In September 2006, Dolly Parton appeared for the first time as a guest artist on
Hannah Montana
, the children's series that catapulted her goddaughter Miley Cyrus to global stardom as a teenager.
Parton was a living legend in the world of country
music
, but largely unknown to most of Disney's fictional audience.
“I met you because of Hannah Montana.
And I'm very happy!"
reads a comment posted on one of the photos shared by Dolly Parton on her Instagram profile.
More than fifteen years have passed and the duo formed by Cyrus and Parton continues to benefit both parties.
The artists teamed up last year to offer a New Year's Eve concert, broadcast from Miami on NBC.
When they played together
Jolene
, Dolly Parton's song that celebrates its half century this year and that Miley Cyrus has covered countless times, the peak moment of the performance arrived.
In the days that followed, streaming
reproduction
of the song grew by 29.6% in the United States, according to
Billboard,
while fans demanded a joint album by both divas.
An idea with almost guaranteed success, if we compare it with other musical examples with intergenerational duets as protagonists.
One of the most recent and lucrative in terms of benefits is the one formed by Dua Lipa and Elton John.
The Future Nostalgia
singer
and the British musician collaborated on
Cold Heart
, a remix that melded several Elton John songs into one track remixed by electronic music group Pnau.
The song, featured on John's 32nd album,
The Lockdown Sessions
, was a success since its release in the summer of 2021 and has become one of the most listened to in the discography of both singers.
“I adore Dua Lipa.
She is incredibly talented, absolutely brilliant, and very professional.
It is a pleasure to be surrounded by someone so young, who has already achieved so many things and who is humble, ”Elton John said of his duet partner in a joint interview they gave to Variety at the end of
2022
.
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The 48-year gap between Dua and Elton pales in comparison to the six decades that separate Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett.
The actress and singer first worked with Bennett in 2014 with the album
Cheek to cheek
, which won a Grammy Award in the category of Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.
They began a world tour and since then their collaborations have been recurring.
Both share Italian roots and have made it clear that their relationship is already more friendly than professional.
Bennett, diagnosed with Alzheimer's and at the age of 96, retired in style with a second album with Lady Gaga,
Love for sale
, on the market since October 2021. With this project, the singer also made history by being the longest-lived artist to release an album with new material.
A formula with potential
02:08
Trailer for the series 'The Last of Us'
Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, protagonists of the HBO series 'The Last Of Us'.Photo: AXELLE/BAUER-GRIFFIN (FILMMAGIC) |
Video: EPV
The advantages of this type of collaboration are evident and help to break down all kinds of prejudices.
On the one hand, established artists but alien to the younger generations have the possibility of being rediscovered by a new audience.
The other half of the duo can demonstrate their talent and even positively surprise those who thought that the music of today does not suit them.
Everyone wins.
That is why the formula does not focus on the music industry.
Film and television have not missed the opportunity to unite couples of actors born decades apart.
And everything happens in plots where the age difference is not determined by the family ties of the characters.
In most cases, as in music, they are the youngest.
In the highly anticipated HBO Max series
The last of us,
Pedro Pascal, 47, leads the cast alongside Bella Ramsey, 19. Another recent success where the protagonists represent generations distant in time can be found in
Hawkeye
.
To adapt the Marvel comic of the same name to the small screen, the Disney+ series featured Jeremy Renner (born in 1971) and Hailee Steinfeld (1996).
01:10
Trailer for the second season of 'Only murders in the building'
Steve Martin, Selena Gomez and Martin Short at the 'Only Murders In The Building' Season 2 Launch Party on June 2022 in Los Angeles, California.Photo: AMY SUSSMAN (GETTY IMAGES) |
Video: EPV
But perhaps the most representative example is found in
Only murders in the building
.
Fiction was one of the great successes of 2022 and one of the reasons for its good reception has to do with the great rapport between its three main characters.
The thirty-something Selena Gomez, seasoned in the Disney quarry and international pop star, is the perfect counterpoint to the couple formed by Steve Martin (77 years old) and Martin Short (72 years old).
In the series, they play three neighbors in a luxurious building who share only one thing: their passion for crime podcasts.
Allusions to age and the differences between generations —present in issues such as the digital divide— function as one of the recurring jokes in the script.
Working with two comedic heavyweights has been a gift for Gomez, as she demonstrates her complicity with her fellow professionals in every promotional act for the series.
"I'm very fortunate.
Us Magazine
a few months ago.
And the best is yet to come: in the next season of the series, already confirmed, she will share scenes with another great actress for decades, Meryl Streep, 73.
In Spain, this intergenerational union is not yet so exploited.
But there are some promising examples.
One of them
The Snow Girl
, the new Netflix series based on the novel by Javier Castillo.
In this case, Milena Smit (26 years old) plays a young trainee journalist who, together with José Coronado (65 years old), tries to solve a disappearance.
Musical collaborations of this style are also anecdotal, with the Bizarrap phenomenon as a great exception.
The young 24-year-old Argentine producer and Shakira, 46, made history by making their successful
Session 53
became the most listened to song in Spanish in 24 hours in the history of Spotify.
Before Shakira, the Argentine had already collaborated with music stars such as Residente or Nicky Jam, much older than the twenty-something.