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MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 80: JOHN LEGEND

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It’s been hard to even comprehend and conceive the fact that this is my 80th blog post in this series about artists who have been influential in modern music history. It can feel that it was just yesterday where I wrote the introduction blogging post, that led to what I reckon, was one of the most enriching musical experiences I have ever partook in, and now 2 and a bit years later, embarking on my 80th blog discussing John Legend, before my brother Josh takes over to discuss Tim McGraw in the 81st blog, and I move over to take over his ‘Influential Artists’ list, about artists that are more newer on the spectrum of artists, how they are indeed much more influential to a newer generation of people, or maybe not necessarily influential now per se, but could probably in the upcoming years ahead…and so before this all takes into effect and I pass this beacon of a project to my brother in the upcoming weeks ahead, I’ve decided to make this blog a short one. Like…probably really short. It’ll be special, unique, different, more like a reflective blog of sorts. Looking back on what I’ve learnt and what I believe God has been speaking to over the last couple of years, about music, life, God and everything else in between.

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MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 79: NICKELBACK

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Maybe it’s just me, but sometimes I wonder what it’s like to be hated, disliked, or even universally panned, as a music artist. What goes through a bands’ mind (or a solo artist for that matter) if a lot of the publicity is negative, a lot of the reviews of their albums are negative, and just the vibe of the critics towards this artist/group is negative, full stop…can an artist/band still be impactful, influential, and the rest of it, in spite of that? Yes, if you’re reading between the lines here, and you’ve read the title of this blog, then you’d know which artist I’m about to delve into today. You guessed it, it’s about time, after 78 blogs, to tackle Nickelback as blog #79. And I know, it’s probably a long time coming for me to say my two cents worth about Chad Kroger and co. but here I am, around a couple of years after my first blog to talk about a band that quite possibly, alongside Creed (I dunno why though) are two of the most ‘hated’ bands of all time…ever. And what do I do with that information though- do I let this piece of knowledge (reliable or not), bias my own opinions of the band, and thus, sway this blog post altogether? Or should I just write about the band regardless, and form my own opinion, nevertheless? Nickelback have been singing and making music for quite some time- over 20 years in fact. Chad’s distinct voice and gravely texture to it, makes the band one of the most unique in modern music history- and maybe it’s because of this uniqueness that it seems like Nickelback’s talent, can be viewed by the public as fading away, in place of a band’s ‘brand’, for lack of a better term. Whatever the case of how the band got to be known by the public as one of the most hated bands (maybe not only in America but around the world too), what we know now is this- that Nickelback are hated for some reason, and that I was hesitant in writing this blog post, until now, of course. I mean, what do you write when you’re tackling a band that is unfortunately, universally disliked? Do you write anything? Nothing? Write, but then realise that you’re writing about something else entirely? Nickelback are indeed so much more than just a band to be ‘hated’, and as I’ve listened to them this past week and a bit, I’ve grown to appreciate Chad’s singing style, and writing style. This is a band that has soldiered on in spite of popular opinion; and have continued to weather the proverbial ‘storm’ which is their music career thus far. For a band to last this long in the music industry, let alone last this long in the music industry with a lot of ‘hate’, dislike, shade, and generalised panning, is nothing short of a miracle. It really is. Kudos and credit to Chad and the band for continuing to press on through these bouts of adversity, because if such hurling of insults happened to any other band, I’m not sure how they’d react. I mean, lets be honest right here. I’m not your average rock and roll fan. I like the odd occasional band here and there (Lifehouse, the Goo Goo Dolls, Daughtry, Skillet, and now to some extent Creed), but I’m not into your heavy rock that Nickelback seems to ‘flirt’ with on occasion throughout their discography that I’ve listened to, this past week or so. Hearing them is like the mixing of radio friendly rock and the hardness of a band like Hoobastank or Evanescence (I mean, both Hoobastank and Evanescence are fine, it’s just that both these bands aren’t necessarily my go-to if I want to hear rock music). And that’s interesting and weird at the same time. And maybe it’s just the confusion that surrounds the band’s definite musical genre (Is it hard rock? Is it radio friendly rock?), or maybe it’s because of how Chad Kroger’s actual singing voice can seem a little jarring if you hear Nickelback on repeat for more than 30 minutes at a time. Needless to say, in spite of my own hesitation to announce the band as one of my favourites (rather, it’d be a band that I would thoroughly respect at the end of the day, but won’t necessarily seek them out later on for my general listening pleasure), Nickelback continue to sell, and for a band to be in 2021, still musically active…well, they must be doing something right, right?

