Revealing new film on late
superstar singer highlights thrills and perils of music industry and widespread
success
A revealing new documentary
on George Michael highlights both the thrills and perils of massive success.
Kypros/Getty
Though most listeners know
George Michael as the man behind a series of indelible, million-selling pop
hits – many of which still play on radio today – the new Showtime documentary
Freedom looks to redefine the singer as a warrior in the never-ending battle
against exploitative record contracts, an aficionado of soul music and an
advocate for stars' privacy in a world that places cruel pressures on public
figures.
Unusually for a posthumous
film project, Michael was closely involved with Freedom, set to premiere on
Showtime on October 21st. He worked on it until his sudden death on December
25th, 2016, serving as both a narrator and a co-director. In addition, a parade
of musical veterans, including Nile Rodgers, Stevie Wonder and Mary J. Blige
and supermodels such as Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss pay tribute to Michael's
talents. Here are nine takeaways from the film.
1. Michael always wanted to
be a star, even though he knew the demands of stardom could be debilitating.
The documentary establishes
this central tension immediately as it races through Michael's career in the
duo Wham! "I have a musical ability that as a teenager was powered by this
desperate ambition to be famous and be loved and be respected and
whatever," the singer says. "All I wanted at that time was success.
"If I was looking for
happiness, this was the wrong road," he adds. "I still suffered
terribly with insecurity about my looks. It goes back to a family background
where conceit of any kind was considered an absolute sin, so no one was ever
phased about the way they look."
But the allure of stardom
won out – at least in the early Eighties. "I don't think there's any way I
could've controlled my ego enough to stop me from exploring the possibility of
being the biggest-selling artist in the world," Michael admits. "So I
went with full gusto into creating a new character, one that would be resonant
enough to stand up next to Madonna and [Michael] Jackson and Prince."
2. The quality of Michael's
songs was dismissed because they came in cheerful, high-gloss packaging.
Michael values one aspect
of artistry above all the others. "What do you hope the legacy attached to
your name is?" an interviewer asks him late in Freedom. "Great
songwriter," he replies.
He still bristles when
considering the reception of his Eighties mega-hits. "I knew how to make
these records and how to make them jump out of the radio," he says.
"The idea that just because I was wearing ridiculous shorts would actually
stop people from noticing that, when I look back, [is] still kind of
stunning."
3. Michael's music did a
reverse crossover, moving from pop stations to R&B stations and leading to
accusations of cultural appropriation.
"You heard George
Michael on urban stations right after Luther Vandross," Blige remembers.
"His music broke through to everybody." In an incident that presaged
modern critiques of the Grammy Awards and Sam Smith's no-show at the BET Awards
in 2015, Michael later won two American Music Awards in the Soul/R&B
category, which traditionally went to black singers who were kept out of
competition in the pop categories. "The black male artist works very hard
to get his due," Gladys Knight said in a 1990 interview. "… If [Bobby
Brown] could compete in the same category George Michael competes in, that
would be a whole 'nother thing."
"I won these two
awards that were traditionally received by black artists, and I think there was
a perception that it had gone too far," Michael says. "I see their
point; I saw their point at the time. I just felt it was sad that white and
black people recording together was dancing with the enemy.
"I don't think there's
any attempt to steal black heritage in what I'm doing," he adds later.
"All I think is happening is I'm trying to make good music."………
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