Philippine Cinderellas Beat “It Reaffirms to Me That for Most Ordinary People, Music Sounds Like Japanese to Them If They’Re Not Japanese
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Lifestyle FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2015 ‘Blurred Lines’ verdict strikes fear into songwriters ruling that pop stars Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams stole from Marvin Gaye threatens to create-in the words of Atheir smash hit-even more blurred lines for songwriters who could increasingly be hauled to court over their artistic inspi- rations. A jury in Los Angeles on Tuesday awarded more than $7 million to Gaye’s family after finding similarities between the late Motown legend’s 1977 hit “Got to Give It Up” and “Blurred Lines” by Thicke and veteran songwriter Williams, which was the top- selling song in the United States in 2013. Gaye’s heirs hailed the verdict as justice. But many music pro- fessionals voiced dismay, saying that non-specialist jurors con- Aspiring beauty queens practice stretching at a beauty boot camp Aspiring beauty queen checks her phone at a beauty boot camp. fused the influences that lie in all artists with outright theft. “It’s in Manila in this picture taken on March 8, 2015. — AFP photos just a huge nail in the coffin for an already six-foot-under music industry. Now none of us have any idea what’s going to win a lawsuit,” said songwriter Greg Wells, who has co-written with superstars Adele and Katy Perry. Philippine Cinderellas beat “It reaffirms to me that for most ordinary people, music sounds like Japanese to them if they’re not Japanese. This just takes the fear knob and cranks it to 11 for people who do what I and Pharrell do for a living,” he told AFP. E. Michael Harrington, a composer and expert on music law at SAE Institute, Nashville, poverty, seize world stage said that the ruling, if it stands, would mean that “plenty of plain- tiffs can go crazy and sue everyone.” “I’ve never seen a decision that is this poor-the melody wasn’t taken, there were no lyrics s a child she waded in muddy Philippine rice paddies, now Universe pageant, which has a huge following in the Philippines. taken, there was no chord progressions taken,” he said. “If this is teenager Janicel Lubina struts down runways for the coun- the standard, it’s below floor level it’s so low.” Atry’s top designers and is hoping to be crowned among Mopping floors the world’s most beautiful women. Lubina is a star recruit in one But Lubina’s camera-ready smile fades when she talks about ‘Fine line’ of Manila’s beauty pageant boot camps, where shy, lanky teenage her struggles back home in Palawan province, where she worked The case technically involved not the recording of “Got to girls from remote farming provinces are transformed into poised as a maid like her mother, while her father was recovering from a Give It Up” but the sheet music, which Gaye’s family owns. Barbie dolls who can preach about world peace in six-inch heels. mild stroke. “One time, I mopped floors for an entire day and my Recordings of the two songs have similar atmospherics, including Beauty pageants are hugely popular with women in the boss made me do it all over again because she didn’t like my background noise from a party. In evidence highlighted by Philippines, with many taking part in the hope it will lead to luxu- work,” she said. Lubina was discovered by a local make-up artist Gaye’s team, Thicke himself had said in media interviews that he ry living, success in high fashion, and movie stardom. “My mother while she was out on an errand, walking on a dirt road. The beau- wanted to write a song like Gaye’s. He backtracked in court and was a maid. I can’t be a maid forever and get stuck in the tician was amazed by her towering frame, she said. She won 3,000 said he was not sober when speaking to the press. province,” 19-year-old Lubina told AFP before she auditioned for pesos ($68) in her first pageant three years ago and has never Whatever the idiosyncracies of the case, many musicians this year’s Binibining Pilipinas (Miss Philippines) contest. Lubina looked back-for her the money has flowed in to the extent that openly cite their influences. Music industry promotional cam- mastered what is dubbed the “duck walk” at the Kagandahang she can support her family and pay for stroke treatment for her paigns, although often not crafted by the artists themselves, rou- Flores (Beauty of the Flower) training camp in Manila, where stu- father. tinely compare new bands to well-known stars. The songwriter dents are taught to perfect their beauty queen strut by swinging Among her most memorable purchases was their family’s first busbee, who has worked