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MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 78: CREED

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Let me just say from the outset, that my go-to type of music hasn’t really been rock. It was only recently where I heavily listened to artists like Switchfoot and Skillet, alongside other rock bands like Train, Evanescence, Daughtry, Goo Goo Dolls, Lifehouse, Hanson and Hoobastank (all of which are present in my blog post series) that I’ve come to a better appreciation of a genre that I wasn’t necessarily quick-to-listen-to in the first place. Nothing notably ‘wrong’ with rock, it’s just for me growing up, I was much more susceptible to enjoy other more radio-friendly CCM/pop, and even now, that’s where I’d go to, if I want something familiar and comfortable. But as I’ve continued to say throughout these blog posts these last few years, I’ve thrown out comfortability when listening to a myriad of artists and genres over the last couple of years or so- from country, rap, boy-bands, pop and CCM, to rock, operatic pop, folk/singer-songwriter, Australian music and worship; I’ve explored a fair amount of music out there, only to discover that I was a little naïve about the music that didn’t necessarily fit my initial ‘mould’ of what I assumed each genre of music to be. I had pre-conceived ideas going into listening every genre of music aside from CCM, and as I listened and heard artists and genres that changed my perceptions of them, and the music genre their body of work represented; I was less quick to judge musical genres that weren’t necessarily my first choice- I’m much more accommodating and explorative than I was a couple of years ago. Artists like Alicia Keys, John Mayer, Goo Goo Dolls, Josh Groban, Alanis Morrissette, Jon Foreman, Jackie Evancho and Pentatonix have all broadened my appreciation of their respective genres over the years, and my blog posts have all reflected a sense of wonder when it comes to discovering a little nuanced facet of music that I maybe hadn’t thought about, prior to listening to said artist. And so, as I approach my 78th blog post (phew…that’s a lot of blog posts, if I am to be completely honest), I come with a sense of honesty- that I don’t really know much about this band I’m about to discuss. And maybe that’s ok.

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MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 77: CIMORELLI

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Looking through my blog series list, over the last two years, I think I delved into a myriad of musical genres, that if I didn’t have this blog series to always come back to every week for the last two years, I dunno if I would’ve branched out into the music that I did. That’s not to say that the music that I was listening to prior to this blog series wasn’t good…quite the contrary. I have been listening to CCM prior to February 2019, and CCM will always hold a special place in my heart for the rest of my life. But from February 2019 onward, I was introduced to music and genres that I was sheltered from (for whatever reason, I don’t know), and music genres I assumed was this, turned out to be that; and artists that I pigeonholed, turned out to be so much more. My musical tastes broadened, and my appreciation for genres other than CCM was on the rise. I got out of this mentality and assumption that mainstream music wasn’t as ‘good’ as CCM, that mainstream was ‘evil’ and that CCM was ‘good’- that certainly isn’t the case, 2 years removed from the commencement of my blog series. What this series (which is still ongoing) has told me is this- that God being God, can speak through a myriad of media and material, for His love and grace to reach us today, and if its through mainstream music, then so be it. With all the music I have consumed this last couple of years, I must admit- that my musical tastes throughout primary and high school were a little limited…and that’s ok though.

