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https://www.musicweek.com/waves/read/making-waves-jacob-collier/078812 Jacob Collier is a musical genius who amongst being called a prodigy has also been dubbed a Musical Messiah. Collier, at the age of 18, became popular via YouTube in 2012. The media platform gave Collier his very own audience. People were most impressed with his level of harmonic creativity when he’d upload a video of himself recreating or covering a song. He caught the attention of work renowned producer, Quincy Jones. Collier winning numerous Grammy Awards is just a testimony of his musicality as he writes, arranges, records and produces his own projects. Without the use of social media, I’m not sure we’d have access to this wonderful musician. 

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https://www.musicweek.com/waves/read/making-waves-jacob-collier/078812 Jacob Collier is a musical genius who amongst being called a prodigy has also been dubbed a Musical Messiah. Collier, at the age of 18, became popular via YouTube in 2012. The media platform gave Collier his very own audience. People were most impressed with his level of harmonic creativity when he’d upload a video of himself recreating or covering a song. He caught the attention of work renowned producer, Quincy Jones. Collier winning numerous Grammy Awards is just a testimony of his musicality as he writes, arranges, records and produces his own projects. Without the use of social media, I’m not sure we’d have access to this wonderful musician. 

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0xMpLXQNvM

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/14/world/europe/alma-deutscher-prodigy-mozart.html

The June 2019 New York Times article presents fifteen year old musical prodigy Alma Deutscher as very innocent, childlike and unspoiled. She is pictured in the article playing on the trampoline and climbing trees with her little sister.
While jumping on the trampoline, Deutscher waves a sparkly purple jump rope that she says still helps her get in the right frame of mind to compose music. Her brilliance inspires others to call her “the next Mozart” but the young composer has responded that she does not wish to be another Mozart; she only wants to be “Alma.”
The Deutscher sisters are dressed very similarly, despite their age difference. Even though she is in her mid-teens, Deutscher is dressed more like an elementary student, wears no obvious makeup, and wears her hair in long braids. Although she may be expressing her true preferences, her appearance reinforces the fact that she became famous as a child prodigy. Although she wears elegant clothing for her performances, she still appears childlike and natural.
Emphasis is always placed on how young she was when her talents were first noticed. Her interviews seem to always center on how she began composing at age three; how she was so eager to learn how to write her music that she scribbled it illegibly, at age four; how her earliest music teachers were exhausted after her lessons.
The public has the opportunity to be further captivated through the retelling of Dutscher’s childhood accomplishments and the childlike manner in which she still presents herself. The combination makes one feel like perhaps they are still part of that discovery, like they haven’t missed seeing her at a remarkable age for her ability. This motivates fans to want to see her in person, buy her recordings, and share in the excitement surrounding her talent.
There are also some dramatic elements to her story that make her the heroine in winning against the music establishment. Although she was technically mature in her compositions at an early age, it was hard to get publishers to take her seriously once they learned how young she was. However, her status has grown so that even the earliest of her musical compositions are now being published.
So far, there is nothing Deutcher has done to disappoint her public, yet some in the musical art world criticize her. She has a very positive image and only wants to create beautiful, melodic art. However, some critics say that she can not be considered truly mature as an artist unless she follows the trend of creating ugly music for an ugly world.
Deutcher  has responded that she wants to create beautiful music, and if she saw the world as ugly, then she would want to help it by creating beautiful music.
An example of her composition, “Siren Sounds Waltz” is a very moving and emotional piece about her experience moving to the big city of Vienna and learning to live with the street noises for the first time. The city sounds of traffic and sirens which were amazingly orchestrated and combined into something beautiful and emotionally moving. She is still growing in her artistry and there is much to look forward to.
With the rise of social media, it is possible to immediately reach millions of people all over the world with your message and images and create a market for your music or product.
Anyone can be good at their art, but they often have to have a reason to get noticed and oftentimes that reason is gimmick. Especially in the age where social media makes it possible for anyone to try and get noticed.
It is more important to have a reason for people to be interested in you, in particular something that makes you unique because there are so many people trying to become famous.
For example, the critics of Alma Deutscher want her to conform to their musical preferences rather than express her own. They are critical that Deutscher does not follow the trend of other contemporary music artists, viewing the world as “ugly,” and composing harsh, ugly music to match it.
But Deutscher has maintained that she wants to create only beautiful melodies. She enjoys composing her music outdoors, taking inspiration from beautiful natural settings or the exciting bustle of the city. She argues, “If I did happen to see the world as ugly and brutal, then I would still want to write beautiful melodies to try and improve it.”
Many other child celebrities have struggled with being taken seriously in a grown-up’s world, and feel compelled or forced by others to dress or behave in a way that minimizes their true selves in an attempt to maintain relevancy to an older audience.
But Deutscher’s artistic credibility was built on the brilliance and beauty of her compositions, and is sustained by the same, without a reliance on gimmicks or a carefully styled persona. Despite her initial popularity relying on the remarkability of her young age, Deutscher has truly earned her success, and manages her ongoing career in the adult-dominated world of professional music while still refusing to compromise on her playfulness, her childlike wonder, or the love for the world that first inspired her music.

