Vinyl Notes

I have something to admit…a music lover’s guilty pleasure of sorts. I have been sucked into the MTV reality television show, Making the Band 4 (Season 2). I’ll give you a second to boo me and discuss how tired of reality TV you are…go ahead…

Okay now that you’ve got that out of your system, I’m going to explain why I like the show and why Making the Band is back for a fourth season. Diddy has a huge ego but he does not play when it comes to quality. It has always been my opinion that he has a great eye and ear for talent. Whether or not you like pop music, when watching Making the Band you begin to understand that Diddy is serious about putting out the best pop music possible. He will not except anything less than a hit, every time his artists go into the studio.

This season, Diddy has set a goal for the most recent winners of Making the Band to make and release albums at the same time, harkening back to the Bad Boy hay day, when Biggie, Total, Mase, and 112 all had simultaneous hit records. So the cast is Donnie, a singer who impressed Diddy so much that he was awarded a solo recording contract; Day 26, an “all male super group” picked on the first season of Making the Band 4; and Danity Kane the girl group from Making the Band 3, who made a platinum record after being shaped and molded by Diddy.

Of course the girls are polished and cohesive, largely due to the hard work and molding of Bad Boy CEO extraordinaire, Diddy. However the boys are amatures in the studio and Diddy is not pleased. Every time he hears a song recorded by the boys (both Donnie and Day 26), he tells them he’s not feeling it, they’re acting, Day 26 is competing with each other instead of jelling together like a group. Eventually, he just decides to kick them out of the studio and sends them to vocal bootcamp.

I’m intrigued to see if the end result of this season will be. Will the boys get it together in time to make that album Diddy has planned for them? His hopes are high but waning as he begins to question whether or not he picked the right group to be shaped into multiplatinum recording artists. Meanwhile, Danity Kane has it together and are making their mentor proud.

It is obvious that Diddy has high standards and is on an ego trip most of the time. This does not negate the fact that he is not willing to just put out any ol crap. Watching his management of his artists has given me new respect for him as a record label owner. I might not like the music, but he sure can pick talent and knows what it takes to create a star.

Check back next week for another Making the Band 4 update. Or, just subscribe to the feed.

Image credit

Day 26: think2wice.org

Leave a Reply