John Mayer Says Music Should Be More Powerful Than Tabloids

John Mayer’s latest album, Battle Studies, was officially released today and he’s hoping for one thing to come out of it: He wants the world to know that he is a musician above all things said about him in some silly tabloids.

John Mayer first broke onto the scene with is album, Room For Squares, which featured fan favorites such as “No Such Thing” and “Your Body Is A Wonderland.” He followed up with two more successful albums, Heavier Things and Continuum. However, his albums weren’t the only factors that put him in the spotlight leading up to today’s release.

In the past few years, Mayer has dated one starlet after another. A few worth mentioning (to some) are Jennifer Love Hewitt, followed by Jessica Simpson, and finally Jennifer Aniston. His relationship with Aniston has put him into the spotlight so much that he had no other choice but to take the heat. So, naturally, subject matter on the new album reflected these experiences he’s had within the three to four years.

Yet, Mayer is determined to remind people that he is not some celebrity’s musician boyfriend. After winning seven Grammys, getting inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and playing with the greats such as B. B. King and Eric Clapton, he hopes that his musical accomplishments will overshadow the scoops on his personal life.

He told the Associated Press:

“That would mean that my personal life is more powerful than the music itself, and it’s just not. No one’s personal life is more powerful than music itself, and it’s just not [...] By the way, I’m not the first person to process a personal life into putting out a record. I think if there’s any intrigue — obviously it would be silly of me to ask somebody not to be intrigued — but I think when the music starts playing, you’re not thinking about my life, you’re thinking about yours.”

He made a great point. All musicians write about what they know but our interpretation is what it is ultimately created for. It’s just too bad that most folks will interpret and correlate those interpretations with the gossip. Mayer made this statement because he is obviously tired of it, but he also knows that he’s got some advantages on those who vicariously live through tabloids.

Last night he debuted his album with a performance at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, New York as part of the MySpace Secret Shows series and according to Rolling Stone, he didn’t skip a beat when it came to addressing the issue. Before “Friends, Lovers or Nothing,” he exclaimed the following:

“You can write whatever the fuck you want in your glossy magazine but I ain’t ever heard a solo in it! They say I’m a womanizer! I say I haven’t met enough women!”

It’s good to hear he still knows how to humor himself and the audience. However, on a more serious note he also added on to what he told the Associated Press by concluding,

“I’ve never played  in front of a room full of people who are chattering. I’ve played in front of a room full of people who are singing long to every word… that’s a lot louder than chatter.”

What do you think of John Mayer and his statement? Do you agree with him or do you agree with the tabloids?