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Alessia Cara is a 24 year-old alternative pop star from Canada. She did poetry and theater as a kid and began playing guitar at the age of 10. Three years later, she started posting cover songs on her YouTube channel of her singing and playing acoustic guitar. She has appeared on different radio stations and by the age of 18, she signed with EP Entertainment and Def Jam Recordings in 2015.
The kind of identity that these media construct for the prodigy is one that is not promiscuous or provocative, unlike some other pop stars close to her age. She is seen to be a decent role model, having songs such as “Scars to Your Beautiful”, empowering girls to love themselves for who they are. Other popular songs of hers are “Stay” and “Here”.
The availability of social media has transformed the way in which a music celebrity is created by the fact that there are so many different platforms and that someone does not need to spend money in order to create an identity on social media, although it certainly helps when trying to promote the artist. The accessibility of these platforms makes it easy to share music and gain publicity, not only locally, but also nationally and globally. Artists can be discovered more quickly by larger groups of people, but at the same time, there is probably more competition due to the easy access.
https://top40-charts.com/artist.php?aid=16764

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https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-ssl-002&hsimp=yhs-002&hspart=ssl&p=60+minutes+blind+piano+prodigy+from+new+orleans#id=3&vid=d3cac807f5676b41bf29a1eae878f1eb&action=view
https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-ssl-002&hsimp=yhs-002&hspart=ssl&p=60+minutes+blind+piano+prodigy+from+new+orleans#id=4&vid=d95d72d68c34d51f15995601cbec793e&action=view
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/18-old-blind-pianist-prodigy-010248905.html

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Miley Cyrus comes from a family of singers, songwriters, and actors. From a young age, she was exposed to the world of entertainment. Her family's encouragement led to her big break when she landed the role of Hannah Montana at the age of 13. From then, she was catapulted to a life of stardom as a young musician and actor. She starred in multiple movies under the Hannah Montana character, then began releasing music under her own name. From then, her music was consistently at the top of the charts. Her style evolved with her audience. From kid-friendly lyrics, she began singing about more adult topics. Miley Cyrus was one of the child prodigies picked up by the Disney corporation that became a pop culture icon. She boasts 115 million followers on Instagram and continues to be at the forefront of American culture.
Miley Cyrus has also used her social media platforms to address many social issues, such as gender identity, the recreational use of marijuana, and racial equality. She has also experienced criticism on social media on the increased portrayal of her sexuality. Currently, her social media accounts are focused on the promotion of her new song (Midnight Sky) and self-directed music video. Cyrus's success as a young singer and her impact on pop culture earns her the title of 'child prodigy'.

