Monday, February 27, 2006
Amazing - George Michael
I really shud be studying...
One thing people would notice when they entered me room at Marley Hall years ago was that me walls were covered will all kinds of posters and pictures. One poster would stand out among the rest - it was a poster of George Michael!
Hey, come on - i am that old. And i was from that generation!!!!
Of course, good ol George (actually, Georgios Panaytiotou) got into the news for all the wrong reasons... again! Yeah, he got caught in possession of class C drugs (the lowest category, which includes stuff like cannabis, steriods and valium).
Well, credit to him - he admitted to it and says that it's all his own fault! (Read about it here)
I've been a George Michael fan for as long as i can remember. I basically grew up wif him - from his Wham! days right up til his bitter battle wif Sony. To me, George has had an amazing career.
When i was a lil kid, he started off in true pop style in Wham! I mean, this is pop as it shud be - sugary, fun, infectious! Even today, radio stations still play "Last Christmas" every December. And who can ever forget tunes like "Wake me up before you go go", "Freedom" and "Everything she wants"?
George's first foray into a solo career brought forth wat is to some people, the best pop song ever - "Careless Whisper"! We simply loved that song back then - the brilliant sax solo and the cool bass line! And George showed that he was more than just an entertainer - he is a singer! How many of us would try (and fail miserably) to emulate his falsetto in Careless Whisper!
His move into a solo career coincide wif me becoming a teenager (yes, yes, i am that old!!!). It was brilliant how he reinvented himself from the teeny-booper to a serious singer - but still maintaining that pop edge to his songs. His solo album won him a Grammy for best album. And wat an album it was - Faith! No more the clean cut fella from Wham! Here is the unshaven (designer stubbles, mind you) leather clad guy wif his guitar! Faith also went to show and prove that this guy can write and this guy can sing - "Kissing a fool" is evidence of his wonderful vocals.
George then went a step further - he went on to reinvent himself again (this was when i was in Pre-U - yeah, form 6) by coming out wif "Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1", his most "adult" album. It showed George in a very serious mood, and wanting to be taken seriously! The first single, "Freedom 90" basically testified to that - he wanted to be free from his pop image of the Wham! days. He wanted people to listen to him without prejudice!
Unfortunately for the world of music, we never got the chance to listen to "Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 2". It never came. George wanted to be free from his recording contract with Sony. At that time when he was fighting out his case in London, i was there too, studying law. We were dismayed to find that he lost - and in reatliation, George refused to record another album for Sony. As he was not allowed to go to any other label while the contract wif Sony was still running, the world was deprived of George's brilliance!
We satisfied ourselves wif his old songs. In 1993, The top song for Capital FM's Top 500 songs of the year went to Goerge Michael's Careless Whisper! Yeah, 9 years after it hit no. 1, it remained a favourite among the Londoners.
George was back again with "Older" (when i was a pupil in chmabers) and recently, "Patience" (just after i "retired") - but he was one who knew when his sell-by date has passed. Not everyone can be like Madonna - who never fails to reinvent herself over and over again! George was quick to admit that his style and music is no longer relevant to this generation - so even tho people like me who thought that songs like "Amazing" is truly amazing, we have to resign ourselves to the fact that we probably won't get anymore new material from this brilliant artiste.
Sure, many can condemn him for the mistakes he has made - and still continues to make. But no one can deny that this is one talented person. And no one has made stubbles look sooooooooo cool!
The news report in BBC ended with this remark, "Despite his low points, Michael is one of the UK's most successful artists of all time, selling more than 85m records worldwide."
Now that's amazing!
One thing people would notice when they entered me room at Marley Hall years ago was that me walls were covered will all kinds of posters and pictures. One poster would stand out among the rest - it was a poster of George Michael!
Hey, come on - i am that old. And i was from that generation!!!!
Of course, good ol George (actually, Georgios Panaytiotou) got into the news for all the wrong reasons... again! Yeah, he got caught in possession of class C drugs (the lowest category, which includes stuff like cannabis, steriods and valium).
Well, credit to him - he admitted to it and says that it's all his own fault! (Read about it here)
I've been a George Michael fan for as long as i can remember. I basically grew up wif him - from his Wham! days right up til his bitter battle wif Sony. To me, George has had an amazing career.
When i was a lil kid, he started off in true pop style in Wham! I mean, this is pop as it shud be - sugary, fun, infectious! Even today, radio stations still play "Last Christmas" every December. And who can ever forget tunes like "Wake me up before you go go", "Freedom" and "Everything she wants"?
George's first foray into a solo career brought forth wat is to some people, the best pop song ever - "Careless Whisper"! We simply loved that song back then - the brilliant sax solo and the cool bass line! And George showed that he was more than just an entertainer - he is a singer! How many of us would try (and fail miserably) to emulate his falsetto in Careless Whisper!
His move into a solo career coincide wif me becoming a teenager (yes, yes, i am that old!!!). It was brilliant how he reinvented himself from the teeny-booper to a serious singer - but still maintaining that pop edge to his songs. His solo album won him a Grammy for best album. And wat an album it was - Faith! No more the clean cut fella from Wham! Here is the unshaven (designer stubbles, mind you) leather clad guy wif his guitar! Faith also went to show and prove that this guy can write and this guy can sing - "Kissing a fool" is evidence of his wonderful vocals.
George then went a step further - he went on to reinvent himself again (this was when i was in Pre-U - yeah, form 6) by coming out wif "Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1", his most "adult" album. It showed George in a very serious mood, and wanting to be taken seriously! The first single, "Freedom 90" basically testified to that - he wanted to be free from his pop image of the Wham! days. He wanted people to listen to him without prejudice!
Unfortunately for the world of music, we never got the chance to listen to "Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 2". It never came. George wanted to be free from his recording contract with Sony. At that time when he was fighting out his case in London, i was there too, studying law. We were dismayed to find that he lost - and in reatliation, George refused to record another album for Sony. As he was not allowed to go to any other label while the contract wif Sony was still running, the world was deprived of George's brilliance!
We satisfied ourselves wif his old songs. In 1993, The top song for Capital FM's Top 500 songs of the year went to Goerge Michael's Careless Whisper! Yeah, 9 years after it hit no. 1, it remained a favourite among the Londoners.
George was back again with "Older" (when i was a pupil in chmabers) and recently, "Patience" (just after i "retired") - but he was one who knew when his sell-by date has passed. Not everyone can be like Madonna - who never fails to reinvent herself over and over again! George was quick to admit that his style and music is no longer relevant to this generation - so even tho people like me who thought that songs like "Amazing" is truly amazing, we have to resign ourselves to the fact that we probably won't get anymore new material from this brilliant artiste.
Sure, many can condemn him for the mistakes he has made - and still continues to make. But no one can deny that this is one talented person. And no one has made stubbles look sooooooooo cool!
The news report in BBC ended with this remark, "Despite his low points, Michael is one of the UK's most successful artists of all time, selling more than 85m records worldwide."
Now that's amazing!
# posted by imissw : 11:59:00 pm
