Jackie Evancho's new role model--Miley Cyrus?

Jackie Evancho is a refined Classical Crossover soprano. Miley Cyrus is a badass rocker. With some things Jackie could learn from.

Not talking about Miley's propensity to deface her own body with big ugly tattoos (as Rihanna has also done), or her raunchy exhibitionism. But my wife's religion teaches us to look for what's worthy/admirable everywhere, not just within the circle of those we approve of in all regards.

And Miley, as of her American Music Awards performance, shows things Jackie would find it useful to pay attention to.
something for the refined soprano to learn from.

1. Miley has a strong voice. It's not beautiful like Jackie's but it is strong--a bit like Martha Raye's was--and Miley knows how to exploit the voice she's got.

2. Her performance was innovative/clever/memorable while staying within her genre. The giant back-projected lipsynching pussycat was very effective, and the way Miley organized the different elements of her performance, from her costumery to the back projected stuff to her gestural repertoire, all were mutually reinforcing and even pertained to the words she was singing.

3. She's kind of fearless. I realize fearlessness is not by itself a survival trait, but I think she uses her bravery to contribute to her genre. At the same time I don't hear about her partying wildly like Lindsay Lohan and her drug-using ilk. I don't heed the scandal rags, but I get the impression that Miley's antics are more performance art than the expressions of personal dissolution as with Lohan and poor Amy Winehouse.

4. Her performance was passionate and vulnerable; not just another "let's party!" anthem as many of her peers stick to.

5. Her outfit, while skimpy, wasn't so much lubricious as showing how incredibly fit she is--something not possible with a dissolute personal lifestyle BTW. And the pussycat pattern resonated with the giant puddy tat singing behind her.

Of course I am not recommending that Jackie dress like or sing like her. Only that there are things to learn from musical innovators in other genres, and Miley is one of those.

Lessons for Classical Crossover singer Jackie Evancho from the American Music Awards

Lessons for Jackie from the American Music Awards (last night)

The band Imagine Dragons added a taiko-ish set of drums to their setup and did some taiko drumming with some choreography during their song
Lesson: bringing in stuff from outside the normal context of the genre. It worked, too.

Miley Cyrus probably did the most innovative performance of the evening, near the end, with a giant puddy tat on a rear projection screen lipsynching her song with her, with a funny/sad tears effect midway and a very Japanese anime-style cat wink at the end.
Lesson: again, bringing in stuff from outside the normal genre boundaries, plus a sense of humor/whimsy. I also noticed that Cyrus isn't half bad as a singer and as a songwriter. Just because she's OTT doesn't mean she isn't creative.

Conversely, Katy Perry performed in Geisha drag (sans the white makeup) at the beginning but didn't use the "look" very creatively, I thought. Not integrated with the music. Pretty but superficial. On the other hand she brought a disabled girl and her family to the show as her guests. That was classy.


Lady Gaga channeled Marilyn Monroe's affair with JFK. Then she had big headlines rear-projected about stuff like "Lady Gaga is fat" "Lady Gaga is washed up."
Lesson: Be careful when you use a murdered major historical figure to obsess about yourself. She'd really thrown herself into the production and the music, but the stuff on the wall behind her made her look small.

Ariana Granda sang a neo-Doo-Wop number dressed in an elegant floor-length gown
Lesson: I think she's one of the classier pop celebs out there right now. I could imagine Ariana and Jackie doing something together at some point. I thought the song and the performance were quite good--and quite tasteful.
Lesson: Don't wear a gown that looks great if you're standing still but which makes you look ridiculous if you're going to be seen walking in it. Ariana won New Artist award and had to totter up onto the stage because she basically couldn't move her legs above the knee. Had to go up the steps one at a time. Reminded me of why they're called Hobble Skirts.