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Miley Cyrus, in full Miley Ray Cyrus, original name Destiny Hope Cyrus, (born November 23, 1992, Franklin, Tennessee, U.S.), American singer and actress whose performance on the television show Hannah Montana (2006-11) and its related soundtrack albums catapulted her into stardom.

Cyrus was born to country singer and actor Billy Ray Cyrus and his wife, Tish, and grew up on her family's farm outside Nashville. Her sunny disposition as a child earned her the nickname "Smiley Miley." (She had her name legally changed to Miley Ray Cyrus in 2008). Though her father was initially reluctant to let her follow in his show business footsteps, at the age of nine she landed a role in an episode of his TV series Doc. Another role, in the film Big Fish (2003), followed.

In 2005 Cyrus auditioned for the lead role in Hannah Montana, a Disney Channel series about a girl who leads a double life as a normal middle-school student and, with the help of a blonde wig, as a glamorous pop singer. Though initially deemed by executives to be too small and young for the character, she persisted and won the part. The show debuted the following year (featuring Billy Ray as her TV dad) and became an immediate sensation, scoring record ratings for cable television and turning the 13-year-old into a bona fide star. Aiming to capitalize on the show's obvious youth-market appeal, a soundtrack album featuring the music of Hannah Montana was released in 2006 and eventually sold more than three million copies. It was followed by the equally successful Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus (2007), which was packaged as a double CD, with half of the material under Cyrus's own name.

In late 2007 Cyrus embarked on a national tour called Best of Both Worlds in support of her latest album. Two concerts from the tour were filmed and presented as a 3-D movie; it made more than $30 million in its opening weekend despite having been released only to select theatres. Although already well known to the preteen demographic, she gained wider exposure in early 2008 as her song "See You Again" crossed over to the pop charts. Later that year she released the album Breakout and voiced one of the leading roles in the animated film Bolt. For the latter, Cyrus cowrote the single "I Thought I Lost You," which was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

Though her celebrity status had increased, Cyrus continued to perform as Hannah Montana in various media. In early 2009 she starred in Hannah Montana: The Movie and sang on its soundtrack, and she later issued two additional soundtrack albums (2009, 2010) for the TV show before its final episode aired in 2011. Meanwhile, Cyrus continued to record under her own name for the EP The Time of Our Lives (2009), which featured the hit "Party in the U.S.A.," and the full-length album Can't Be Tamed (2010). In addition, she took starring movie roles in the romantic drama The Last Song (2010) and the low-budget coming-of-age tale LOL (2012).

In 2013 Cyrus released the album Bangerz, which departed from her earlier work in its embrace of hip-hop influences and its frequently adult-themed lyrics. Her new style was epitomized by the single "We Can't Stop," a bouncy ode to hedonism that she notably performed, in controversially risqué fashion, at the MTV Video Music Awards. The ballad "Wrecking Ball," meanwhile, became Cyrus's first song to top the Billboard singles chart. She then veered away from the mainstream with Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz (2015), a collection of loosely psychedelic songs recorded in large part with the rock band the Flaming Lips and made available for free on the Internet. Younger Now (2017) featured a number of ballads and country-infused songs, one of which was a duet with Dolly Parton.

Cyrus was a coach on the television singing competition The Voice in 2016-17, and she costarred with Woody Allen and Elaine May in Allen's six-episode TV series Crisis in Six Scenes (2016).

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Miley Cyrus | Biography, TV Shows, Songs, & Facts

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Miley Cyrus, American singer and actress whose performance on the TV show Hannah Montana and its related soundtrack albums made her a star as a young teen. She later embraced a more adult image with such songs as 'We Can't Stop' and 'Wrecking Ball.' Learn more about her background, life, and career.

