2008 Woodie Awards
Omarion's O-h No: Another Usher Clone!
Gretchen Reif
Issue date: 3/9/05 Section: Arts and Entertainment
To state the obvious, the music industry values style over substance. It is irrelevant to record execs if someone can't sing, dance, or is devoid of any creativity or originality. As long as an artist, and I use the term uselessly, is able and willing to be molded into a sexy and hip image mouthing shallow lyrics that, although socially irresponsible, are sure to sell records, he is bound to receive a record contract. The industry uses and abuses those who lack the moral and artistic integrity to withstand the pressure to become someone who they are not in order to sell a few CDs.
Most of the entertainers who get sucked in and spat back out of the music industry's "image machine" have no talent to begin with, but the truly tragic situation is when an artist with actual talent is encouraged to ignore his creative impulses and become a trite and stale image that is not producing music so much as reciting lines sung by many before him.
Omarion, the former member of the R&B boy band, B2K, began his career in the music industry as part of a packaged product that sold sticky sweet love songs and dance-floor grinders to swooning teenage girls. After a messy break-up of the band, another term I use loosely, Omarion says he has emerged as a stronger and more mature artist. That may well be, but his history as a member of a pre-fabricated boy band does not portend well for Omarion's career as an original and creative solo artist.
By no means is Omarion's debut solo effort, O, a bad album. The kid has talent. He has vocal range. He has passion. Most of the songs are catchy and groovy and are down-right melodic, but the album feels like it's been done before - and it has, by Usher, Avant, Carl Thomas, and Joe, and any other ripped R&B crooner sporting 4x4 diamond studs and Aviator shades. Omarion's worked hard and he's given us a solid album full of sexy singles, but he could have just saved himself the effort and told us to listen to any one of his clones.
Most of the entertainers who get sucked in and spat back out of the music industry's "image machine" have no talent to begin with, but the truly tragic situation is when an artist with actual talent is encouraged to ignore his creative impulses and become a trite and stale image that is not producing music so much as reciting lines sung by many before him.
Omarion, the former member of the R&B boy band, B2K, began his career in the music industry as part of a packaged product that sold sticky sweet love songs and dance-floor grinders to swooning teenage girls. After a messy break-up of the band, another term I use loosely, Omarion says he has emerged as a stronger and more mature artist. That may well be, but his history as a member of a pre-fabricated boy band does not portend well for Omarion's career as an original and creative solo artist.
By no means is Omarion's debut solo effort, O, a bad album. The kid has talent. He has vocal range. He has passion. Most of the songs are catchy and groovy and are down-right melodic, but the album feels like it's been done before - and it has, by Usher, Avant, Carl Thomas, and Joe, and any other ripped R&B crooner sporting 4x4 diamond studs and Aviator shades. Omarion's worked hard and he's given us a solid album full of sexy singles, but he could have just saved himself the effort and told us to listen to any one of his clones.