Despite of my current life, I’m a fan of Broadway musical shows. And though I don’t really grasp of its history and origin, I’m a fan of its music. There are songs on my list that originated from Broadway musicals. And if you think musicals suck, then I should remind you that most Disney musical animations are somewhat related to it.

Throughout Disney animation movies, there are stage show adaptations from animations like Mulan, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Tarzan and Lion King as well. And there’s also Disney channel’s High School Musical that’s a drop dead musical performance.

And I believe you also still remember the 2004 movie, Phantom of the Opera which is based on a stage show of one of my favorite composer, Andrew Lloyd Webber. And if you still think musical sucks, there’s the classical Grease, starring John Travolta. There’s The Sound of Music, there’s South Pacific, there’s My Fair Lady, Oklahoma, Oliver, Aida, The King and I, Same Time Next Year, Les Miserable, A Chorus Line, The Boy from Oz [starring Hugh Jackman, the very guy who also played in the movies as Wolverine and Von Helsing], there’s Rent, Annie, Mary Poppins, Jesus Christ Superstar, Jeeves, Chess, Evita, West Side Story, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Cats, Starlight Express, Sunset Boulevard, and many other shows I just couldn’t get my mind off.

Originated from classical opera, modern musicals retained its identity in its songs and dances. And really, being a part of the show –even as an audience, the strength of the songs and dances could really set your feet tapping to the rhythm and set your heart ablaze with the spirit of the music. And really, the passion of the music could really set a stone to dance.

And I really miss those good old days, when the whole song, lyric and music, is deliberately designed to move the heart. Until now, this quality could only be found in musicals especially due to the fact that it’s what sells, in the context of musical stage shows. Unlike popular music that’s designed to please the song of many, the songs in any given musical show –even if it holds R&B theme, are designed to please the taste of the few. In short, it’s premium music, and its quality is definitely worth the price.

It’s about the emotions unleashed with the songs, people. While R&B invites primal instincts and pop music tells the story of many people, but musical songs revealed the whole rhetorical perspective. Musical songs are always sung passionately, it could make you cry as it could make you laugh, it could tell tales of beauty so dear you would rip your heart out, and it could tell tales of anything so divine it would turn you into a believer.

And I NEVER found this inspirational quality in popular music. Many of the evergreen songs came from musical shows, and that’s just what musical songs are: evergreen. Pop music is merely a passing bird in this sea of over-changing trend, but musical is the wind that blows over the tides.

The passion, people, it’s all about the passion. Whatever their genre and field, artists are always passionate about their thing, almost obsessive in some aspects. And that’s just what it takes to create new dreams out of thin air. Not just any dream, but dreams that would move the hearts. And knowing the nature of men, anyone would move a mountain when inspired.

If only people would have that great passion towards the thing they do. And yet, /if only/ is the loneliest word of all. Dreams are deemed to be lonely, as dreamers and visionaries are sentenced to live their life in isolation. But if you happen to be an inspired someone, then the next thing to do is to get yourself passionate about a certain goal, a certain ideal, or even a certain absurd dream.

The keyword for the next step is /hard work/. It’s all about keeping the passion aflame and setting it to the right goal. Dreams are meant to be actualized through episodes of hardship, of trials and tribulations, of keeping your pace. And that’s just what it takes to make a dream comes true.

And so, I’ll leave you with a song by Barry Manilow, a used-to-be accompanist in auditions. And as you could see, even a short song could tell so many stories. Especially when Manilow spoke of his anecdote: if you could give in, you could give out, but you don’t give up.

God Bless the Other 99

I learned more from failure than I learn from success,
I learned from no, thank you, so much more than from yes.
I learned to be willing to lead with my chin,
And if I were willing to lose, I could win.

I learn from the losers, who got right back in line,
The dimmer their future, then the brighter they shine.
Three cheers for the one, the one in a hundred,
But God bless the other ninety-nine.