Helloooooo E!

I'm ready!

Zen

Ah, I see you have an insatiable craving for pompous balladry (ding!)

Max

Pompous balladry?

What is indisputable is that Andrew Lloyd-Webber is more responsible than any other person on the planet earth right now for getting people into seats from New York to Shanghai and everywhere in between to see and experience live musical theater.

Smokey

Hi Zen<sigh>

So why subject the singers, and the fans-- to the, uh, “rigors” of an ALW nite?

So the guy is a modern-day giant of the musical theatre, a genre that -- while certainly not to my personal tastes -- continues to sell tickets and present employment opportunities for countless numbers of singers, including several would-be Idols from seasons past. HOWEVER … any relationship between ALW's catalog and contemporary pop music has always been thin, at best.

Riggs

At least here in America, where all those long-running musicals have spawned exactly 3 pop hits: I Don't Know How to Love Him, Don't Cry for Me, Argentina (only 'cause Madonna recorded it), and Memory (only 'cause it's been covered by nearly 200 artists -- notably Barbra Streisand and Barry Manilow, neither of whose versions climbed any higher than No. 39 on the Billboard pop charts.) <zing>

S.D.

The cast recordings from his productions of Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Evita, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, Jesus Christ Superstar -- to name just a few -- have sold more than 20 mil copies worldwide and are virtually known and beloved in many countries. His music has saturated the globe, whether it rings your bell or not.

Smokey

…which begs the question: What's so ‘pop’ about unpopularity? I mean, y not have a night devoted to Lou Reed's catalog? Love to hear what aspiring Idols could do with "Walk on the Wild Side", "Satellite of Love," and "Sweet Jane". Or "Heroin", "Sister Ray", and "Venus in Furs'.

But my ass will be sitting at the bottom of the Atlantic 1st.

<Hi Smokey>

Zen