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Now this is interesting - I didn't realise that Alex's sexuality has never actually been in question, just 'played down'. Which is kinda funny, because while she's never said it explicitly in anything I've seen, in many other ways it couldn't be any more obvious - not just the anvils mentioned already in this thread, but also the way she interacts with the camera when she performs live: "playing down" is not the phrase that springs to mind in conjunction when one looks here for example.
Let's be clear about something: in six months, Alex could be as annoying as Dido - I think coming out of something like Fame Academy, people always have the potential to go either way, as it were. But within the context of the show/competition, I think the fact that she not only won, but was a clear favourite from quite early on, is very interesting. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the British music-buying public is into gentle angst right now, but I think it is surprising and encouraging that someone who combines the specific qualities of youth, angst, vulnerability, androgeny, queer sexuality and - well, 'uniqueness' for want of a better term - can be so instantly accepted and championed. And she *is* a little unique - unlike Peter, she's not slavishly aping her heroines (Ani DiFranco & Annie Lennox) thank God, and she's not boring enough to be Tracey Chapman or Suzanne Vega... Beth Orton sometimes springs to mind, but I think Alex is just that bit more intense than any of these people - there's that disarming thing she does sometimes when she just seems to stop caring about how her vocals 'sound' and start belting it out with a scary degree of emotion - you could call it emo, I guess, although I wouldn't (I like her too much). I think you can also make a comparison to T.a.t.u., if you're not entirely cynical, in that they clearly did appeal to teen/pre-teen girls who may or may not have been questioning/discovering their sexuality - except Alex doesn't have the creepy/discomforting aspects of exploitation (perceived or genuine), voyeurism, etc.
Apparently her single will be out on Nov 17 - roll on the first Alex Parks thread in Music... |
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, next you'll be telling me you understand the meaning of the The White Stripes !)