In case you haven’t heard, singer and 2013’s ‘sexist’ man of the year Robin Thicke is coming to Manila, er, Cavite next weekend to headline the upcoming Dreamfields Music Festival on May 30. The progeny of equally sleazy actor Allan Thicke has pretty much been a pariah since his career’s downward trajectory after “Blurred Lines,” so the question is, why does this guy still have a career? And why was he even invited to play here in the Philippines?
According to Divasoria blogger Grace Velasco, Dream Fields corporate sponsors chose Robin Thicke as the event headliner because they thought he would draw crowds. “I know that the promoters went around to sponsors, and showed them a list of artists’ names, and Robin Thicke was the only one that appealed to them,” she reveals to Preen.
It won’t be the first time that corporate sponsors try to tap into what they think the kids are into these days and get it terribly wrong, but why they would choose to back a highly controversial artist like Robin Thicke is beyond us.
A little back story, for those of you who need reminding: Robin Thicke’s career infamously culminated (and tanked) in 2013 with the release of “Blurred Lines,” a collaborative effort with producer Pharrell Williams and rapper T.I. The song, with its misogynist, rapey lyrics and even more questionable video featuring topless women cavorting around fully-clothed and very married men, sent a strong, sexist message across, resulting in media backlash across the board. Though the video’s female director Diane Martel clarified that the video was created with feminist undertones, with the topless models, including Gone Girl’s Emily Ratajkowski, looking straight into the camera, symbolic of “taking back the male gaze,” it wasn’t enough to appease many women’s rights groups.
Things took a turn for the worst when Robin started mansplaining his song’s lyrics, saying the pop anthem was great art and a feminist movement inspired by old men hollering at young girls from their porch, and that yes, his video was about degrading women, but you know, in a fun way. Then came the infamous twerking incident with Miley Cyrus at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, after which he told Oprah that it was cute, and that he doesn’t twerk—he’s twerked upon.
Vomit.
Why anyone would think that we would buy tickets to see Robin Thicke live is bananas, but that’s just our opinion. To get a little perspective, we asked a few friends, acquaintances, and noted personalities to get their unfiltered thoughts. The results? Most are unsurprisingly negative, a few are unaware and/or neutral, and there’s one who is openly excited about his performance.
Hey, hey, hey—everyone is entitled to their opinions!
To read what writers Hannah Cruz and Coco Quizon, artist Nikki Luna, and rockers Basti Artadi and Diego Mapa had to say about Robin Thicke: Live in Cavite, click through the slideshow above!
UPDATE:
The producers of the Dreamfields Music Festival announced on their Facebook page that the show has been cancelled.
Dear friends, partners and supporters,
First and foremost, we would like to thank all of you for the overwhelming support you have shown for Dreamfields Music Festival. We are extremely grateful to each of you.
However, due to unforseen circumstances presented, we are unable to continue producing this event for May 30, 2015 and will have to postpone this indefinitely.
Thank you.
Dreamfields Music Festival Producers
Well, that’s a relief!
Images by Dorothy Guya