Authenticity is becoming more relevant in society, and it seemed to be the theme of the Grammy award winners this year.
Beyoncé’s Drunk in Love, my least favorite song of the year, won for R&B. I can only speculate that it’s because she seemed to let her hair down a bit in that song. It was like hearing the living room version of Beyoncé: drunk, intimate conversations between her and her husband and, er, ebonics.
A big winner for the night was Sam Smith, who I’ll admit I didn’t *get*. He’s too sappy for me, a true Cancer male. I wrote him off my radar after hearing his songs for the first time. But his most touching speech revealed that he finally got the traction he desired by “being himself,” rather than trying to lose weight and any other number of things that gets Hollywood’s attention. Apparently, he is a well-loved songwriter in Hollywood so I think that explains his popularity even more. But his songs do feel like very personally *his* songs…it’s a true expression, one that just happens not to suit my taste, no matter how catchy!
I was disappointed for Iggy Azalea, whose songs were all over the radio in 2014. But she seems to get blasted constantly in the media for her “authenticity.” And it really makes one question what is authenticity, when a white rapper comes on the US scene from Australia, sporting a southern black accent and language. Conversely, Eminem won the best rapper award, and has proved his “authenticity” by bringing back his old homophobic and violent lyrics and not showing up to grab his award ;-)
Many years ago, I remember someone speculating that the jobs in the “next economy” would require more specialization; that is, it would be important for each person to bring their unique gifts to the marketplace, since, after automization of most routine jobs, the remaining jobs would become more niche. I think this is happening, and it calls for a higher level of authenticity, of knowing one’s self. Because it is hard to market yourself to employers when you don’t know who you are!
Financial psychic Andrrea Hess talks about your “authentic self” being the most profitable self also. The New Age community talks a lot about your soul purpose, which sounds a lot like “things that make you happy.” And while I think every dream is not necessarily monetizable, it does make sense that you are going to be more persistent and determined to succeed doing things you love to do.
Authenticity…