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As I reflect on the ways that Gottschalk and Lind’s talent was acknowledged, I was reminded of Jacob Collier. While I think that he may have been a little older when he started to become recognized, I think that he is perceived to have talent in the mysterious way that both of this weeks composers were represented in the text provided this week. His complex understanding of microtonal harmony and melody along his ability to manipulate uneven meters and rhythms are definitely awe-inspiring. As much as I would like to describe his music at length, I really do think that it is something that you have to hear for yourself. Collier’s music falls on the borderline of familiar and experimental in a way that works very well.

I think that Collier also represents the way in which we now find and knowledge talent. His career began when he started creating YouTube videos made up of layered tracks of his own voice along with and instrumental backing. I think this stands in major contrast to the accounts of Lind’s discovery, who had to rely on previously established talent to make it into the spotlight. The prodigies that are featured now are discovered by people browsing the internet. They no longer need the middle man to reach their audiences because social media platforms allow them to do it themselves.

I think that it is also important to note that this platform also gives a lot more detailed information about Jacob Collier that allows us to see into the creation of a prodigy. I have read a number of different accounts about Collier’s history and background in music over the past few years I have been listening to his music. I think the most important detail about him is that he comes from a family of musicians and music educators. When I began reading about his family, I was instantly reminded of the Malcom Gladwell’s ‘Outliers.’ In his book (I don’t remember exactly where) he talks about how chance access to information and unique experiences form the bases for individuals to gain the experience necessary to reach the outlier status that these musicians have obviously reached. Collier was certainly raised in an environment that encouraged his musical endeavors. It makes me wonder about the unique circumstances that Gottschalk and Lind were subject to, and if they, in a similar way, lended to their prodigy status.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/articles/f9888443-d341-499d-8342-3d8891dc3b6b

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Emily Bear was only 5 years old when making her professional piano debut. As the years went on, Emily composed, performed, and sung many pieces of her own all over the world. Even now, not even 20 years old, still producing high-quality performances to people everywhere, Bear stays true to her roots as a performer starting at her young age. I believe the media does a good job of portraying her as a prodigy by listing every element of her career. Most people find it impressive when people achieve goals in a matter of days or years when it takes most people decades to achieve the same goal. Most articles display the number of works created and performances. Rarely do they talk about the quality of playing, but more so the quantity.

Social media has created a world where celebrities can be created overnight. All it takes is one video of a performance to lead to millions of views and then other shows capitalizing on instant fame and getting the performer's name known. For these young prodigies, it only takes a view or a good agent or musician to take them under their wing. While Emily had to work through the piano world in a condensed version, other stars are found early and rise to the top because of guidance. I think this is the biggest difference between today and the years before technology. Before many talented people were never found because they could never even have access to an instrument, let alone be noticed or rise out of the situation they were in. By all means, that happens today still, but as I said, it only takes one video to give someone an opportunity to rise up from where they are.

One last element I feel plays a big role is sometimes where a performer comes from. People today find great joy for people who come from nothing. Two pianists could have the same ability, but if one came from a horrible background of despair or poverty, people would choose them over the opposite. You can see this all the time on talent shows such as American Idol or America’s Got Talent. Many of the performers are people who struggled to get to where they are rather than years of hard work to be as good as they are. I think it correlates to whether prodigies stay in the public eye or drift off. Many performers have their 15 minutes of fame, but they drift away, never to be heard of again. While some work hard to make their talent known. All these things can add to how a prodigy comes into the light of publicity.

https://thelincolnacademyofillinois.org/emily-bear-piano-performer-songwriter/

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Andrew Koonce is an African American Virtuoso Violinist from Atlanta, Georgia. Koonce has many musical accomplishments that many would not believe because of his age. When he was in middle school, he won the Festival Disney Best Concert Artist Award and ranked first at the Heritage Musical Festival in Florida and won the Maestro Award for the best solo.
Koonce utilizes social media to promote his abilities as a virtuoso violinist. On his Facebook page, he posts his accomplishments and interactions with public figures. For example, Koonce received two congressional medals, and the Special Congressional Certificate of Recognition from the late Congressman John Lewis and the video also showed a conversation that the two had reflecting Congressman Lewis’s encounters with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The use of social media is crucial in today’s musicians. The musicians use social media to promote their music. However, allowing their followers to see their accomplishments and daily routines enables them to be more in touch with the performers.

