being an ex-muso, i tend to hold pretty strong views about the validity of "fake" artists, or those put together by a manipulative management team (insert picture of simon cowell or chancellor palpatine here)
you all know the kind of thing i mean: that singer or vocal group crooning their way through that catchy but forgettable song (written by 7 people you've never heard of, tho not the cat actually singing it), with their perfect hair (styled by a team of hairdressers) and perfect clothes (designed and picked out by a host of dressers), accompanied by a slick little dance routine (choreographed by a behind the scenes groover). with the whole effect designed to appeal to the blandest cross section of teens and pre-teens who have been thus trained to reach for the off button the moment anything vaguely original or unformulaic or lasting comes over the airwaves
people like one direction, the spice girls, beyoncé, rihanna, virtually the whole cast of pop idol (or geographical variants), et cetera
the kind of artists that act merely as a crucible for people who have the actual creative talent (however slight) to distil their communal juices into something saleable
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that being said .......
i'm constantly wondering how these acts compare with those in the acting profession - actors are forever repeating lines written by another's hand, in outfits designed by production teams, moving to marks designated by directors - vessels in a very similar way to those singers
yet, we laud actors and marvel at the subtleties and nuances of their art
so, are there any fundamental differences to these 2 spheres? - do created boy/girl musician types deserve more respect?
in short, am i guilty of being a musical snob when it comes to this divide, or lack of?