial peaks. It was truly a fun time in music and it helped shape the music that I listened to and still listen to today. I feel sorry for today's generation. They are getting cheated in every way possible with these acts that pose as pop stars today.
[Edited 9/19/08 6:08am]

3121 said:

Get outta my head! I've said stuff like that to my friends before. That is a great analysis right there.

all these started in the 80s...with george michael, boy george.....true artists

now we have talentless miming idiots

Message to the org. Please. Move. On. Those three were great in their day, but there's so much more out there. You guys need to stop clinging to the past.

I'd say they are the last of the serous Mega Idols...at least for a while. All three of them were a serious creative force and held a huge influence in their respective genres. Not to mention their imagery and imagination.

Brittney Spears, Usher and Justin Timberlake are no comparison and don't come close to offering true Artistry to the craft http://SoundGallery.wordpress.com

What about Mariah Carey? Is she an icon or mega star?

lilgish said:

She is neither. Then what is she? I'm looking fore some decent words to describe that. (This could take a while....)
[Edited 9/19/08 7:09am]

midnightmover said:

Don't be a party pooper. For some of us, the trinity made a great impact and tied into our most important years, have shaped how we listen to music and viewed new performers.

But I agree with SoulAlive... they're the last iconic pop stars.

midnightmover said:

Like who exactly?

remko said:

She was/is very sucessfull. However, she had/has little if any cultural influence. Thats the difference.

Add Janet to the list.

Nah, if you add Janet you've got to add Kylie - only relevant in certain markets

I don't even think Mariah or Whitney are iconic. I mean if they were you've got to add feckin' Celine Dion to the list too who has outsold them both, so sales don't even have that much to do with it, meaning we COULD have another iconic star one day despite the dip in the market.

As for Britney, she's just a media image. Apart from Baby One More Time none of her music has had any impact.

Ellie said:

My list would be Michael, Madonna, Janet, Kylie, George Michael and Prince.
[Edited 9/19/08 9:30am]

JackieBlue said:

That's the whole point. Whilst it's true there haven't been any subsequent pop stars to match that trinity, the fact is you guys are as much lamenting your own lost youth as anything else. It's not just this thread. Time and again I keep reading you '80s kids talking about how much better it was in your day. Just like your parents were saying in the '80s. I know that 'cos I'm an '80s kid too and I remember hearing adults saying the same thing back then. If any of you have a copy of Barney Hoskyns' Prince biography The Imp Of The Perverse, written in 1988, you'll find the introduction quite fascinating since literally EVERYTHING he's saying about the contemporary scene is the same shit I hear you guys saying about today's scene. Everyone is the same, everyone just wants their fifteen minutes of stardom, blah, blah, blah. Plus he says how lame the synthesizers sound (which they did).

So whilst I agree that there have been no really special pop stars since then, I find this constant harping about it here to be a symptom of the fact that some of you are living in the past. These guys ain't the be all and end all of music. Hell, musically MJ was barely there in the '80s, releasing only two albums, one of which was shit. I actually think it would be a much more profitable thing for us to do if we actually spent more time dissing the '80s. Believe me, there is A LOT to diss. A hell of a lot.

midnightmover said:

I hear you and mostly agree but I don't think I harp on how wonderful the 80s were and how much I hate today's music (or do I?). I do think there is a bit of good music out now but it all depends on what you like and what you call 'good' and how much one is willing to search for it as it may not be at your ready.

I don't want to spend time dissing the 80s or much anything or anyone else. I think once it's established that you don't like a certain genre, artist, album, etc. you move on or at least try to altho it can be interesting to get into discussions and such.

Most definitely the three are hard-wired into our development and we enjoy or at least are connected for nostalgia and that may lend to not being objective at time but in regards to this particular thread regarding such distinctive entertainers, I see no harm.

purplecam said:

I'm not gonna sit here and tell you what you should listen to. I personally only listen to older artists, but since those artists are not the same ones I was listening to in my school years it means I'm not sitting around still drooling over the same old '80s icons. It seems to me like you guys don't realize that all these artists are just links in a chain, and that in at least some senses, two of them (Madge and MJ) are pretty insubstantial ones at that. Great icons no doubt, but hardly stretching musical boundaries like The Beatles did.

It's not that I disagree with you particularly (although anyone who calls a studio puppet like Janet WACKson "great" is deluded), it's that I think the amount of emphasis you people place on these guys is a little bit sad.

midnightmover said:

You often make interesting points. It is unfortunate, however, that you feel the need to insult and condescend to make them.

Sophianestesia said:

MJ may be "dead" as you say, but I am a teacher and ALL the kids know who MJ is. None of them has ever heard of Prince.

There's always gonna be STARS. Icons come only a dime a dozen these days.

Back then, it was easy to make icons. Hell most of the Motown, Stax and Philly artists became icons.