# Norah Jones....what made her popular? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 27, 2004, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norah-jones-what-made-her-popular/236816 "2004-03-27T23:00:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ThatGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e5b9ba/32.png) [@ThatGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThatGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norah-jones-what-made-her-popular/236816/21 "2004-03-28T20:09:44Z")
I agree gex gex, i actually happen to like the music too…which is the important part i suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norah-jones-what-made-her-popular/236816/22 "2004-03-28T20:39:36Z")
Don’t underestimate the popularity of adult contemporary artists. MTV would have you believe everyone and their brother is out buying Outkast, Beyonce, Eminem, and Britney. While these artists are popular they do have their demographic, it’s a competitive market for them, and lots of kids are downloading or burning these artists. Adult contemporary on the other hand is less competitive, travels by word of mouth, and is actually “bought” by it’s listeners. When I managed a mall music store in the fall of 2002 the artists I sold out of the fastest were Norah Jones, Josh Groban, and Rod Stewart (storytellers). In fact, if some artist made an appearance on Oprah you could make a bet that people would be out in droves to buy it. ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norah-jones-what-made-her-popular/236816/23 "2004-03-28T20:44:22Z")
Her success is driven much by the fact the she appeals to a very wide fan base. The broader your fan base, the easier it is to sell CD’s. While some may term her music “vanilla”, I find it an enjoyable listen. Do I want to hear it non-stop, no. She’s not screaming at the top of her lungs, writing offensive lyrics or being either part of the “my life sucks” or “pimpin on the street corner” crowd but that’s OK with me. Just because her sound is clear and unfettered, doesn’t mean it’s simple or unworthy. I do think her bass player makes a considerable contribution to the appeal of her music. She is more than a flash in the pan or “1 hit wonder”. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norah-jones-what-made-her-popular/236816/24 "2004-03-29T00:13:22Z")
1. She’s drop dead, meltingly gorgeous, and I personally would watch her for hours even if she couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket. 2. She can actually sing. 3. She writes some good songs now and again or at least has the sense to use good material written by others. 4. Just in case I forgot to mention it, she’s drop dead, meltingly gorgeous, and I personally would watch her for hours even if she couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norah-jones-what-made-her-popular/236816/25 "2004-03-29T04:12:07Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Don’t underestimate the popularity of adult contemporary artists. > MTV would have you believe everyone and their brother is out buying Outkast, Beyonce, Eminem, and Britney. While these artists are popular they do have their demographic, it’s a competitive market for them, and lots of kids are downloading or burning these artists. > Adult contemporary on the other hand is less competitive, travels by word of mouth, and is actually “bought” by it’s listeners. > When I managed a mall music store in the fall of 2002 the artists I sold out of the fastest were Norah Jones, Josh Groban, and Rod Stewart (storytellers). > In fact, if some artist made an appearance on Oprah you could make a bet that people would be out in droves to buy it. you bring up an interesting point. If the kids are all downloading their fave artists’ stuff instead of buying it, and the foges are buying their fave artists’ stuff and not downloading it, maybe the music biz will be forced to cater exclusively to the foges and dismiss the kids as a niche market! That would be … sweet. ---
**Author:** ![ThatGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e5b9ba/32.png) [@ThatGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThatGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norah-jones-what-made-her-popular/236816/26 "2004-03-29T04:14:14Z")
Definately…i could walk into a music store and not feel like i should be in high school. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norah-jones-what-made-her-popular/236816.md?page=1)