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MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 76: JACKIE EVANCHO

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The last two years of me blogging about different artists have been some of the most enriching in my own life, in a musical sense. I’ve explored music that I would otherwise not have ventured in; and have found myself enjoying music that I would otherwise have thought was ‘worldly’, to put it in a blunt way. Because to be frank, prior to 2019 (whence in started my blog series), I was primarily listening to CCM- which isn’t a bad thing at all. I was enjoying the music I was listening to, and appreciating artists like Chris Tomlin, Matthew West, Steven Curtis Chapman, Newsboys, Francesca Battistelli, Natalie Grant, Third Day, for KING AND COUNTRY, Michael W. Smith, Tenth Avenue North, Carman, Rebecca St. James, and Casting Crowns, to name a few of many CCM artists I was listening to, prior to 2019. And yet, looking back on it now, CCM is just once slice of this pie called music, and while there are a few genres that I wouldn’t intentionally seek out and listen to- hard rock, screamo, and rap would be the genres I wouldn’t prefer to  hear, if I did have a preference; I have to understand this very fact that I have learnt these last couple of years or so- that God can use whatever music He chooses for us to gain a better understanding about ourselves, God and everything else in between. And if that is through CCM, then great. If it’s through pop, country, music from musicals, rock, if it’s from the ‘mainstream’ circle that can seem to be ‘off-limits’ to a lot of young people ‘raised’ within the Christian faith…then great, too! I mean it. If God can speak through Balaam’s donkey in the Bible, then speaking through country music, or though pop music of today, isn’t out of the realms of possibility for God to undertake. And with that frame of mind, I was able to enjoy a lot of music within the last 2 years that I would never, in a million years, have listened to, had it not been for this ‘musical experiment’. Artists like Josh Groban, Train, Ronan Keating, Martina McBride, The Corrs, Bryan Adams, Rascal Flatts, Backstreet Boys, Pentatonix, Keith Urban, Hanson, Colbie Caillat, Goo Goo Dolls, Little Big Town, Missy Higgins, Sugarland, SEAL, Coldplay and John Farnham, are all fast becoming some of the standout artists I’ve encountered over the last couple of years, and once again, I’m amazed about how impactful a lot of the music I’ve heard this last few years, and how God has used a lot of ‘mainstream’ music to shatter my own expectations of what ‘mainstream’ music should sound like and be, and how God can even use the unlikeliest of sources (a mainstream song) to convey His love for His creation. Music is a gift, and God uses music full-stop, for our good and His glory. And so, after 75 blog posts about a myriad of music artists that I’ve firmly believed have made a tremendous mark on music history, and have impacted people around the world over time, I’ve decided to take a leap into a musical genre unknown for the most part. Opera/music from musicals, wasn’t necessarily my go-to music initially, but ever since loving The Greatest Showman and enjoying thoroughly the soundtrack of it, I saw musicals and opera in a new way, that I was to broaden my own horizons about how music should be and how I was prejudiced against opera, for what reason, I don’t know. I did tackle opera a little, and songs from musicals in the discussion of artist Josh Groban, in a blog I undertook way back a couple of years ago, writing it in March 2019. And here I am in March 2021, and what better way to basically celebrate my very own anniversary of venturing-out ‘musically’, than to delve into yet another vocally powerful artist who has shattered people’s expectations over the last 10 years. Being one of the world’s most impactful within the operatic pop/musical category for the better part of the 2010s decade, I’ve taken it one step further than Josh Groban, and have tackled an artist that even I didn’t think I was going to delve into- Jackie Evancho, child singer and all-round impactful artist, who has, in my opinion, revolutionised opera, pop and people’s appreciation of musicals, since her ascension to fame in 2011 when Jackie came second in the 2010 season of America’s Got Talent.

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MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 75: COLDPLAY

