Stephanie Beatriz is basically George Strait.

Feels kinda weird to say that out loud ngl.

For devotees of the hit police comedy Brooklyn 99, the twelfth episode of the fifth season is a particular favorite. Taciturn detective Rosa Diaz, played by Stephanie Beatriz, goes undercover at a hair salon to extract information about a potential suspect. Diaz plays against type and transforms into a chatty exuberant New York caricature. Coached on via a hidden transmitter by Gina Linetti (Chelsea Perretti), Diaz coaxes information from the unexpecting girlfriend hairdresser in an exceedingly comedic manner. It is, after all, a comedy first and a plot driven police procedural second. The primary comedic beat of the scene is a standard subversion of expectations.

Diaz is typically a fine example of the hard-nosed emotionless mysterious cop. The comedic elements of her character in the early part of the show come mostly from the exploration of the dynamic and friction the aggressively written Diaz adds to the happy go lucky comedic setting of the 99th precinct. As the show progressed and her personality concretized, the pool of personality driven jokes and gags shrank. No longer was the mere existence of a subversively written character sufficient for laughs. In this vein, the later half of the show opens her character revealing a more intimate side to her character then the first half of the show demonstrated.

Stephanie Beatriz in real life is a dramatically different person then her portrayal of Diaz might lead you to think. Her voice is higher pitched and her bubbly and energetic spirit surprises viewers who's sole exposure is through the show. In fact, the “against type” role she played in the abovementioned episode is significantly more aligned with her actual persona. This is oddly enough, high praise for the talent of Beatriz. To have viewers wholly convinced that the attitudes and character traits seen on screen are the product of the natural inclinations of the actor or actress when it is entirely the creation and product of sheer skill is remarkable.

At first blush, it may not seem that the world of musicianship is comparable to the world of acting. Upon reflection, a few common strands appear. Firstly, the primary purpose of the medium is entertainment. That alone is sufficiently vague as to not really draw anything remarkable from. After all, professional athletes are also in the entertainment. The threads tighten with further examination of the intricacies of medium and purpose. The medium of art at its core is emotion. Primarily to inspire emotion in the beholder. Music plays the role of a roadway by which the feelings of the artist traverse to the listener via an odd and pretty collection of vaguely rhythmic noises. This reality coupled with the commercial nature of the modern music scene leads to a strong emphasis on making the listener feel something. It is no coincidence that love songs are the most popular topic on the Billboard charts. Data breakdowns show that over the last three years an average of 57% of songs appearing on year-end top 100 lists had the primary theme of Love/Relationships. Of course, love has been the muse of poets for time immemorial, but more importantly, it’s a universal emotion that nearly any audience member can relate to and easily tap into the emotions being expressed in the song.

So, George Strait. By near consensus, the greatest living legend in the Country music world. Longevity that is unheard of in nearly any industry but especially impressive given the “young mans game” nature of the music world.  What probably is the most astonishing thing about Strait, aside from his lone appearance on Country Music’s most prestigious stage, The Grand Ol Opry, is his minimal songwriting credits. It is quite rare that the man commonly referred to as the King of Country music actually puts pen to paper and writes a song for himself.

Authenticity purists, raised on an onslaught of Rockist thought pieces, may recoil at the idea that the man regarded as the greatest living singer in an entire genre isn’t solely responsible for his own creations. This perspective, endemic in the modern music discourse, overlooks the very objective of music. It wasn’t always this way. For the length of human history all the way back to the fuzzy unrecorded beginnings of Homo Sapiens, the bard and balladeer have played a particularly special role. Inspirational poet, mythmaker, record keeper and so much more. English and Irish folk tales recorded in song comprise a large chunk of the core of the countey genre and the thread of transmission has remained key. In the self-aggrandizing but accurate message of the Grand Ol Opry anthem, Will the Circle Stay Unbroken this is clear. At its core a spiritual hymn, it has been lovingly recontextualized by the modern balladeers into a hopeful anthem of the future of musical transmission in the gallant traditions of Country Music.

Strait accomplishes the enormous task of deep emotional conveyance through his remarkable interpretive skills. Perhaps his finest moment is a simply recounted but tearful ballad about a broken man finalizing a divorce. Today My World Slipped Away is a remarkable performance. It is a poignantly told tale of love lost delivered in a viscerally real manner that reveals the layers of pain and lonesome despair that is within.  As an audience we feel the emotion rolling off in waves from each uttered word and deeply connect to it. For many, like the longtime viewers of the comedic police procedural discussed above, our instinct is to assume that these very real emotions must be reflected in the real life of the artist. If it were fake, we tell ourselves, then I wouldn’t feel such real emotion. The only chink in the narrative? Strait was happily married for over 25 years when the song was released.   

With this properly calibrated perspective, we now see the commonality between acting and musicianship. Both are presented with raw material, whether script or song, whose purpose is to arise feelings in the chest of man. Via an incredibly specific skill, the artist must interpret the material to make it seem real for the audience. The highest praise for both these honorable professions is the suspension of disbelief and a whole throated embrace of the interpreted material as being true to life. Stephanie Beatriz and George Strait both wholly personify this ideal.

Joe