https://www.facebook.com/Andrewsviolin/
https://www.beyonce.com/black-music-month-andrew-koonce/
https://atlantablackstar.com/2013/09/24/15-black-child-proteges-mainstream-media-doesnt-talk/

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Jacob Collier is a 26-year old prodigy from London. He has been revered for not only his superb musicianship and mastery of virtually every instrument he picks up, but also his deep, ground-breaking understanding of music at the elemental level. Since coming on to the music scene in 2012, he caught the eye of Quincy Jones and Herbie Hancock who aided in his launch into stardom.
Social media was crucial to Jacob Collier’s recognition as a musical prodigy. Like many other artists, Collier began by posting covers to YouTube, later posting his own work. A handful of these videos went viral, leading to his relationship with Jones and Hancock. This is quite common in the modern world. Many artists are “discovered” by music industry giants each year primarily through posting their content to YouTube or Soundcloud. Though Collier has now released several albums and won multiple GRAMMYs for his music, he keeps up this use of social media. He frequently posts to YouTube still and now uses platforms such as Instagram to build up and communicate with his following. The use of social media in this way allows artists to create more accessible identities for themselves and to publicly engage with their fans. In general, this has the power to generate larger fan bases and publicity.
The articles and images for Collier paint him as quite a unique individual. The article details his early upbringing, his “discovery” on YouTube, and his relationship with music industry legends. It is certain to point out that Collier originally turned down Quincy Jones’ offer to produce for him. The image captures a similar quality. It demonstrates his uniqueness under the lights of stardom. It also shows off his talent with instruments. Overall, the media makes sure to play up Collier’s status as a prodigy.

Article: https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/arts-and-culture/jacob-collier-the-prodigy-who-wowed-herbie-hancock-and-quincy-jones-20190815-p52hfe

Image: https://www.nitelifeonline.com/words/review-jacob-collier-live-trinity/

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I chose Daniel Clarke Bouchard for my piece. He was born in the year 2000 and started studying piano at the age of 5. He moved extremely fast and put on his first recital at the age of 6. In 2009 he won the gold medal at the Montreal Classical Music Festival. He won numerous competitions across Canada, he also received numerous scholarships as well. He been featured on television and major networks as well. He has been on major Canadian networks and major American shows. His performances show immense talent and professionality. The media Identifies Bouchard as a young bright and talented with a long resume to boot. Social media has made it possible to seek and identify child prodigies. In the past child prodigies might not have been recognized due to their socio-economic status and inability to travel to various countries. Social media has allowed that to happen with a few clicks.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/14/world/europe/alma-deutscher-prodigy-mozart.html Alma Deutscher started her musical career at a very young age. She was born in 2005 and by the time she was 5 years old she was composing and performing music. Alma plays the piano, violin and sings. Although she has often been compared to Mozart, she does not like this comparison. She thinks of herself as an individual who composes and creates beautiful music. Throughout her career she has moved cities multiple times to explore new musical cultures and learn from new teachers. She has soloed with orchestras across Europe, Australia, United States and Israel. In most of her performances she plays pieces of her own composition. Alma has composed multiple sonatas, concertos for violin and piano, and short and full length operas. Her first full-length opera uses the story of Cinderella. Her compositions are beautiful music, she does not like the modern “ugly” style and does not think she will ever compose music in that way.  Her imagination and ability to create beautiful sounds together has put many people in awe.