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It’s been quite a journey, this blog series. Since starting this venture in February 2019, I decided to embark one what someone from the outside (who doesn’t know me at all) would consider to be a fruitless task of folly- to delve into and discover 100 artists (and then a further 50 iconic ones) that have shaped music as it is today, and to discuss various songs and how they’ve shaped my own life as well…well, that’s an exuberant feat in and of itself, right? Surely, it can’t be done, right? Well, 2 years later and onto blog #75, it’s been quite an experience, and to be honest, I even thought that I wouldn’t even last as much as I did. I set out to try to attain something that even I may have initially thought at the time, was too lofty, and yet, decided to embark anyway. What has resulted from the years of 2019, 2020 and now 2021, has been one of the most enriching experiences when it comes to music, as I’m reminded that God can and does use the music that is the most unexpected, for Him to reveal things about ourselves and Himself along the way. Since starting to widen my own appreciation for music that isn’t explicitly ‘Christian’ from 2019 onward, I’ve discovered a world that is very much expanse, unique, and in some ways, still within the scope of being God-inspired, as a lot of the artists I’ve unearthed over the last 2 years, have been challenging us all, myself included, of what it means to have good music, to have inspirational music, to have God Himself move through music that isn’t necessarily read in a certain way…and then everything else in between. Artists like Switchfoot, Skillet, Train, Sara Bareilles, Delta Goodrem, Lifehouse, Hanson, John Mayer, Lecrae, Lady A, Rascal Flatts, Daughtry, Jason Mraz, Seal, Alanis Morrisette, the Goo Goo Dolls, John Farnham, Delirious?, Chris Tomlin, Phil Collins and Shania Twain are just some of the many, many artists I allowed myself to be acquainted with over the last couple of years, and during that time, my love for music, both CCM and mainstream and everything else, began to expand and grow. Some people may think that I may be a heretic for listening to mainstream music, if I am a Bible-believing Christian, but herein lies the point, that I’ve stressed all throughout my 2 years of musical exploration. That God can and does speak through the unexpected, the things in your life that you wouldn’t necessarily have thought. And that includes mainstream music. And without further ado, now off to blog #75, to dive deep into the discography of one of Britain’s most accomplished, well-known, and hard-hitting bands, that I’ve come across ever since U2…Coldplay.

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MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 74: JON FOREMAN + SWITCHFOOT PT 2

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It’s been about a couple of years since blog #2 in this Top 100 Influential Artists blog series that I embarked upon. Why I signify blog #2 is of a fair amount of importance, let me remind you. It was the blog about Switchfoot, and was in fact, a blog where I highlighted many songs by this San Diego quintet that have shaped music history and the lives of people over the years- songs like ‘Meant to Live’, ‘Dare You To Move’, ‘Stars’, ‘Oh Gravity’, ‘Mess of Me’, ‘Love Alone is Worth the Fight’ and ‘Restless’ are just many, many songs by a band that have had an influence in both the Christian music industry, and the mainstream as well. It was the first blog post after the first, which was Michael W. Smith, an artist that will always be sentimental to me, because it was the artist that in fact started off this whole journey of thinking about music and the impact, influence and power of artists, songs, and their discography on not only people’s lives, but throughout history as well. And here I am 2 years later or so, ready to commence on blog #74. And what better way to speak and discuss about something and someone totally from left field, that it is, to introduce the topic of discussion in this post…Jon Foreman, lead singer of Switchfoot (see blog post #2).

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MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 73: SEAL

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Sometimes I wonder about all the detrimental and harmful effects that social media, the internet, youtube, smartphones, iPhones, Androids, PlayStations, Nintendo, even the home theatre system and streaming juggernauts like Disney +, Netflix, Hulu, Stan, Foxtel and Amazon Prime; have all had on the society of today. Or better still, how much we rely on all of these aforementioned technological advances, to better our lives, when in fact, its actually making us rely much more on the technical and less reliable and less connected in an overall sense, when trying to connect face to face. There I said it. Controversial thought and opinion. Yes, the advent of advancements like Youtube, streaming services, smartphones, google, Facebook, Twitter and yes, even Disney +, have all changed the landscape of society now, but with all of it, has made us realise this very one thing- that behind all of the façade of trying to enjoy what is on offer to us, we are just people trying to not admit to ourselves, that we are suffering from FOMO (fear of missing out), and even realising that what we consume on a daily basis, be it youtube, Disney +, iPhones and the like, are just masking what we feel deep down inside of our very souls, that we are lonely, and want human connection more so than anything else!

