Your Favorite Artist’s Favorite Artist: The Hidden Influences Behind the Icons
your favorite artist's favorite artist
your favorite artist’s favorite artist, talent and creative voice when we think of our favourite musicians, painters, actors or performers. But even groundbreaking artists have heroes — the people whose work influenced their style and direction, and helped to define their own voice. It’s the cool idea behind the phrase “your favorite artist’s favorite artist.” It asks us to look past the spotlight and delve into the suppressed shadows that formed some of the world’s most cherished talents.
In this article, we will look at what this phrase really means, why it matters and a handful of surprising examples that shed a light on how influence operates in the creative world.
What Is Meant by “Your Favorite Artist’s Favorite Artist”?
your favorite artist’s favorite artist to is that more often then not, the most famous, successful and outstanding artists were at one point in history very deeply inspired by others — generally more obscure and/or older creatives — who came before them. Some of these influences are unsurprising when you think about them — a pop star saying their idol is another pop star or legendary musician. But at times they are obscure, underground or completely different genres of music.
Knowing whom at least one of your favorite artists admired will enrich your enjoyment of her work. It can also expose you to creative giants behind the giants you already know nothing about.
Why Artist Influences Matter
Art Is a Continuum
No artist is without his influences. All art is founded on what has been done before. Being able to track where your favorite artist got their sounds from helps track the creative bloodlines and individual styles that develop through the years.
It Builds Deeper Appreciation
your favorite artist’s favorite artistthe roots of an artist’s style, lyrics or visual approach, all sorts of connections start to light up and deepen your experience. A singer’s vocal runs could call out Aretha Franklin. A painter’s relationship with color could be traced to Van Gogh.
It Makes You Aware About Hidden Legends
And yet countless indispensable artists never achieve mainstream stardom; their work is felt deeply by the artists who do. Unearthing those hidden legends can also unlock a world of music, art or literature that you didn’t know existed.
Music: Famous Musicians Who Have Their Secret Heroes
Beyoncé’s pick:Prince and Tina Turner
Beyoncé is one of the greatest living entertainers. But she has long taken Prince and Tina Turner to be her greatest influences. Prince’s sense for performance, genre-bending and stagecraft informed Beyoncé’s approach to music and live shows. The power, drive and relentless stamina of Tina Turner fed into Beyoncé’s work and her command of the stage.
Kendrick Lamar Favorite Artist: Tupac Shakur American hip hop artist, rapper, songwriter, and record producer Kendrick Lamar has named Tupac Shakur as his favorite artist.
Kendrick Lamar is considered a poet and political commentator. He’s long traced his awakening to the power of music as a force for change to Tupac. In interviews, Kendrick talks about the way he grew up on Tupac’s interviews and music, which helped form his world outlook and his sense of lyrical mission.
Billie Eilish’s Favorite Artist: Lana Del Rey There’s a lyric from a solo Harry song that goes: “You can be my baby.” I think I want to be your baby.
Billie Eilish has frequently cited Lana Del Rey as one of her biggest inspirations. Lana’s brooding lyrics, atmospheric sound and cinematic music videos paved the way to Billie’s shadowy, dreamy style.
Visual Art: The Master Who Made the Masterpiece
The Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat Idolized: Pablo Picasso
And Basquiat, that dynamite neo-expressionist of the ’80s, was immersing himself in Picasso. Bold forms, abstracted and layered images, & raw figures in Basquiat’s work speaks back to Picasso’s own Cubist, African-inflected work.
“The Artist is (not) Present: Andy Warhol and his Favorite Artist: Marcel Duchamp
A famous pop artist and celebrity portraitist, Warhol had been a proud admirer of Duchamp — the Dadaist who systemically called into question what art is. Warhol owes a huge debt to Duchamp and his conceptual sense of what art is (as when he signed a urinal and called it art).
Literature: Writers Inspired by Writers
Stephen King’s Needful Things Writer: Richard Matheson
The current King of horror says Richard Matheson “is the author who has most influenced me as a writer.” King said Matheson showed him how to write stories that are personal, rooted, terrifyingly believable.
J.K. Rowling’s Favorite Writer: Jane Austen #1 in a series of 4 Subscribe to J.K. Rowling’s Favorite Writer: Jane Austen.
your favorite artist’s favorite artistmagical Harry Potter series, but a great admirer of Jane Austen, whom she admires for her precision of character and dialogue. She even told us that she makes a point to re-read Emma every once in a while to get her creative juices flowing.
The Takeaway: Creativity is a Chain
The concept of “your favorite artist’s favorite artist” teaches that creative output rarely happens in isolation. It’s a chain, and every link is helping the next one. Understanding this relationship lets us see art as being part of a bigger conversation — a beautiful, ever changing tapestry of human expression.
If you love an artist, get to know who that artist loved. You may find new favorites. You may find that the sounds and colors or words and images you love today are echoes from decades long gone. And who knows, maybe one day other people will cherish your creative output in the same way as you do the work that got you started — and so on.
