[ssharp]

Are you purporting that Miley is currently popular because she's doing over the top things, despite her music not being good?

If so, I don't think it's a correct assessment. Her music is ultimately popular because people like it. I don't think people think Wrecking Ball is a better song because the video was over-the-top, nor would a wild video make me like a song I would otherwise hate. Miley was also popular before she got more extreme. On the flip-side, Britney Spears was far more popular before she got extreme. I'm sure there are other cases where an artist receives more press attention that does not correlate to increased music sales.

Chris Brown has had nothing but bad press since he hit Rhianna a few years ago and he's still placing songs on the charts and radio. People seem to mostly dislike him, but will still listen to his music. I don't think they're listening to him because he hit a woman and is in and out of jail. I think they just like the songs he makes.

In the end, people still need to have some connection to the music. In pop music, that connection may not be entirely rational, and it certainly isn't lasting, but it's still there for some period of time.

[pessimizer]

>Her music is ultimately popular because people like it.

I don't think that this is actually true - most of these songs are purchased from agencies, produced to within an inch of their lives, and marketed aggressively in every possible medium. People may like the songs (and they should, because every part of the process has been managed by the most talented and successful people in the music industry), but that's not specifically the reason for Miley Cyrus's success.

Biley Papyrus could have the same songs in the same order on the same records with a sound produced to be indistinguishable to the versions you're familiar with, and if Biley didn't have the brand that has been created around Miley (or Rhianna, or any major corporate pop artist), Biley's success with that same set likely wouldn't be what Miley's success has been.

edit: Also - Smiley Papyrus (Biley's sister) could have the exact brand as Miley, and an entirely different set of songs, and the expectation would be that she would be successful. Hell, when Miley puts out her next album, she pretty much is Smiley.

[jabelk]

It seems like some baseline talent is necessary to make the strategy work. I don't claim to have any ability to judge musical ability, plus it seems many artists aren't writing their own songs anyway, so I'm not trying to comment on her merits. Just noting that she's chosen to shift attention from her actual music to these antics, which is a strange choice from my perspective.

[freyr]

Correct. A pop star needs a few ingredients:

* Have at least some baseline modicum of talent * Have access to talented songwriters * Have access to talented producers * Be attractive, or at least interesting to look at * Have a stage presence

Bonus points for: * Ability to dance * A salacious or intriguing "private" life

Many pop stars have singing talent in spades (Beyonce, Adele, Whitney Houston), but many others have proven that extraordinary singing talent is not a pre-requisite for enormous success (Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Miley Cyrus, perhaps Madonna).

I would say talent is less important now than ever. But this could be an illusion, as history is likely to forget pop stars who leave behind nothing memorable.

[Goladus]

The bonus points for "salacious private life" are short-term, often borrowed against the long term.

Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan are not exactly long-term success stories, even though they continue to be in the news and their popularity is still worth money.

[BrandonMarc]

And thanks to autotune, the baseline is lower than you'd think.

These documentary clips about the "pop star formula" (boobs + hair + autotune + writing talent from elsewhere) are rather instructive:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soNLWoSMy1k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9tpOvYDqyo

(the 2nd clip about 1:30 applies the formula, humorously)

[mikeleeorg]

I don't know if she's thinking of it this way, but one could look at her antics as a marketing strategy (cough cough growth hacking? cough cough). This is an old strategy that many others in the entertainment industry have tried with varying levels of success.

[syntern]

I think that an over-the-top video helps to get more reach, helps to introduce more people to a song. There are many songs with similar qualities, but if yours reach a wider audience, you will dominate the sales (and award) charts.

Put it another way: it doesn't matter if your song is good for many people, if you can't reach them, nobody will know about you.

[sosborn]

>Her music is ultimately popular because people like it.

It is so simple, yet I'm always amazed about how uncomfortable this can be for some people.