If there’s one thing society has been hell-bent on doing since time immemorial, it’s copying their heroes. When someone does something amazing, everyone who is captivated by them likes to tell themselves “Hey, I can do that too.”
The same goes for music. Karaoke has become hugely popular, as well as covers of popular songs. And apparently MTV thinks so as well, if their recent article has anything to say about the phenomenon.
According to MTV, lip-synching, karaoke, and cover art is all immensely popular with the public right now. I do listen to a fair number of music covers But not out of some misguided notion that I need to hear my favorite artist copied. I may prefer the voice or musical touch of the cover artist more than the original.
As for karaoke and lip-synch, I’ve never been too keen on either, but neither did I think it was that popular for music lovers. I can’t even think of a well-known karaoke bar, and even driving around large cities with countless different establishments, karaoke bars are few and far between, not to mention rarely crowded. For lip-synching, I personally can’t see the appeal in it, though, as MTV’s article said, there are a number of apps and shows that revolve entirely around it.
Perhaps these forms of musical imitation may be crowding the industry and the art form a bit, I don’t see this as a necessarily bad addition. I personally enjoy music covers. And while I may not find enjoyment in karaoke myself, I think it’s fantastic that groups of friends get together and enjoy themselves with a night of musical fun.
The question remains though: why are people so obsessed with copying others?
Is it because they idolize a certain artist so much, they want to try and be them? Is is because imitation is a sort of pseudo-success? Is it attaching oneself to an accomplishment that seeks to prove something without having put a ton of effort into it? It feels good to accomplish something, but many accomplishments take a considerable time and effort. With covers, karaoke, and lip-synch, you can “get there” without having to do it all from scratch.
With these imitation forms, you can prove that you can sing, or play an instrument, and that you, too can temporarily become an “idol” without having to go through all of the hassle of actually being one.
Does that mean it’s all a pointless exercise that amounts to nothing?
Though these musical “gains” may not be monetary or tangible, they can make you feel good about yourself. Or just plan happy. Isn’t it still worth your time?
Copying your idols may not produce anything you can make a decent dime with, but so long as it satisfies society’s desire to imitate their heroes while doing no real harm to the art form, I see no reason to condemn these fantasies that people love so much.