Where are they now?
Last night on the two-day slopfest known as American Idol, the final three created a Ford Music video. For those who do not watch American Idol, these music videos are covers of popular songs and somehow they push Ford cars. The contestants can be seen washing Ford cars or driving them while lip-syncing a song. In this particular video, the "idols" performed Billy Squier's Everybody Wants You. Everybody Wants You was Squier's first U.S. Mainstream Rock track to reach Number 1.
It got me thinking though, whatever happened to Billy Squier. Some artists change their sound and fade into obscurity. Some bands lose crucial members and just cease creating music. But the downfall of Billy Squier was tracked back to only ONE event. This event was the release of the music video Rock Me Tonite.
Billy Squier had taken almost four years to cement his status as an arena rock god. A guitar hero to some, a pop lyricist to others, and master of the double entendre to me, he created a music video that totally went against his nature. This video saw Billy prancing around in ripped tee shirts, gyrating and frolicking in a wispy, pastel-colored, satin bed, and generally dancing around like a homosexual toolshed.
His fans left overnight. He had only two minor hits on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart, and has since fell into obscurity. I choose to remember the Billy Squier that created "The Stroke" "Everybody Wants You" "Lonely is the Night" and "My Kinda Lover." I try to ignore the dancing, prancing, Flashdance-esque, Billy Squier that ruined a relatively bright career.
The video that ended it all:
It got me thinking though, whatever happened to Billy Squier. Some artists change their sound and fade into obscurity. Some bands lose crucial members and just cease creating music. But the downfall of Billy Squier was tracked back to only ONE event. This event was the release of the music video Rock Me Tonite.
Billy Squier had taken almost four years to cement his status as an arena rock god. A guitar hero to some, a pop lyricist to others, and master of the double entendre to me, he created a music video that totally went against his nature. This video saw Billy prancing around in ripped tee shirts, gyrating and frolicking in a wispy, pastel-colored, satin bed, and generally dancing around like a homosexual toolshed.
His fans left overnight. He had only two minor hits on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart, and has since fell into obscurity. I choose to remember the Billy Squier that created "The Stroke" "Everybody Wants You" "Lonely is the Night" and "My Kinda Lover." I try to ignore the dancing, prancing, Flashdance-esque, Billy Squier that ruined a relatively bright career.
The video that ended it all:
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