I was listening to the radio in my car the other day and Lady Gaga’s song Alejandro came on. It sounded a lot to me like an old Ace of Base song. Now, those of you who are younger than 30 probably have no idea who Ace of Base is, yet they were the soundtrack to my senior year in high school. (I’m SO dating myself!) And that got me thinking: Ace of Base, a huge group many, many moons ago, has fallen off the face of the Earth. No one knows who they are any more. Where will Lady Gaga be in 20 years? Will her music be more remembered than Ace of Base’s? What is it about certain music that makes it stand the test of time? What about Elvis’ music made it “classic?” If it was just because of him and the fact that he was an attractive guy who sang and danced like no one else had before, I don’t think all his songs would be such a part of our American pop culture fabric. There is something far more special. But what?? And who today will be considered a true classic tomorrow, in 20 years, in 55 years? I think we can safely say Michael Jackson and Madonna have made their way to “legend” status, but could we have predicted that back when their first or second albums had come out? I bet- granted this is just a guess as I have not done the proper research- but I just bet that Justin Bieber has more people attending his concerts and chasing his tour bus than MJ had back in his heyday. Yet, I doubt Bieber Fever will last much longer. (Perhaps that’s just wishful thinking. 
) I can’t imagine a musical being created around Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus or Jonas Brothers music – but really, who knows?!
So, of the people you can hear on the radio today, who do you think will become a classic? Whose music would you like to see an entire Broadway musical dedicated to?
