George Michael

Among the distinctions he has gathered along the slick road to pop superstardom, George
Michael found himself the object of a funny Saturday Night Live skit a while back, when
Dana Carvey lampooned the famous hip shakes in Michael's "Faith" video. It was a parody
that stuck. Picking up his Grammy for Faith, which sold 15 million copies, Michael tried to be
a sport about it – and about the idea that his videos and his ubiquitous butt had r... More >

Who has this boy been listening to? Morrissey? Anita Baker? June Christie? Harry Connick Jr.? Whatever the sleazy details, his announced decision to hold off on the dance music till next time half-proves he doesn't know as much about stardom as he thinks, and the ruminations with which he proclaims his seriousness finish the job. As a public figure he's no Bono or Boy George--he's a good-looking, replaceable teenybop idol. So only teenyboppers, and not too damn many of those, are likely to care that he feels demeaned by false fame. It's as a musician that he's won respect, and not even a pop musician--a dance musician. Ironic, isn't it, that the danciest thing here is yoked to (and undercut by) his highly unoriginal thoughts on this matter? And though the McCartneyesque "Heal the Pain" sounds like a hit ballad, most of this cocktail music is no more interesting than the cipher who sings it so "well." I'm betting it doesn't move a quarter of Faith's units, which ought to enhance his appreciation of dance music pronto. (Grade: C+)