Young Guns

So after Triple J announced on their Facebook page a moment ago that they would be having Lorde on their show, they were looking for questions would we like to ask her, and there were the usual suspects:

"Why are you such a sellout?"
"Are there any collaborations in the making?"
"Whats the total current over a 20 ohm resistor with 200v dc supply ?"

But I had a question that I have had for a while for the whirlwind female success.

"Do you feel that people may compromise your talent due to your age?"

It seems to be a common habit these days for people to adjust their opinions of upcoming artists due their age, whether it be young or old, and often, presumptions of their talent can remain unchanged even if their art proves skill far beyond "experienced" artists.

Using Lorde as an example, when I first saw her, she was the gothic siren in "Tennis Court" and I thought she could be at least 20. Well, to be honest I didn't really care, because the song was rad and I got my hands on it straight away. Personally, I love Lorde. She brings something so fresh to the table, and for me who isn't a huge fan of female vocals, she blew me away with her synth-pop beats with a beautiful urban edge that young people could really associate with.

However, whenever she pops up in conversation, there is always the one who says:
"OMG you know she's only 16?! How good is she for 16?!"
It really grinds my gears to hear that people pay more attention to the fact that she is young than the art itself, and I guess it's proof of the role that image plays in pop music these days.

And hey, I'm not going to lie and say that I wasn't impressed when I heard that Ella Yelich O'Connor was only 16. I wish I could write lyrics like that when I was 16! But when that fact takes precedence over her music as a professional musical artist, I think that gives way to a possibility of positive prejudice. And by prejudice I mean that people don't make honest criticism or think that because she is 16, her music is amazing "for her age."

There is no way that people could criticize Lorde half the amount as Miley Cyrus at this point in time, one of the reasons being that she is young and therefore, her efforts are "extraordinary."

has Ella Yelich O'Connor's (better known as Lorde) art been compromised due to her age?

Personally, I couldn't give a damn in Lorde was 16 or 60, her music is rad and her image doesn't really change that for me (except her hair, sweet Jesus I wish I could have her hair.)

Not only Lorde, but many other artists seem to be judged on their age rather than their talents, such as Justin Bieber when he first burst onto the pop scene in 2009. Criticisms were made for how young he was, and of course no one could ignore the comments of his "homosexuality" due to his adolescent voice. No one seemed to notice that the sound Justin Bieber harnessed was the same one that made the Backstreet Boys, Justin Timberlake and even the loved One Direction famous.

With the power of "image" slowly becoming more and more important in the music scene, I just wonder how future young artists will be treated, and whether the actual sound of their music will be affected either positively or negatively.

What do you think?

Kacey xx