Being a pop star today seems like a breeze. You don’t need to know how to write a song, play an instrument, or even be able to sing to be considered a musician. Young pop sensations have their songs written for them, their instruments played for them, and their vocals tweaked by producers to sound close to perfect, which may be completely unlike how they actually sound. It seems like all you do need to be a pop star is a pretty face, a nice body, and a killer wardrobe. In other words, if you have the “right look,” then music never really comes into play.
We’ve all seen music videos with female singers stomping around, snarling, and belting out lyrics in tattered clothes made by fashion designers with hair that’s messy in just the right way. These women are supposed to represent the rock ‘n’ roll side of the industry. They claim to be rebelling against a cookie-cutter image they can’t relate to, but what if they are still a cookie, just peanut butter instead of chocolate chip?
Singers like Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and Ke$ha seem so appealing because they’re dark and edgy, which is the opposite of the Selena Gomez’s of the world. But as sassy and ‘alternative’ looking as they may be, each singer has been carefully crafted by her record label to make her appearance and musical style appeal to girls who don’t relate to more traditional looking singers. It’s not that Avril Lavigne doesn’t have a punk attitude, but her persona is a gimmick intended to sell albums. Basically, it’s fake rebellion.
Now just because something is fake doesn’t mean you can’t like it. If that were true, then movies and TV wouldn’t exist, right? Sometimes we all like a break from reality. It’s just that it’s also good to think about what you like and why. Being aware of how pop stars are made can help you decide whether you like these singers’ because their music is catchy, fun, and easy to like, or because they snarl while holding a guitar. Neither answer is wrong, and maybe it’s a little of both.
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