Through social media videos of her talents have been shared across the world. There is a cute little video of her sitting next to an interviewer and creating a composing/performing a sonata on the spot. Alma was even a guest on the Ellen DeGeneres Show and has been the feature of documentaries produced by BBC and CBS.This talent unseen by anyone else, and is especially by someone so young, has caused this video to be shared all over. Alma’s talent was enough to be recognized, but social media allowed her name to spread all across the world. She is still only 15 and is to premier a new opera with the Salzburg State Theater. I believe Alma Deutscher would have been a recognized musician if social media did not exist, but in a world with it her talent traveled farther and faster. Her talents also became more rare, because no one could dispute or compare to the tasks she was completing. Alma became in a higher class of musicianship because the world became aware of how special she was.

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The prodigy that I have chosen is Alma Deutscher, who has been compared to Mozart.  As a violinist, pianist, and composer who wrote her first piano sonata at five, a short opera at seven, a violin concerto at nine, and a full opera at ten, the comparison may not be two far off.  She has played concerts all around the world, playing at the fabled Carnegie Hall in December of 2019.  She has been featured on NBC Nightly News, 60 Minutes, and the Ellen Degeneres Show.  Most of the interviews seemed to focus more on her remarkable age than her talent, with the typical question, “what is like to be a composer who is a little girl?” being asked as more than “what is it like to be a composer?”  The critics in America have been oddly silent, the conspicuous lack of a review of her Carnegie Hall concert showing that, perhaps, they would rather her music be more avant garde than the heavily melodic, romantic tinged compositions that Deutscher has been producing since her early childhood.  The only other performances of her music in the United States was a run of her opera, Cinderella in San Jose, California, but this may be a side effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, since the Carnegie concert was in December before the outbreak.  When I was an undergrad, one of my professors always said that the bread and butter of any professional symphony was mostly romantic and classical with a side of modern.  It seems that Deutscher has tapped into this and does not show any signs of moving into a more modern style any time soon.   I do not think that she will have the sort of social media frenzy that a Justin Bieber would have with viral videos and screaming teenagers at a Today Show morning concert.  But she does seem to have the more sedate, Susan Boyle kind of celebrity.   As a triple threat virtuoso, it would be nice to hear more about her as a classical musician, but social media does not seem to move that way.  Her Facebook page has lots of videos of her singing with her sister, selections from concerts, and even playing some of her favorite works by Schubert.  I think that her crowd pleasing, joyfully melodic music will continue to develop as she grows into an adult musician, but I hope that she can hang on to her philosophy that music should be beautiful.  The world can use more beauty these days.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/14/world/europe/alma-deutscher-prodigy-mozart.html

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The prodigy that I have chosen is Alma Deutscher, who has been compared to Mozart.  As a violinist, pianist, and composer who wrote her first piano sonata at five, a short opera at seven, a violin concerto at nine, and a full opera at ten, the comparison may not be two far off.  She has played concerts all around the world, playing at the fabled Carnegie Hall in December of 2019.  She has been featured on NBC Nightly News, 60 Minutes, and the Ellen Degeneres Show.  Most of the interviews seemed to focus more on her remarkable age than her talent, with the typical question, “what is like to be a composer who is a little girl?” being asked as more than “what is it like to be a composer?”  The critics in America have been oddly silent, the conspicuous lack of a review of her Carnegie Hall concert showing that, perhaps, they would rather her music be more avant garde than the heavily melodic, romantic tinged compositions that Deutscher has been producing since her early childhood.  The only other performances of her music in the United States was a run of her opera, Cinderella in San Jose, California, but this may be a side effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, since the Carnegie concert was in December before the outbreak.  When I was an undergrad, one of my professors always said that the bread and butter of any professional symphony was mostly romantic and classical with a side of modern.  It seems that Deutscher has tapped into this and does not show any signs of moving into a more modern style any time soon.   I do not think that she will have the sort of social media frenzy that a Justin Bieber would have with viral videos and screaming teenagers at a Today Show morning concert.  But she does seem to have the more sedate, Susan Boyle kind of celebrity.   As a triple threat virtuoso, it would be nice to hear more about her as a classical musician, but social media does not seem to move that way.  Her Facebook page has lots of videos of her singing with her sister, selections from concerts, and even playing some of her favorite works by Schubert.  I think that her crowd pleasing, joyfully melodic music will continue to develop as she grows into an adult musician, but I hope that she can hang on to her philosophy that music should be beautiful.  The world can use more beauty these days.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/14/world/europe/alma-deutscher-prodigy-mozart.html

