‘If you don’t define who you are … then that can take away from everything you do in the future,’ Zac Hanson tells MTV News.
In the ’90s, boy bands like ‘NSYNC and Backstreet Boys and pop princesses like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera ruled the charts. Hanson have managed to maintain a career long past that era and their breakout single, “MMMBop”; just last week, they released the new album Shout It Out.
So do Hanson have any sage advice for the latest crop of pop stars, including Justin Bieber, the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus? “I think the thing about all those artists is, the idea of defining who you really want to be and being that,” Zac Hanson told MTV News on Wednesday, just a day after their canceled show with Drake in New York.
“In a lot of these cases, this whole idea of movies and music and TV shows and multimedia whatever, that’s great, but it can also be very confusing,” he continued. “And also, for your audience, if you don’t define who you are or what you represent pretty quickly, then that can take away from everything you do in the future and cheapen any real art or any real thing you want to say.”
Taylor Hanson agreed with his little brother’s advice, adding, “Really for anybody, regardless of whether you start young or do pop or rock, surviving in the business of entertainment is difficult. I mean, 90 percent of people don’t succeed. You just have to identify what it is you do and know that you’re always going to be the one who cares the most.”
That means you should trust yourself over label execs, the brothers say. “Record labels, producers, TV writers, the whole nine yards, they can go on to another project, but it’s your life, it’s your name,” Isaac Hanson said. “So in 15 years from now, 20 years from now, it’s going to be on your record.”
What do you think of Hanson’s advice for the pop up-and-comers? Let us know in the comments!
“Record labels, producers, TV writers, the whole nine yards, they can go on to another project, but it’s your life, it’s your name,” <===Best advice any one can give to an aspiring artist. It's a mantra I've lived by personally in my career as a musician and it's the only way your personal success and creative development are truly going to be satisfying.
Art isn't about money and what other people think you should be producing, it's about personal expression. It's yours, so you have to stay true to yourself.
I so agree. Hanson are real artists. They know who they are, and they know what they want, and they don’t need to be dictated by others.