Why do all singers/performers need to have a story?

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amother

Salmon

Sun, Mar 12 2023, 6:59 pm

I don’t see the reason to be so cynical but in a general sense the entertainment industry seems to either attract or create troubled people. Even some of the most famous icons of the secular entertainment world like Elvis Presley and Judy Garland (Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz) died of drug overdoses. With plenty of straight-out suicides too.

amother

Trillium

Sun, Mar 12 2023, 7:03 pm

What magazine was this in?

amother

Daisy

Mon, Mar 13 2023, 1:02 am

Mishpucha did sweet idea in one of their magazines they randomly pulled out ppl from phonebook and called them up to awk them their story.

Everybody has a story. Ppl feel that someone that makes it in life despite their story is admirable. That all.

Also musical artistic souls are deeper and more emotional which automatically creates a more sensational touching story.

amother

Winterberry

Mon, Mar 13 2023, 1:03 am

amother Aster wrote:

Everyone has a story.

But for some reason, people are more interested in hearing the story of those who are already famous.

If you write your story, your children and descendants will probably find it fascinating though.

I have quite the story myself. But loathe to share it and don’t really want to revisit it. I’m sure many people can relate.

ectomorph

Mon, Mar 13 2023, 10:47 am

I have an alternative story.
I was born, many moons ago, on a small island, during a full moon. My family had a tradition that babies born under the full moon were bad luck, so they left me out to die. An American Coast Guard boat heard me crying, and I ended up getting adopted by a family in Boro Park. Life was hard. I was bullied because I looked different and clearly not Ashkenazi Jewish. But then I had a near death experience, in which I saw Hashem. And thus, Isha Yiras Hashem was born.

imasinger

Mon, Mar 13 2023, 1:00 pm

amother Winterberry wrote:

I have quite the story myself. But loathe to share it and don’t really want to revisit it. I’m sure many people can relate.

And are you a type who loves performing for others?

I think there's a link between baring one's soul as a performer, and being comfortable telling very personal stories.

amother

Outerspace

Mon, Mar 13 2023, 1:47 pm

Oh, I don't know. I think many entertainers davka like show biz because they can hide their true selves. Onstage they can be whoever they want to be. A fellow student in my Speech and Theater class called acting "constructive schizophrenia." You can have as many personalities as you like, and none of them has to be the "real you."

The danger as I see it, is that with all that constructive schizophrenia, one may come to lose one's "real self."

zaq

Mon, Mar 13 2023, 1:49 pm

amother Hosta wrote:

because most frum people have a low self esteem so they were able to pull out of it and go public

Most frum people have low self-esteem? What is your source for this, please?

amother

Oleander

Mon, Mar 13 2023, 1:54 pm

The real answer is because singers/performers have fans (a discussion of itself), and the fans want to hear.

So op, unless you have hundreds of thousands of followers, nobody wants to hear your story.

amother

Aconite

Mon, Mar 13 2023, 2:03 pm

amother Hosta wrote:

because most frum people have a low self esteem so they were able to pull out of it and go public

I assume you don’t watch agt or American idol. I suggest you watch them to see it’s standard to have a sob story it’s great marketing.

#BestBubby

Mon, Mar 13 2023, 2:04 pm

Secular culture celebrates victim-hood.

zaq

Mon, Mar 13 2023, 2:05 pm

amother Salmon wrote:

I don’t see the reason to be so cynical but in a general sense the entertainment industry seems to either attract or create troubled people. Even some of the most famous icons of the secular entertainment world like Elvis Presley or Judy Garland (Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz) died of drug overdoses. With plenty of straight-out suicides too.

Show biz is very hard on individuals and families. There's the constant travel, the abnormal hours, the financial insecurity unless and until one reaches a certain level of fame, the need to constantly compete for gigs, the fickleness of the audience, the huge egos one has to deal with and the temptation to believe one's own PR. So I think it probably creates more troubled people than it attracts.

zaq

Mon, Mar 13 2023, 2:07 pm

ectomorph wrote:

Personally, I was born in a dark pit, teeming with both snakes AND scorpions. I was raised by a pack of wolves. One day, I passed by Bais Sarah of Boro Stark, and I felt inexplicably drawn to the building. They tried to kick me out, but I had picked up special abilities from the wolves, like climbing in the windows, and eventually they accepted me into the school. After a few years, I was unrecognizable, and had adopted the principal as my third mother. (the first being my real one, the second being my mother wolf)
I was so inspired by what Hashem had Done for me that I couldn't keep it to myself. I just had to post it on substack. And thus Isha Yiras Hashem was born.

Edit: since this IS the internet, I suppose I need to add a disclaimer that this is a joke, even though that makes it less funny.

Thanks for the best laugh of the day!

Trademark

Mon, Mar 13 2023, 2:09 pm

amother Aconite wrote:

I assume you don’t watch agt or American idol. I suggest you watch them to see it’s standard to have a sob story it’s great marketing.

These shows usually only accept people with an interesting backstory.

I know someone who tried to get in but he wasn't "interesting" enough.

Daliya

Mon, Mar 13 2023, 2:18 pm

I actually see it very differently.

I see it as being a great chizzuk for those who think their life circumstances would stand in the way at their success. It's a means of showing that even when you've been at the lowest point and no one ever believed in you, you can still believe in yourself and raise yourself up to great heights and share your talent. It gives hope to those who feel hopeless and have low self worth.
That's how I view it in the jewish world.

OTOH, AGT and other such shows sometimes have a different agenda. There's more pump and more love from the audience for those who have a background story. You can have a contestant who's really not that great but'll get straight to the live shows because of their stories. The more drama, the better. That's a fake. You can find a select few genuine contestants that are actually pretty inspiring. But there are very few of those.

relish

Mon, Mar 13 2023, 3:39 pm

Stories sell. There are many reasons for this. It’s something you can look more deeply into if you are interested.

I want to touch upon how stories are used in marketing. I hope you find it helpful.

When you are trying to attract a certain audience to your product, it is recommended to share the parts of your story that resonate with the problem that your product solves.

If a singer is singing songs that empathize with a certain problem, or attempt to create a certain feeling, and they are following the above recommendations, they will share parts of their story that speak to the problems people face, that are resolved through listening to the music that the singer is putting out.

For example, if my song speaks about tznius, and how beautiful it is, and my ideal listener is high school teens struggling with tznius, I will choose music that Jewish teens who struggle with tznius are into, and when I share my story, I will focus on struggles that I went through that are similar to what Jewish teens struggling with tznius go through, and I will speak about how I broke through, and how this song helped me.

This is one reason why you will see people sharing their story in the entertainment industry. It’s all about attracting your ideal client to your product.

Some people may not be aware of the marketing side of it, and just share “because it’s a thing to do”.

I’m not sure what you were referring to when you wrote the original post, because it seemed more of a complaint, than a request for info. I just wanted to share a bit about why sharing your personal story is a big part of marketing and entertainment, because it fascinates me Smile

amother

Vanilla

Mon, Mar 13 2023, 3:47 pm

Everyone has a story. They happen to be famous so their stories are published.

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