The Diva Next Door

Abstract

The concept of self promotion is not a new phenomenon and is most likely a way for humans to evolve and understand themselves. At least since the 20th Century, the term has been related to the exposure of famous persons due to the influence of electronic mass media. My interest in this field has been to examine to which degree the Scottish female singer Eddi Reader uses self promotion and in what way this relates to her music. I have used Allan Moores controversial authenticity theory (asking who instead of what is being authenticated) as the point of departure for this thesis in order to discuss how authenticity is an important key in the understanding of self promotion. Furthermore the theories of Anthony Giddens and Thomas Ziehe have given me a significant approach to understanding the individual’s need to be self reflective because of the meaninglessness we experience as part of the modern society. I have argued that Reader in her solo carrier has moved from being a pop orientated artist to being a folk orientated artist. This has been manifested in her physical and musical transformation moving; from an alternative and experimental expression to a more mature, impulsive and intimate one. This transformation has become clear to me through the analyses of two different songs and music videos (Joke (I’m Laughing) and Roses), Reader’s increasing use of interactive and social media, and the ascertainment of Reader’s more present use of geno-song, which is accompanied by her expressive physical performance gestures. Her many personal struggles throughout the 1990th seem to have given her music more integrity and at the same time been generating authenticity in connection with her passionate and present way of life. Reader is a reflective individual who wants to be considered as a down-to-earth authentic person. But can someone who is reflective towards their own authenticity be considered as authentic? In continuation of Ziehe’s description of how we attempt to orientate ourselves culturally, Reader’s search of authenticity can instead be seen as social uncertainty. This can be seen through her longing for expressiveness and striving towards intimacy in her performance and in her need of maintaining close relations, manifested in her use of interactive and social media. However, if we all are searching for things that can fill out the meaninglessness in our lives, as Ziehe and Giddens concludes, then the self’s reflective process must be seen as common, and the desire to be authentic will therefore probably not be experienced as inauthentic. In this context, I find Wendy Doniger’s assumption highly useful. She points out that we are not always aware of when we are trying to show a version of ourselves as we think people expect us to be in private or public. We are never ourselves only for ourselves, but always in relation to others. In other words, there are no central self, but many selves interacting with each other. By means of these theories we are able to see the thought of Reader as self promoted in a different light. I find it reasonable to say that Reader’s musical carrier can be seen as a projection of her inner personal conflict and her strive towards the search for a meaningful life. But I also stress the importance of noticing that she is most likely aware of her dependency on her audience and that she has taken this into account by keeping a close relationship to her fans which both sides benefit from. I conclude that Reader most likely intentionally attempts to promote the selves that she wish should define her as a singer and person, and therefore potentially unconsciously misrepresent who she really is, or rather covers the other selves she possesses. This is probably not far from what we all do without finding ourselves more inauthentic for that reason. It seems that Reader has been able to keep a touch of former Diva qualities in her expressive and dramatic manner combined with the down-to-earth, mother-of-two person she also is. It might be because of this almost irreconcilable approach that she in particular appears authentic, as ‘The Diva Next Door’.

A master thesis from Aalborg University

The Diva Next Door

[The Diva Next Door: En undersøgelse af den skotske sangerinde Eddi Readers selviscenesættelse - set i forhold til hendes musik]