Monday, April 7, 2014

Amber's Playlist [Te Busque]

I've officially got this on my iPod now.
I might add a couple more songs, but for now, I have a list of 13 songs that are the soundtrack to Amber's journey through the realm of this project.
  1. I'm just sayin'- Karmin
  2. What you see (is what you get)- Britney Spears ("Oops... I did it again")
  3. I can't make you love me- Britney Spears ("Oops... I did it again")
  4. Circus- Britney Spears ("Circus")
  5. Lace & Leather- Britney Spears ("Circus")
  6. Paparazzi- Lady Gaga (The Fame)
  7. Told you so- Karmin
  8. Ladykiller- Maroon 5 ("Overexposed")
  9. Tickets- Maroon 5 ("Overexposed")
  10. Starstruck- Lady Gaga feat. Space Cowboy ("The Fame")
  11. Bad Kids- Lady Gaga ("Born this way")
  12. Comin' up strong- Karmin
  13. Hello- Karmin
Sunday afternoon, I went through all of these songs one after another and started to see a pattern taking shape.
I knew all of these were songs that I've associated with this particular character. Probably the most complex and most like me of all the cast members of "Te Busque."

I once wrote that she might have a bit of an identity crisis because I have so many different artists representing her.
Everyone from Lady Gaga to Rihanna to Britney Spears and Karmin, the latter being the very reason I came up with the evolution of her character where she changes her name and reinvents herself to adapt.

I could easily see her performing to "The Only Girl in The World" and "Where have you been?" because she likes to be the center of attention.
Or at least that's the misconception derived from her routines. That and being a little too hardcore with flaunting her sexuality.

The first song is more or less her theme throughout the storyline.
"...I'm just sayin, oh if I want it, I'm gonna get it"
It speaks about her quest to get Alejandro's attention as well as being taken seriously by everyone else and moving the direction of the club's image to one that's more to her tastes.

The first Britney Spears, I can almost see in an alternate version of her backstory, where she was the star of the club and was outmoded by a younger, fresher Talia.
The storyline is about a girl wanting to prove to a guy that she can be trusted with her male friends.
For this particular interpretation, though, it could just as easily her insisting that she won't lower herself to everyone else's level just to get along... something she ends up turning her back on.

Because I thought that was the title, I refer to the third song as "Crush on you"...
as in "I can't make you love me, I'm just a girl with a crush on you"... I mean, those three words open the freaking song. How are they NOT the title?

The scene I see unfolding is very dramatic. If my story was a lengthy episode of "Glee" with people breaking into song spontaneously, it would begin the moment Carmen walks away from Alejandro after her failed attempt to get the spot in the troupe.
All of the dance moves are something out of a Britney Spears video, hip-hop/pop style. She struts down the street singing this. One specific scene that takes place is her creating bangs and dying her hair. I haven't worked out all the kinks of what goes array, but the end result is permanent "amber" highlights that won't wash out of her hair.

The biggest question left about that part in her story is how she comes to the decision to come back under the new persona... how long it took her to come to that decision... and so on.
The song is meant mainly to be inner dialogue because nobody but her knows about her feelings for Alejandro. Well, maybe Michel and Misha, her male friends do, but none of the other girls really know that.

"Circus" is her audition song that gets her a spot on the troupe.
I would have included "Just Dance," her original audition song on this playlist, but in the overall scheme of things, it breaks up the flow of the playlist.
One of these days, I ought to check out the music video for the song for more ideas. I originally saw this as her dancing with a couple guys, cha-cha footwork and partner work. But seeing as Talia's troupe is all female, something else needs to take place. So I figured I'd give Amber a whip as a prop. And a lot of sexuality flaunting, including her being on the floor and moving her body in suggestive ways.

"Lace & Leather" is her chair and hair-ography number with Vanessa, which involves them draped over chairs, flipping their hair and kicking up their 6-inch stilettos. And they're probably dressed similarly to the girls from Vanity 6 for this .

Because I thought the songs sounded similar (heck, I thought there was some plagiarism involved), "Paparazzi" is her answer to Talia's "Say it right." While Talia's letting JP into her heart, Amber is dreaming about coming out on top, a goal she suddenly feels is within her grasp.
Again, still working out the kinks.

"Told you so," I had a thought yesterday about what it could really be referring to.
Amber telling Talia that sooner or later, Emilia will seek her out to dance with her because she will eventually tire of Talia babying her...
oddly, I put this before the two Maroon 5 songs that serve as my "servants' chorus" tracks.

The Servants' chorus was something featured prominently in "My Fair Lady" when Professor Higgins is having trouble teaching Eliza to speak proper English and the servants are telling him to give it up.

I find "Ladykiller" fascinating lyrically. To me, it sounds like Adam Levine is trying to talk his ex-girlfriend out of her pursuing a relationship with another woman, who can't be trusted, "she'll eat you alive as soon as she smells your blood in the water"...
I can see people around Emilia cautioning her against looking for Amber because she doesn't know who she's dealing with... everyone believing she takes the business too seriously to the point where it's a game for her. Apparently she's been very convincing her façade.
Then "Tickets" refers to her being self-involved
"she's got tickets to her own show and nobody wants to go"... I see this being a cha-cha inspired number with her dancing with Michel and Misha with all the music video camera angles and such. This is the number Emilia sees before Amber comes over to talk to her.

"Starstruck" is a playful number, but I had another idea to add to it.
Originally, I thought of her using it to flirt with Alejandro and the end result is his lack of interest.
But then I thought she might show it to him after a rehearsal with her and Emilia, and he says she's better than just "upfront titillation"... almost as if he knows there's more to her than that...

so she decides on her brand new path, promoting self-empowerment with "Bad Kids"
which is a part of the "house of leather" night

also got the idea to have Vanessa dancing in a supporting role each number, which is a trio of her, Amber and Emilia

Finally, I close it off with two more Karmin tracks.
"Comin' up strong" is an emotional ballad. Originally, Carmen danced it for Scarlet to help her feel better after going the ordeal with her abusive father in a rumba. But at present, it see it as part of a night where each girl has a personal number that derives from their past.
She's dancing hip-hop with Misha (who Talia allows to dance with her for this special occasion) with very NappyTab-like choreography.

And "Hello" is the big production number at the end of the story with all the girls dancing different styles... Talia asks her if she has any ideas and that's what she comes up with. To me, it almost plays out like an expansive cheerleading routine, but it's more than that.

No comments:

Post a Comment