Is Jessie J the UK's biggest star/greatest talent??

potatolegs · 14/08/12 - 23:45

It would appear so :rolleyes:

She headlines every thing she appears on, and she was photographed with the title "Best of Britain" in the press wearing the wig dressed up as Freddie Mercury (when she ruined the classic)

God, the shouty shrieky voice and the way she says "Je je je je je Jessie J" Arrgghhhhh

She is so overated.

I know I will be bombarded with hate now for being the only person in the world fed up of her but seriously!!!!

Saltydog1955 · 14/08/12 - 23:47

Don't worry - I can't stick her either.

Her rendition of We Will Rock You at the Olympic closing ceremony was a joke.

potatolegs · 14/08/12 - 23:53

Saltydog1955 wrote: »

Don't worry - I can't stick her either.

Her rendition of We Will Rock You at the Olympic closing ceremony was a joke.

Well thank God I'm not the only one!!

I would have much preferred the screen of Freddie Mercury to stay on instead of her ruining such a classic..

scrilla · 15/08/12 - 00:01

As far as British talent is concerned, she wouldn't cause a blip on the radar.

kutox · 15/08/12 - 00:19

She's the most engineered, contrived, fake singer I've ever known of. I'm glad my initial instincts about her when she first became famous have been proved right, time and time again.

I just hope all the kids who've been brainwashed by the media (thanks to her record label) into thinking she's some sort of 'amazing, unique talent' eventually come round and see the reality. Probably won't happen though, knowing the state of the UK charts at the present time

[Deleted User] · 15/08/12 - 07:39

And the 80 thousend in the stadium applaud at her, why?

[Deleted User] · 15/08/12 - 07:57

Her main problem isn't even her lack of vocal ability. It's the fact that she is totally unlikeable as a person.

dee123 · 15/08/12 - 07:58

Nope. Next.

Semierotic · 15/08/12 - 08:06

This Pitchfork review of her first album was bang on the money:

At least in the United States, it seems as though Jessie J has been thrust into the spotlight without any warning. There's an uncomfortable inevitability about her sudden stardom, as though superproducer Dr. Luke and the people at Universal Music Group decreed that she would be huge whether we wanted her or not. So far she's done okay-- her single "Price Tag" is performing well at pop radio and digital retail-- but it's hard to say whether she's going to have much traction in the U.S. market.

Mainly, Jessie J seems to be surplus to demand. The contemporary pop landscape is already crowded with well-defined female pop stars-- postmodern disco artiste Lady Gaga, fierce soul goddess Beyoncé, slovenly party girl Ke$ha, cheesecake goofball Katy Perry, cyborg sexpot Britney Spears, troubled ice queen Rihanna, and perennial underdog Robyn. Jessie J is much more of a cipher; she is set apart mainly by the fact that she is British, though her accent only occasionally comes through in her performances. She comes across like a severely dumbed-down Lily Allen at best, and at worst she seems like someone you would want to root against in a televised singing competition. Her approach to song selection on her debut album reinforces the singing-competition vibe-- the music is scattered, covering all the bases in an over-eager attempt to prove vocal chops. It's very ironic, then, that she titled the record Who You Are, because she does pretty much everything but assert a coherent identity over the course of 13 tracks.

Jessie J, otherwise known as Jessica Cornish, already had a successful career as a songwriter going before becoming a pop star in her own right. Most notably, she co-wrote Miley Cyrus' hit "Party in the U.S.A." with Dr. Luke and Claude Kelly. Clearly she has some chemistry with these two, as the most tolerable cuts on Who You Are happen to be collaborations with them. Very faint praise, though: "Price Tag" sounds like Nelly Furtado fronting Sugar Ray, and "Abracadabra" could pass for a reasonably decent Natasha Bedingfield deep cut. Cornish co-wrote the rest of the tracks with various writers, and the results are competent but generic.

In some cases, it is all too obvious that the writers are trying to write a "type" of song. "Casualty of Love", for example, sounds like Alicia Keys' wonderful "If I Ain't Got You" stripped of melodic complexity, ambiance, soul, and sentimental resonance. The single "Do It Like a Dude" is dancehall pastiche that isn't too far off from Robyn's "Dancehall Queen", but trades that singer's warmth and humanity for spiteful hectoring. The acoustic ballad "Big White Room" aims for beautiful simplicity, but its delicacy is drowned out by a clumsy and overwrought vocal performance.

