Charlotte Sometimes ([info]painted_bird) wrote,
@ 2008-05-14 10:40:00
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X-FM phone-in discussion this am...
I was listening to X-FM this morning, and they were having a phone-in all about bands where another band member is considerably more attractive than the lead singer. This got me thinking... Why is it that it's usually the lead singers who are the sexiest member of a band? Is it that people who sing are naturally more gorgeous (as a singer I'd quite like to believe this... ;)), or is it just the way bands are marketed - are lead singers generally photographed (and airbrushed?) more, and encouraged to dress up while the others dress down?!


Hmmm.... *thinks*

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[info]juxtimon
2008-05-14 10:27 am UTC (link)
the public are gullible. as a general rule of thumb people will like who they are told to. it happens with film, tv, music, celebrities, generally anyone in the public eye. its a well known tactic in marketing that if you say "watch this programme, hugo is teh sex" people will watch it and believe that hugo is indeed, the sex, whether he is or isnt. all of the members of girls aloud were voted into the top ten sexiest women, but they are all average looking- people are told that they are attractive, and believe it.
the guy in nip/tuck is only moderately attractive, but because the adverts and programme keep claiming that he's hot, people believe it, to the point where people fantasize about him because they were told by their friend the tv that he is amazingly good looking.

so i'd say its entirely down to the marketing. obviously you need something to start with, you can't take a munt and deceive the public into thinking they are gorgeous, but you can take someone who is maybe a 5 and convince the public that they're an 8 or 9 pretty easily.

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[info]gothman63
2008-05-14 10:29 am UTC (link)
Let's face it, there aren't many famous bands with fat dwarfs with glasses and missing teeth as singers. Sex sells!

You've just reminded me of David Coverdale's promo photos from around the time of Whitesnake's 1987 album, which was one of the most extreme examples I've seen of airbrushing and attempting to make a wrinkly old git with a face like a goat's scrotum look twenty years younger!

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[info]specialknives
2008-05-14 11:38 am UTC (link)
I'm not sure that I concur that lead singers are usually the most gorgeous people in bands, but then I don't really follow popular music so I couldn't say.

But this generally fits with my feeling that it's uncommon to find very good-looking people doing specialised things - they might have a finger in every pie, but generally don't get absorbed enough in one thing to learn how to do it incredibly well. I think this is possibly because people tend to treat very good-looking people as perfect, so they don't feel compelled to better themselves so much. Learning an instrument well generally requires a lot of effort and focus on one thing. Pop singing is often something that people are capable of without having had lessons, or master with having not much training, ergo, it's more accessible to the very good looking people who are not inclined to get absorbed in learning something that takes a long time.

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[info]pond823
2008-05-14 11:41 am UTC (link)
Your genetically disposed to find the alpha of the group more breed worthy. Nice eh?

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[info]gothic_violin
2008-05-14 12:23 pm UTC (link)
~I always seemed to fancy the bass player....! ;)

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[info]pond823
2008-05-14 02:19 pm UTC (link)
Bass players have other attributes worthy of note... :D

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[info]djpsyche
2008-05-14 12:11 pm UTC (link)
Oddly, back in my band-fancying days it always seemed to be the bass player who was the hottest. But then, I prefer the dark, shy, brooding in the background type more than the cocksure and arrogant type.

Perhaps the good-looking people just reckon they can be rock stars by grabbing a mic, while the less attractive figure they'd better learn some sort of instrument? :)

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[info]omnisppot
2008-05-14 12:35 pm UTC (link)
Hmm, It's quite often I'm photographing a band and one of the guitarists (or other members, but generally only the guitarists go near the front of the stage) is far more photogenic than the lead singer, but you feel obliged to take most of the pictures of the one with the microphone.

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[info]anarquistador
2008-05-16 02:55 am UTC (link)
Ummm. The Pogues?

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