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The prodigy that I have chosen is Alma Deutscher, a 15 year old pianist, violinist, and composer who has been compared to Mozart.  And since she composed a piano sonata at five, a short opera at seven, a violin concerto at nine, and a full opera at 10, the comparison may not be too far off.  She has played around the world, and in  December of 2019 played fabled Carnegie Hall in a sold out show.  She has been on 60 Minutes, NBC Nightly News, and the Ellen Degeneres Show.  It seems that most of the interviews fall into the category of, "what is it like to be a composer who is a child?" and the interviewers are predictably more in awe of her age than her talent.  Many of the critics seem to be leaving her alone, her Carnegie Hall concert was conspicuous in its lack of a review.  Some think that this is because of the composer's love of beautiful melodies, music that people could walk away from a concert whistling.  While audiences have seemingly fallen in love with Deutscher's music, it seems that the critics might prefer to have her move into a more 20th century, amelodic, minimalist style of music.  When I was an undergrad, my music history professor always told us that the bread and butter of any performing symphony was romantic and classical music with a side of modern music.  The typical audience wants sweeping melodies and contained harmony.  Deutscher has tapped into this since she was four and does not seem to be wanting to stop anytime soon.  Her Facebook page is full of videos of her playing her own music along with music of the romantics, one of her favorites being Schubert.  I do not think that social media has propelled her music the way that it would a pop idol like Justin Bieber, she would not be crushed by adoring teen fans at an early morning Today Show concert.  She does have more of an adult version of the phenomenon, like Susan Boyle, not exactly viral, but certainly a respectable number of clicks and likes.  I hope that she is able to take her talent and move into the world of adult composers, but only time will tell.

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https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/art-books-music/a13040159/billie-eilish-interview/

Billie Eilish is currently one of the most accomplished popular artists in recent history. Once you take into account that she is only 18 years old it is hard to imagine how she has done so much already with only one album. While not all would consider her a “prodigy,” I would argue otherwise.

Billie Eilish came on the scene as a 14 year old. She uploaded what eventually was released as her first single, “Ocean Eyes,” on SoundCloud in 2016. This launched her into stardom. Her unique sound and style got her noticed as the track gained traction on SoundCloud. This is the first form of media that got her, and many other 21st Century artists noticed. While it is not social media necessarily it is a platform for young artists to get noticed with little pressure and much potential.

Billie Eilish does use media interviews and her own social media accounts to construct an image that is unlike the stereotypical young, female popstar. She is less traditional, using more vulgar language and dressing a little edgier than her pop music counterparts. It all reflects her music that is darker in sound and content for her age and genre of “pop” as a whole.

Billie Eilish has made a name for herself using these 21st Century tools to promote herself and build an image that paid off quickly as she dominated the Grammys in 2019 at age 17. She is a pop icon and has cleared the way for other young artists to make a run for the top of the charts should they have the image and talent.

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This week I chose to write about Justin Yu, a young cellist from New York.  While I have not seen that he has been specifically called a child prodigy, I would categorize him in this way because of his expertise in his instrument from such a young age.  After beginning to play the cello at 3 years old he began to play at Carnegie Hall at 5, and then has gone on the play with the Joyous String Ensemble at the Joyous Music School.  He and his group have a very well trafficked Youtube channel with over 33 K subscribers.  They have traveled around the world, performing at special events, but their Youtube channel provides Yu and his group an opportunity to share with the world every day.  The posts on Youtube also gave Yu an opportunity to be on the Ellen Degeneres show a few years ago which would have boosted his fanbase as well.  In a time where talk show hosts can discover new artists because of social media presence, a child like Justin Yu is able to reach a much more extensive fan base than he would if he were just playing for the classical circuit.  And his repertoire is so vast at this point that his performances with the ensemble can be appreciated by many more listeners.  What I think is interesting is that although the Youtube channel has had much attention he does not seem to have much of an online presence other than that.  I would hope that is because his family is keeping him grounded as a young man and not allowing the spotlight to drag him into a fame that he would have a hard time handling.   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3tCfeWcO2tq1_VlKVPwo_g/about

