One of the most useful exercises I ask singers and artists I work with to do is surprisingly simple.
Make a list of the artists you love.
Not the ones you think you should love. Not the ones that make you look knowledgeable.
The ones you return to. The ones that move you. The ones that feel like home.
Write down the singers, musicians, painters, writers, poets, filmmakers, thinkers. Anyone whose work has stayed with you.
Then ask yourself a harder question:
Why them?
Because the artists you love are rarely random. They are mirrors. They reveal your instincts, your values, and often the direction your own voice is trying to move toward.
When you step back and look at the list, patterns appear.
You might notice you’re drawn to artists who are politically outspoken.
Or artists who are emotionally raw.
Or artists who experiment and push boundaries.
Or artists who communicate something spiritual or philosophical.
Those patterns tell you something important about yourself.
They point to what matters to you artistically.
As a singer or creator, this matters more than you might think. When you understand what you’re drawn to, you start to understand the kind of artist you are becoming.
This is your throughline. It matters in every way possible. As a coach it matters to me because it shapes how I give feedback to the artists I work with. I wouldn’t give the same feedback to Maria Callas as I would to Johnny Rotten. That would make no sense. This is fundamental, yet it’s something people forget surprisingly often.
So let’s share – My Own List
Here are some of the artists who have shaped me in different ways.
Music: Sinead O Conner, Tori Amos, Patti Smith, Nina Simone, Bob Marley, Joni Mitchell, Nick Cave, Jimi Hendrix, PJ Harvey, Billie Holiday, Jeff Buckley, Miles Davis, Lana Del Rey, Dolly Parton, Kate Bush, Thom Yorke, The Beatles, Velvet Underground, Paul Simon, Art Blakey, John Coltrane, Sleaford Mods, Leonard Cohen, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Nirvana, Eddi Vedder, Jewel, Jane SIberry, John Lennon, Yoko Ono.
Classical Music: Maria Callas, Schoenberg, Elgar, Vaughan Williams,
Writers and poets; Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Bukowski,
Films; Into the wild, Tree of Life, My own private Idaho, Fight club, Machinist, Nymphomaniac, Last temptation of christ, Beautiful Mind, Breaking the Waves, Captain fantastic, Dead Poets Society, Good Will Hunting, Hilary and Jackie, Iris, Leaving Las Vegas, Shine, This is England, The graduate…
Artists: Tracey Emin, Cy Twombly, Dash Snow, Nan goldin,
Photographers like Francesca Woodman…..
It’s a wide list, but when I step back and look at it, a few things become clear.
What This Says About you
So what does your list say about you?
When I look at the artists I love, a pattern appears. I’m drawn to artists whose work is kind of fearless and emotionally honest. Work that isn’t trying to impress anyone, but is simply telling the truth as clearly as possible. I’m drawn to artists who are willing to be strange, vulnerable, poetic, rebellious. Artists who ask difficult questions about existence, justice, spirit and what it means to be alive. In other words, artists who are brave enough to be themselves. They move me with their simple, fearless truths.
THis is what I personally care about: truth. Freedom. Depth.
So what about you?
Your Turn
Try the exercise yourself.
- Make a list of the artists you love.
- Look across the list and notice patterns.
- Ask what those patterns say about your values and instincts as an artist.
Don’t rush this. Sit with it.
Because hidden inside the artists you love is a map.
A map of who you are and the artist you’re becoming. I would love it if you shared this with me!
