Norah Jones

You have totally confirmed my suspicions, thanks Schubert for your response.

You are most welcome.

Schubert, FWIW, IMHO, if your 'wisdom' were food for thought I think many of us would starve to death. But I do think reflection on your presentation of your opinions is a lesson from which much can be gained. Even by yourself.

Donjr, I'm late on the NJ part of this thread. I like her as an entertainer, she has a very nice voice I think. Unfortunately I'm not as fond of her style of jazz (when that is her genre) and much prefer many others, even as humble as Shirley Horn who really draws me into her music.

FWIW I think drawing comparisons of composers, and for that matter, performers, assuming they are talented at all, is vacuous. It will always boil down to personal preferences for their works and/or style. IMHO of course.

Sounds good, recorded good, looking super good... what else is needed for pop star?
Plays OK for freshman music college level and sings a notch better than Madonna.
My professional opinion.
She's nowhere near of mastering even average classical piano pieces and needs substantially more practice vs. she's had so far, but if you have good connections in show biz, you can succeed having just minimum.
There are plenty of bar musicians far better skilled and even enjoyed by lots of visitors during their performances, but skill can't take you to the road of fame and large audiences, unless you have either substantial talent, good connections or stunning looks.
At the same time I understand and don't want to offend those who's never had any musical instrument in their hands-on. There are certain details they won't understand in music and this is for vast majority of listeners. Otherwise there would be no Madonna, Justin T, Bieber, Brittney, Kenny G, Yanni and perhaps Norah.

Czarivey you really make some excellent points about the business side of the music biz and how someone could be one of the choosen few based on the criteria you've outlined but wouldn't you agree that for sustainability in this business there has to be something more than can be encapsulated in some kind of formula?

Why has Madonna remained relevant for 30 years? Why did Bobby Sherman and the Partridge Family (David Cassidy) last a few years? There are many factors in the equation to sustained success that IMHO you haven't covered although it is quite obvious to me that you certainly know a bit about the subject. Norah Jones, love her or not has passed the stage of a "packaged" product to make a few bucks, the business side. She is still relevant, folks like her regardless of the things she had going for her from the start, looks, connections etc. There has to be more, a genuine talent to keep folks coming back for more. Maybe it's nothing more than determination on the part of the artist or even a great manager, or producer. But beyond even those things there has to be sustainable appeal and talent in some part or parcel to maintain success and revelancy. I doubt there will ever be a formula to get that one right all the time.