Jessie J's persona seems most defined when she is being totally obnoxious. Though she mostly sticks to the predictable un-nuanced phrasing of many young singers desperate to prove that they possess a "good voice," she sometimes employs a snarky singsong that is very shrill, but at least somewhat distinct. She goes over the top with this affectation on the bratty rocker "Who's Laughing Now", a song that could very well be the nadir of modern pop's fixation with attacking "haters." The track has her lashing out against acquaintances who she claims bullied her and dissed her early music, but now show an interest in her since she has attained some degree of success. While it is fair to distrust people who transparently want a piece of you, the details in the lyrics seem a bit too minor to merit her intense vitriol. The song is a humorless expression of galling entitlement; the sound of a person who will conflate any form of criticism or disapproval with an attempt to crush her soul. "Who's Laughing Now" seems to be pitched as a motivational song, but it's so narcissistic and myopic that it's hard to imagine anyone connecting with the singer's petty grudges and desperate need for constant affirmation.

Cornish is an alum of London's prestigious BRIT School, the arts academy that has launched the careers of several notable young British singers including Amy Winehouse, Adele, Katy B, Jamie Woon, and Kate Nash. Weirdly, of this crop of singers, only Cornish very obviously seems like a person who went to a school for pop stars, with all the tackiness that would imply. She shares their polish and poise, but none of her peers' individual style. Whereas Adele and Winehouse also have powerhouse voices, they fit into clear aesthetic niches and invest their songs with depth and humanity. Jessie J doesn't have even a fraction of their restraint; her idea of showcasing her gift is to shoot for a blaring melisma on "Mamma Knows Best" that makes Christina Aguilera seem as subtle as Joni Mitchell by comparison.

On the same weekend Jessie J was getting her first big push in America as the musical guest on "Saturday Night Live", the music video for Rebecca Black's "Friday" was just beginning to spread around the Internet as a viral sensation. "Friday" took off because people were calling it the worst song ever and mocking its dopey lyrics and awkward approximation of standard modern pop tropes. The biggest difference between Black's song and the contents of Who You Are is that while Jessie J gets the expected formula of pop "right," the hapless Black gets it "wrong." But in that "wrongness" lies a humanity that J cannot approach. Even through bad vocal processing, Black sounds like a specific person. Also, the lyrics of "Friday" may be undeniably clunky, but there is a magic to them that makes the song funny and immensely quotable, like a lot of great pop songs throughout history. Jessie J's lyrics are no less banal and artless, but they lack charm entirely. When she's not going off on bitter rants against those who doubt her, she mainly sings forgettable boilerplate or spouts vapid utopian nonsense, as on the utterly nauseating "Rainbow". Black gets attacked for representing the worst of modern pop, but she's a gawky 13-year-old amateur backed up by a Z-grade production company. If you need to rail against dumb, soulless music, Jessie J is a far better target.

Fizzbin · 15/08/12 - 08:08

Saltydog1955 wrote: »

Don't worry - I can't stick her either.

Her rendition of We Will Rock You at the Olympic closing ceremony was a joke.

I didn't find it funny.

I started crying.

It was like they'd taken Freddie, and skewered him to death with an olympic javelin right there on the stage.

She's not worthy to ................

[Deleted User] · 15/08/12 - 08:28

Fizzbin wrote: »

I didn't find it funny.

I started crying.

It was like they'd taken Freddie, and skewered him to death with an olympic javelin right there on the stage.

She's not worthy to ................

For Brian and Roger she was worthy, I think that matters more for me than your view.

