The Gray-Haired Boy in the Bubble.
The opening scene is a Taylor's-eye view of the 2006 American Idol finale.
"I was proud that I'd played the American Idol game so well, that my strategy had paid off -- so far, at least. From the beginning my main focus was turning my biggest disadvantage into an advantage. The undeniable truth is that by nearly every standard, I didn't fit in."
Taylor embraces his "oddness" and people tells him he stood out from the beginning as someone who thought ahead.
"They realized I was thinking weeks down the line, while the other contestants were just trying to survive week to week."
"Once I got on American Idol, I began to see that not being perfect -- or looking perfect -- could pay off in a huge way."
Question: Is Taylor "odd"? Did he exaggerate his oddness on American Idol to draw attention to himself?
Taylor says that getting the consolation prize wouldn't be enough, that winning would be "the undeniable sign that the crazy dream I'd chosen of making music was the right one. Winning would be that sign."
It would be the closest guarantee that he would ever get. He had to be judged by America.
"You can't really sing to a whole country, that's not how it works." Unless you have a voice like Ray Charles, nobody can force tens of millions to believe in you.
"To sing for the whole world, you've really got to do it one person at a time."
"It's all about intimacy and honesty. It's about sharing your story in a song -- whether it happens to be a song you wrote or one you decided to make you own."
Question: Does art have to reach one person at a time to be successful? Is Taylor accurately describing his art?
Here is the quote that blew me out of the water:
"As I walked onto the Kodak stage that night with a heart full of soul and took my place in the spotlight, it wasn't nerves I was feeling, but something else entirely. In truth, I felt right at home -- a man in the right place at the right time. What was once a bubble had somehow become home. -- and really home was what I'd been looking for all along."
That's pretty profound -- and also touching. Someone who has been looking for home his whole life finds it on a stage in front of thousands. Most of us would be totally out of our element!
Wow, these are deep questions. I've finally read the first chapter and yes, it did bring a tear to my eye. I know it will time after time as he describes his childhood. Luckily, I never had to deal with any of the hardships that I'm sure he faced and I've always been thankful for that.
Is Taylor odd - probably to mainstream pop America - yes. To me - no. He's about like every other goofy guy I knew in high school. Well, the persona that I've gotten to know and see appears to be that way. Odd, but commonly odd. Just a regular Joe with a sense of humor and a beautiful head of hair. Taylor may be gray but at least he's not bald!
I don't think he really exaggerated himself. At the time, before hearing the pre-Idol stuff, I remember thinking "this guy really knows how to handle himself in front of the camera". I didn't realize then the extent that he played gigs, written songs, etc. I've always thought of AI as a forum for the "virgin entertainer" (Elliott Yamin as a prime example). A place where the untrained and uninfluenced go and be molded and be made into a pop star. Taylor came and changed all that (until TPTB were forced to up their ante this year). He came knowing what he wanted to do and with so much history and experience behind him. If he exaggerated his oddness, he's still doing it today.
I'm not sure I can answer the art question. He's shared his story with me time and time again. When he was on the show, he won over my mother - which takes quite a lot of skill, believe me. She's not as avid a fan as I but she enjoys listening to him sing on his TV performances and loves his personality in interviews. I'll never get her to a show but I've enjoyed having this small thing in common with her as we usually differentiate on a good many things. He's slowly won over my sister and a very close friend - so things are happening one person at a time - maybe with a little push or shove involved.
I guess I can say who are we to decide if Taylor is accurately describing his art. He has a very powerful way of getting his point across and if he feels that passionately about it, I'll listen. Tell me more...
bumping this as it seems to be getting lost
Amy, I love your response. Waiting for more to catch up to us...
hope those books were in everyone's mail box!
I think I'll have to take each question one at a time. I only read it a few hours ago, so I'm still digesting a bit.
Agree with Amy's assessment that Taylor is "about like every other goofy guy I knew in high school." I think that part of the reason I like him is that he seems approachable... at least until I'm right in front of him, then I freak out at his gorgeousness! But then, I've always had trouble with boys... But I got along great with the LMBO boys, and they are much in the same mold. "Just guys". So, is Taylor odd? Well, premature gray is not normal. I'm pretty sure his height is not yet "average", although that goes up every generation. And the way he dances is not "normal", although I think it has a lot more validity than choreography, simply because he feels it. So, if he's odd, then so am I. And I embrace it too! As for what's on his insides, where it matters, I'd say he's a lot like everyone else... even his eclectic music knowledge seems perfectly normal to me. His quirks and tics... he's not a glossy magazine, he's a human being! Guess that pretty much sums it up!
I have to agree with Mari and Amy that Taylor's "about like every goofy guy I knew" not only in high school, but beyond. When I seriously thud-ded for him, was when I figured that out.. that he WAS every goofy guy I knew and that's why he was the one I wanted to win American Idol. And at that time Taylor hadn't yet been transformed into the handsome prince.
And it's sure not normal for straight white guys to dance with any abandon. Yes I do know a few who enjoy it, but it's not the norm. I heard shortly after AI that he did ask Paula for a few dance lessons.
Mari On Art (
) : I think Art is an intensely personal thing. Art appreciation is a learned thing (no matter which of the Arts you're talking about) and you can learn to understand form and fashion. That's what they teach in school, and I'm not going to knock that. It's what I have my degree in!
But... the real connection that we can have with Art -- music, painting, sculpture, dance, the many forms of writing -- that is very much personal, very much innate to who we are. My mathematical mind appreciates Bach and I totally recognize that the block chord work he did laid a crazy good foundation for rock & roll... but my heart is going to go for the impressionism and the Motown and the emo. (Shh, don't talk about the emo.) For other people it's jazz or that stuff Phillip Glass did or Nirvana. I can appreciate it on its aesthetic merits, but it's not getting me excited.
So I'd say it's the real base stuff that's going to work for attracting the masses -- the calculated chords and shiny pop voices (and faces). And it's the messy stuff, soul and funk and punk and Taylor (because isn't he just a beautiful mess?) that's really going to mean something. The stuff with emotion behind it, not math. And that has to come one person at a time, because not everyone's gonna go for the exact combination of math and mess that works for me, or for any one of us.
Now I'm getting all nostalgic for college, with all this thinking!
I just heard some whistling over my head - I think it was Mari's post sailing directly over it.