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/justin-yu-cello-ellen_n_5881388

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Billy Strings

The musical prodigy that I chose for this week is Billy Strings.  On the surface, Billy Strings sounds like a bluegrass guitarist with blazing fast fingers and a country twang.  However, on further listening, it’s hard to pin down what musical realm Billy Strings and his bandmates fall into.  They experiment musically between “traditional” bluegrass sounds, psychedelic music sounds, hard-driving metal rhythms, and more.  They do not fit the mold of any particular musical genre that has come before them.  It’s this fact, along with Billy’s unquestioned talent, that makes him a musical prodigy in the 21st century.

Billy Strings also uses the 21st century social media to his advantage.  He shares videos of him and his bandmates on tour.  He releases behind the scenes recordings of their practices.  He even shares videos of him and his dad fishing.  It’s this type of insider’s look into his life that has supplemented his guitar skills and made him available to all of his fans in a way that wouldn’t have been possible without social media.

To add on, Billy Strings makes his biggest impact on the stage.  From his own admission, his goal isn’t to sell millions of albums.  It’s to share his music, live, with an audience and create that singular unique moment with the people in his vicinity.

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/billy-strings-bluegrass-must-see-774144/

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The modern-day musical prodigy I’ve chosen to focus on for this week is Emily Bear, a now 19 year old pianist and composer best known for her 2013 album Diversity that features her own jazz compositions while under the wing of mentor Quincy Jones; her film composition work was featured on the 2015 Broadway cast recording of Doctor Zhivago and was established as the youngest performer for the “Night at the Proms” performance event in 2017.

Though the concept of prodigy has certainly evolved outside of the sphere of social media throughout history, much of our perception of what makes someone a prodigy has changed because of interactions with media outlets. The media (articles, interviews, etc) strives to cast these figures as young, almost infantilized performers, and their entire identity is constructed around this. They’re typically described with linguistics that further re-emphasize their age (“cute,” “precious,” etc) and often dehumanize the individuals themselves. Media content is everywhere, and because of this, the speed at which we absorb content has increased. It suggests that nothing is significant for more than a brief period of time, as we’re already moving on to the “next big thing.” This means that, in order to establish someone as prolific or particularly interesting in their field, they are often assigned descriptors like “prodigy” in order to draw the eye and solidify them as celebrities. It does, as I stated, run an immense risk of dehumanizing and reducing these individuals to their craft. This is also much more prevalent with female musicians than with males, as women artists are often faced with the dichotomy of wanting to be individuals while being typecast into various performative boxes by media outlets.

This also echoes what I studied in Music History last spring in regards to Alma Deutscher, a similarly-talented and young pianist and composer often heralded as the “next Mozart.” Deutscher and Bear both reject the moniker of “prodigy” because it minimizes their humanity and often casts a negative light on their accomplishments. It also implies that their talent and their age are intrinsically linked, which can stifle their growth and cause serious waves of imposter syndrome as they age and lose the “prodigy” title, despite only growing in their abilities. Artists, and especially the most talented and youthful ones, are almost over-exposed in the media, and though this can lead to immense burnout, it should also serve to remind us of the inherent beauty and creativity and music, and strive to use that as our focus rather than stereotypical monikers like "prodigy."

https://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/arts/2014/10/27/piano-star-emily-bear-prodigy-mesa-arts/18022895/