Tonight I took a break from the mountains of homework I have to do to watch the 49th annual Grammy Awards. Music is one of my biggest passions so I can never miss this awards show when it comes around. Tonight, however; I was especially intrigued because some unsigned singer would get the chance to sing a duet with Justin Timberlake. Over the Internet, various girls entered home-made tapes of themselves singing and the three finalists were chosen from hundreds of submissions.
Of course, this particular performance was not shown until the end of the show (way to make me wait for 2 hours!), but it was certainly worth the wait. The young artist named Robyn Troup was not only extremely talented, but also noticeably excited to be performing on music's biggest night.
It gets better! Not only did she get to perform tonight, but she also is getting a contract with JT's new record label! Talk about lucky!
So, you might wonder, what does all of this have to do with technology? Well, my point is, I think we are past the point in our society when some men in suits are deciding what the general public finds entertaining. Robyn was able to use basic technology to connect with one of musics biggest names and was voted on by the general public; who made their voice heard loud and clear through online voting and text messaging. Society is now taking responsibility for their own entertainment and I find this incredibly exciting. Without the use of technology, would this amazing moment have happened for a very deserving artist?
As an educator, I think our biggest responsibility in regards to this new trend is to teach our students to use their "power" in an educated way. They are going to have to make a lot of decisions based on what they do and do not want to see on TV/hear on the radio. As long as they use their good judgment when making these decisions, I think the future of entertainment is in good hands!
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