[Deleted User] · 15/08/12 - 09:02

Semierotic wrote: »

This Pitchfork review of her first album was bang on the money:

Cornish is an alum of London's prestigious BRIT School, the arts academy that has launched the careers of several notable young British singers including Amy Winehouse, Adele, Katy B, Jamie Woon, and Kate Nash. Weirdly, of this crop of singers, only Cornish very obviously seems like a person who went to a school for pop stars, with all the tackiness that would imply. She shares their polish and poise, but none of her peers' individual style. Whereas Adele and Winehouse also have powerhouse voices, they fit into clear aesthetic niches and invest their songs with depth and humanity. Jessie J doesn't have even a fraction of their restraint; her idea of showcasing her gift is to shoot for a blaring melisma on "Mamma Knows Best" that makes Christina Aguilera seem as subtle as Joni Mitchell by comparison.

this paragraph interested me. they all went to the same school, but jessie was the only one in musical theatre and not the music strand. that is the difference that makes her who she is. those girls were in the music strand and got to sing what they wanted and be who they want, meanwhile jessie was in musical theatre and had to be other people and over the top all the time because it makes for the best performances in theatre. she is a product of her environment entirely. being herself IS being showy and over the top because that is what she went to school for. the silly faces, always being louder than everyone else, and showiness about her can all be boiled down to that. she was on the west end and was praised because that is what it takes in theatre, but in pop music it isnt normal.

the last paragraph also interested me because i do notice that she doesnt have very quotable lyrics. who you are does and a couple others do, but for the most part no. i have noticed that she writes her songs like rappers write their rhymes. rainbow, who's laughing now, and price tag could easily be rap songs with the way they are written. hell, even party in the usa is written like a rap song in the verses. it's funny because she started her career as a rapper and not a singer, and some of her old songs from youtube actually have raps in them that she raps, most notably, the song catwalk. i think she took that writing style with her and it doesnt translate well for some because they arent used to it. their is a very narrow view of what pop music is even though the genre isnt really a genre at all, but their is something that tells us how it should be.

Amazing · 15/08/12 - 09:07

She's vastly over rated & over exposed. I'm sure she'll be the next Duffy.

[Deleted User] · 15/08/12 - 09:09

sjp07 wrote: »

this paragraph interested me. they all went to the same school, but jessie was the only one in musical theatre and not the music strand. that is the difference that makes her who she is. those girls were in the music strand and got to sing what they wanted and be who they want, meanwhile jessie was in musical theatre and had to be other people and over the top all the time because it makes for the best performances in theatre. she is a product of her environment entirely. being herself IS being showy and over the top because that is what she went to school for. the silly faces, always being louder than everyone else, and showiness about her can all be boiled down to that. she was on the west end and was praised because that is what it takes in theatre, but in pop music it isnt normal.

the last paragraph also interested me because i do notice that she doesnt have very quotable lyrics. who you are does and a couple others do, but for the most part no. i have noticed that she writes her songs like rappers write their rhymes. rainbow, who's laughing now, and price tag could easily be rap songs with the way they are written. hell, even party in the usa is written like a rap song in the verses. it's funny because she started her career as a rapper and not a singer, and some of her old songs from youtube actually have raps in them that she raps, most notably, the song catwalk. i think she took that writing style with her and it doesnt translate well for some because they arent used to it. their is a very narrow view of what pop music is even though the genre isnt really a genre at all, but their is something that tells us how it should be.

See, this is a comment that could fit easy in the Pitchfork review, not the cheap Rebecca Black comparison.

soullover · 15/08/12 - 09:09

rbautz wrote: »

For Brian and Roger she was worthy, I think that matters more for me than your view.

Well actually the audience do matter too :rolleyes:
I think she was wrong for that slot..they'd have done better with an old film of Freddie along with the live band.
she was totally overused at the Closing Ceremony -she does have a certain talent but she is completely overrated and should not have had all the exposure she has had at these big UK events imo.

muddipaws · 15/08/12 - 09:11

potatolegs wrote: »

It would appear so :rolleyes:

She headlines every thing she appears on, and she was photographed with the title "Best of Britain" in the press wearing the wig dressed up as Freddie Mercury (when she ruined the classic)

God, the shouty shrieky voice and the way she says "Je je je je je Jessie J" Arrgghhhhh

She is so overated.

I know I will be bombarded with hate now for being the only person in the world fed up of her but seriously!!!!

Nope, biggest ego probably yes

[Deleted User] · 15/08/12 - 09:15

soullover wrote: »

Well actually the audience do matter too :rolleyes:
I think she was wrong for that slot..they'd have done better with an old film of Freddie along with the live band.
she was totally overused at the Closing Ceremony -she does have a certain talent but she is completely overrated and should not have had all the exposure she has had at these big UK events imo.

somebody likes her. she keeps selling out shows and people tune in to watch her. that is really all that matters. several venues for her tour next year sold out within hours and the london shows sold out in 5 minutes. they had to add more due to demand. as long as there are people that support her, she will be around and she has a pretty strong fanbase.

