So this post focuses more on promotional gimmicks still being used at top name clubs with no personal attack on Mariah Carey, because she's Mariah Carey and can do whatever she likes.
But seriously, why is Mariah Carey being billed as a DJ? The same Las Vegas Nightclub, 1Oak, that put Kylie Jenner behind the booth back in May, managed to bring out the 5-time Grammy Award winning artist to "perform" this past weekend for a sea of bottle service bros and drunken bachelorette parties. How much longer are these club promoters going to be allowed to cash in on celebrity DJ gimmicks and ultimately destroying any shred of integrity left with being called a DJ?
https://twitter.com/s_raffety/status/747056257375232001
Carey is currently in Vegas performing a residency at Caesars Palace. As the best-selling female artist in the history of the Billboard charts and a supposed net worth of over $500+ million dollars, what would drive Mariah Carey to even bother with these ridiculous nightclub schemes? Carey's Caesars Palace residency is being referred to as one of the most incredible shows happening on the strip right now and a can't miss for any fans visiting Las Vegas. I mean, it is Mariah Carey, she's a legend! She's a veteran of the music industry and a highly accomplished producer of some of the biggest hits of all time. If she were to actually hit the studio and brought in other producers to collaborate, I'm 100% positive she would turn out the biggest electronic mix of the year. Unfortunately, this club was more concerned with having her come out for less than an hour, casually dance behind the DJ booth and sip on cocktails. Why can't we just have her show up and surprise after-hour club dancers rather than have this need for promoting it as a DJ set?
I wrote an article earlier this year about Sasha Grey who, like Mariah, is not known entirely for her amazing taste in music but, unlike Mariah and many other DJs, Grey performs at clubs as a headlining DJ with well executed mixed and specially curated playlists. So where do we draw the line on having these prominent name celebrities, who aren't in the interest of performing electronic music, being billed as DJ performers? How close are we to a Grumpy Cat DJ set at the Ace Hotel? Honestly, how many of you just got a little excited about the possibility of that? Shammmeeeee!!!!!!!!!
The electronic industry is working hard to rebuild it's overall persona left consistently damaged by Calvin Harris' pop hits. Luckily we're seeing the resurgence of complex analog mixes, deep and hard hitting beats and unique uses of live instrument/vocal elements. The continued use of these gimmick, celebrity filled bills further deface any sincerity of the work that true DJ's put into developing intricate and strategically curated sets. These same musicians who dream of playing incredible electronic sets at some these clubs.
I honestly thought we were done with this? But it seems, I should have known right from the start, that you'd go and break my heart.
Photo by Denise Truscello