with a diverse array of artists including their hips from side to side like ducks. ever television set, which she gave to her parents as a gift after Shakira and Garth Brooks, said that melody infringement was a she placed second in a contest in 2013. “It wasn’t even a flat- real problem but that professionals were careful. “It’s a fine line screen TV, but it meant so much because my parents used to because you obviously have to be responsible as a creative per- watch TV in our neighbor’s house... Now they can watch me on TV son. I can’t go repaint the Mona Lisa and say it’s my inspiration. anytime,” she said. Flores trained the Philippines’ last two big Equally, though, if you’re second-guessing every creative move global pageant winners-Miss International 2013 Bea Rose you make, that’s a little bit tricky,” he said. Santiago, and Miss Earth 2014 Jamie Herrell. In total, the country’s Many songwriters say that they are regularly barraged by beauties have won the Miss International competition five times, claims that they copied other artists, often obscure works that twice each at Miss Universe and Miss Earth and once at Miss they had never heard of. “No one knows every single song ever World. and you would basically have to submit every song to a musicol- Local pageant fans are also among the world’s most devoted. ogist, which wouldn’t be very cost-effective,” busbee said. One In 2010, a YouTube clip of four friends going berserk while watch- prominent case emerged this year over British soul singer Sam ing Miss Universe got close to four million views, prompting fast- Smith’s smash hit “Stay With Me.” After growing chatter about food chain KFC to put them in one of their TV commercials. similarities between the song and Tom Petty’s 1989 hit “I Won’t Back Down,” Smith quietly added Petty and the US rocker’s col- Escape from poverty laborator Jeff Lynne as co-writers. Smith, who was born in 1992, For 1985 Miss Philippines Joyce Burton-Titular, pageants are said he had never heard “I Won’t Back Down” and Petty agreed huge in the country because of Filipinos love to ogle and criticize that he believed the similarities were coincidental.—AFP glamorous women. “It’s a cultural thing that starts with the admi- ration of beauty... We also enjoy being mean critics, whether a girl wins or loses,” Titular told AFP. Titular said pageants could also present an opportunity to escape from poverty. “Pageants these Former housemaid Janicel Lubina, 19, gestures as she talks at days are a great equaliser because you can come from the poor- a beauty boot camp. est of the poor and still win. In our country, pageants are empow- ering,” she said. Titular said winning the national pageant 30 years ago gave Muscle memory her the confidence to try a career in acting, and as a newsreader. Camp director and “duck walk” inventor Rodin Gilbert Flores For Herrell, beating 84 other beautiful women for the Miss Earth approaches training with the precision of a scientist. He is a title last year has led to guest spots in television dance shows. licensed chemical engineer who worked for a major glass compa- Unlike Lubina, Herrell comes from a well-off family that owns a ny before shifting to entertainment. “It’s is all about muscle mem- dance studio in Cebu city, a commercial centre in the central ory. It’s calculated down to the movement of the hands,” he said. region. She said she spends her pageant winnings on clothes. But “The girl should also show her personality. She can’t be like a Herrell takes her Miss Earth duties seriously, planting as many mannequin with no expression on her face.” Flores ruthlessly trees as she can in her home province of Cebu and other deforest- watches as his students, wearing two-piece bikinis and high heels ed areas to raise awareness about environmental issues. “duck-walk” from one end of a dark covered basketball court to “Pageants are relevant. Women can use them as channels for the other. their advocacy,” she said. “You help the community, and be beau- Sweat drips down their cheeks but they are not allowed to sit tiful at the same time. And that’s the tough part.”— AFP This picture taken on January 25, 2014 shows recording down until they perfect it. “We’ll take in a girl, she will be in pain artists Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke performing onstage because of the duck walk, but the end result is she’ll be a head- during the 56th annual GRAMMY Awards Pre-GRAMMY Gala turner,” he said. Towering at 1.83-metres-tall (six feet) in heels, and Salute to Industry Icons honoring Lucian Grainge at The raven-haired Lubina hopes to represent the country in the Miss Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California.