[Deleted User] · 15/08/12 - 09:15

soullover wrote: »

Well actually the audience do matter too :rolleyes:
I think she was wrong for that slot..they'd have done better with an old film of Freddie along with the live band.
she was totally overused at the Closing Ceremony -she does have a certain talent but she is completely overrated and should not have had all the exposure she has had at these big UK events imo.

What the hell?
Freddie was a Drama Queen and Jessie is a Drama Queen, too.
If I recall right, he was in his heydays ignored by the rock fraktion, and now he is some kind of saint?

[Deleted User] · 15/08/12 - 09:18

rbautz wrote: »

See, this is a comment that could fit easy in the Pitchfork review, not the cheap Rebecca Black comparison.

thank you

the thing about reviews is they dont actually do the research on an artist aside from a quick google search. wikipedia doesnt come close to describing how these people got to where they are and what they bring to the table aside from what is at face value. hopefully after im finished with college, i can change that aspect of reporting.

warszawa · 15/08/12 - 09:19

She needs to learn that less can be more.

[Deleted User] · 15/08/12 - 09:21

She makes me wanna poke my eyes out with a dull spoon! I really started disliking her during the voice, I think she believes she grew up in compton and overcame all odds...

I do think she over sings a lot of songs and If I was as famous as her I would ensure I had an entourage who would tell me when my wardrobe looks like something an olympic skater would wear... It was a total malfunction....

Or maybe she does have a posse but they dislike her too

[Deleted User] · 15/08/12 - 09:22

rbautz wrote: »

What the hell?
Freddie was a Drama Queen and Jessie is a Drama Queen, too.
If I recall right, he was in his heydays ignored by the rock fraktion, and now he is some kind of saint?

that is always the way it goes. every artist that comes along gets slagged off. i think michael jackson is the only one who didnt in the beginning of his career, but that all happened later. two years ago all this was being said about adele. the truth is, no one knows what the future holds. maybe jessie will become the new duffy or maybe she will continue to shine. only time will tell, but even if she becomes the biggest name out there she will be slagged off. it's the nature of the game.

people also criticized her outfit as being inappropriate for a freddie tribute, even though if her were alive he would probably have worn the same thing except left out the tights.

[Deleted User] · 15/08/12 - 09:49

sjp07 wrote: »

that is always the way it goes. every artist that comes along gets slagged off. i think michael jackson is the only one who didnt in the beginning of his career, but that all happened later. two years ago all this was being said about adele. the truth is, no one knows what the future holds. maybe jessie will become the new duffy or maybe she will continue to shine. only time will tell, but even if she becomes the biggest name out there she will be slagged off. it's the nature of the game.

people also criticized her outfit as being inappropriate for a freddie tribute, even though if her were alive he would probably have worn the same thing except left out the tights.

The same goes now with Heart shaped box, I mean you can like the cover or not that's not my problem
But if I see some comments like "He would roll in his grave"(I mean, what kind of sick joke)
At his time we (who heard something like Hüsker Dü, Pixies, Sonic Youth) were like "Oh, alternative goes now mainstream" And that was not thought as a compliment.

Lemon Haze · 15/08/12 - 10:00

She's made a handful of songs which weren't particularly good and then gets catapulted onto the world stage during the Olympics. It just demonstrates the sad state that British music is in atm.

Semierotic · 15/08/12 - 10:06

rbautz wrote: »

What the hell?
Freddie was a Drama Queen and Jessie is a Drama Queen, too.
If I recall right, he was in his heydays ignored by the rock fraktion, and now he is some kind of saint?

Queen were never a 'cool' band, and arguably they still aren't (you rarely see any of their albums on 'greatest ever' lists), but in time their wry, operatic sensibilities have become more appreciated. That, and the vacuum of a showman with Mercury's charisma has made him more missed.

In Jessie J's case she's just too mediocre to garner even retrospective 'respect'. Her brand of pop is utterly safe, and Queen were never that.

Inspiration · 15/08/12 - 10:08

It's Adele currently.

Hey there!

Quick Links

Is Jessie J the UK's biggest star/greatest talent??

Comments