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MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 72: JASON MRAZ

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It’s always been a fear of mine that whatever I write about will never be good enough. Maybe that’s just a fear that was unfounded, or based in things of the past, maybe I was trying to get good at being good at writing when all throughout high school, I wasn’t. But whatever the case, I’ve found that at numerous points throughout my blog post series, I’d get this idea, or this thought in my head, that what I’m writing doesn’t make sense, or it is just mere folly, for what I’m discussing about and who I’m delving into and trying to analyse for that given week within the series. So lemme back track a little bit. I’ve always loved writing. I think when I was younger (a teenager), my brother and I started writing a ‘book’ if you will, a series of passages and pages about our lives. I think I have that file on my computer somewhere, but from where it stands, I think it’s about a couple of hundred pages long. I still haven’t revisited that in a long time, but herein lies the point. I’ve found that every time I’ve written something that is substantial in length, it’s not necessarily because I have a lot to say about whatever I’m writing about. You can probably check through all my blog posts up until now, and you can probably realise that the Switchfoot post that I wrote about in week #2, and the post about Sugarland that I wrote about a couple of weeks ago…my writing style hasn’t really changed between the two, even though they were two years apart. What has changed was the length of these posts, and maybe sometimes, unfortunately so, because re-reading some of my later posts, I realised that I was writing more than what was needed. I would write and write and write, not necessarily because I have a ton to say, but because I’d write, to prove to…my parents, myself, to my brother, to people on the internet, to my old teachers at school, I guess to prove to people that I could write long, that I could write good, that I was good enough to be writing. Because I reckon it all went back to when I was in Year 7 in high school. I was in English, and I can remember that we’d all have to do a creative writing piece, 1 per term (there were four terms in 1 year back then). When it was time to submit this, my teacher would more often than not, read out a person’s work, and this work that we’d all hear, would either be really good, mediocre, or even terrible. There was one term where my creative writing piece was read out. I don’t know what I wrote about, nor can I even remember if people even knew that it was my piece of work that was being read out. But suffice to say, the English teacher read my stuff, and then they stopped in the middle, put the paper down, and said to the class in no uncertain terms, ‘now this is an example of how not to write’. I felt small from that moment on, and after that point in Year 7 onwards…I was never good at English. I loved it, don’t get me wrong. But maybe at a subconscious level, if the teacher said that I wasn’t good, in Year 7… then maybe I wasn’t good? Looking back on it now, I know now that reading aloud was not the way to go if the teacher wanted to correct someone. But analysing my writing skills now, and delving into the question of ‘why I write longer and longer blog posts as each week progresses’….I think it’s unfortunately because of this moment where I was basically told ‘I wasn’t good enough’, that with every passing blog post, I felt the need to write more and more, to prove to myself, and maybe to prove to my family, that I was capable, and that I still had these skills in me. that I was good.

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MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 71: SUGARLAND + JENNIFER NETTLES

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Country music has always had this unique and fascinating sound associated with the music genre, since…well, since before I can even conceive and remember. It was only until recently (2019 when I started venturing out of my safe space of CCM) that I discovered the big plethora of music out there, from rock, pop, easy-listening, folk and Aussie music, to the music genre that I reckon gets the most flack and attention- country music. Yes, country music has been there since the beginning of music itself; and has been a big influence on the music industry, period, so much so that country music has their own array of award shows at various points throughout the year. While I myself am yet to become across all these country artists of the various decades, what I have listened to throughout the last few years has been nothing but a unique and emotive experience. Yes, now I can say and be proud that I am indeed a country fan- not a full-on die-hard one that follows every single country music artist out there at this point in time, but more of a country-music fan that appreciates the country music of the last 10 – 20 years or so, enjoying more of the seasoned veterans like Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride, Shania Twain, Rascal Flatts, Faith Hill, Lady A and Little Big Town, more so than the current crop of country artists at the moment. Maybe it’s just me, and I love a bit of nostalgia and a sound more curated to the 1990s and the 2000s, but whatever the case may be, I’ve been enjoying the country music I’m hearing thus far within these last few years. With intentionality and purpose, heartfelt moments of confrontation and poignancy; country artists of yesteryear seem to stand the test of time, even if we may think that whatever they’re writing and singing about back then, may not necessarily be as applicable to this current time period. Nevertheless, country music has always tugged at the heart of myself over the last few years, and it is once again the musical genre of said artist I’m about to discuss in this blog post.

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