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Home/Mariah/Willa/Contests/Back to Artists I despise/
Great. A Beyoncé wannabe. Just what the music industry needs.
This one falls in the same category as Christina Aguilera, the "I'm the greatest singer in the world so I'm better than everyone" category. I know she's been through some rough times, but I seriously believe that her depression was caused by the fact that her humongous ego suddenly deflated when after her trainwreck of a movie Glitter and its soundtrack flopped monumentally, she discovered that her career might not last forever. But she's now back on her feet with her new album The Emancipation of Mimi (nice nickname, by the way), and although she doesn't constantly scream like she used to or try to reach notes so high only dogs can hear them, her material hasn't improved at all. She continues to follow a path that's already been taken too many times by too many artists: getting mega R&B producers to work on your album and recording songs with rappers in a desperate attempt to get a little street cred. How original. Plus, she seems to make a point of singing vacuous lyrics that never go past the "Oh, baby, I love you and I miss you" clichés. Mariah might have been a huge star in the 90's, but today she's little more than a singer who's time has passed but is desperately clinging to the remains of her past fame by doing what everyone else does instead of trying to really reinvent herself. However, there is one reason that makes me like her a little : she refused to be on the same stage as Xtina and to be photographed with her at the VH1 Divas special. Well, what do you know? Seems like Mariah does have some morals after all.
Not only were you never here, Willa, but you're definitely gone.
Do you know this, er, lovely young woman? Well if you don't, you don't know how lucky you are. Basically, she thinks she's the shit, even though she's clearly not. She's the kind of girl you would like to punch in the face for being so arrogant and full of herself. Most of the time, the media refer to her as Nick Carter's ex-girlfriend. That's right: she went out with a Backstreet Boy. To this day, this is still her only claim to fame. Rumor has it that Willa Ford (whose real name is Amanda Williford) used Carter to get a record deal. Not only that, but she also allegedly abused him and humiliated him publicly, causing furious Nick fans to launch an anti Willa campaign that included bringing "Die Willa Die" signs at BSB concerts where she performed as the opening act and creating anti Willa Ford websites. While all this hatred might be exaggerated (and not all Willa haters are/were BSB fans, most of them hate her because she just plain sucks), there are still very good reasons to strongly dislike Willa, the first one being that she recorded an album (Willa Was Here, 2001) despite an outrageous lack of talent (hear it for yourself if you don't believe me), and also that she has the nerve to think of herself as a real artist and act like she's this big star even though she hasn't sold that many albums and that she's far from being a household name. Her ego also seemed to have reached Paris Hilton-like proportions when she called herself "stunning" in an interview for Stuff Magazine in 2001. In fact, posing for raunchy photos for such magazines is what Willa does best, as the picture above testifies; she's like Britney in her heyday... only 100 times worse. That girl gives the word slut a whole new meaning and she will gladly pose naked if you ask her to. She really thought she would become as big as Britney Spears, but fortunately, while she may have scored a hit with "I Wanna Be Bad" (the video is even funnier than the song, with Willa trying to show what a badass she is), she completely vanished after that, and for a reason that I couldn't explain, her sophomore effort, which was supposed to include the single "A Toast To Men (Fuck the Men) - another case of songwriting brilliance here- never saw the light of day. Maybe there is justice in this world after all.
The American Dream is now the world's dream...
This time, it's not an artist in particular that I'm against; rather it's a concept. While singing competition shows are nowhere near as bad as other kinds of reality TV, which has become simply sickening over the years and proves that TV execs are willing to do anything to increase ratings and milk the cash cow for all its worth, there is still something terribly wrong with these shows. In the US, it's American Idol (and, of course, all the other Idol clones around the world). In France, it's Star Academy. In Quebec, we got Star Académie (they simply took the French concept and adapted it). And let's not forget Making the Band and Popstars, the ridiculous shows that spawned the equally ridiculous bands O-Town and Eden's Crush... two groups that have completely dropped off the face of the earth since, just like Sugarjones, from the Canadian version of Popstars. And this is exactly why I hate these contests. Producers defend themselves from guaranteeing the contestants a long and successful career, but this doesn't change the fact that these young people all want to be famous and record a multi-platinum selling album. However, we all know that reality can sometimes be harsh: for every Kelly Clarkson there are dozens of Justin Guarinis and Ruben Studdards whose dreams of recognition and fame are brutally crushed by a pitiless industry. That so many people are willing to put themselves through this is beyond me. What's even more disgusting is the fact that these kinds of shows make people realize how easy it can be to get your 15 minutes of fame, so now everybody wants to be on TV. The proof can be seen, for example, during the American Idol auditions. Remember Keith, the weird guy who "sang" Like A Virgin? Or Mary Roach and her many voices? How about Leroy "Can you dig it?" Wells? My point is, you don't need talent anymore to be famous. All you need is the guts to go make a fool of yourself at an audition to make sure people will notice you, and if you're lucky, remember you. It is true that these shows do help launch some stellar careers. But what about the others, those who are forgotten as soon as the cameras are off ?
Hilary Duff
Oh, Hil, you're just sooooo yesterday...
Don't get me wrong, I think it's absolutely fine that young girls can have idols; looking up to a celebrity is a perfectly normal thing that can help teens forge their personality. However, the entertainment industry (Disney, in this particular case) seems more interested in making busloads of money than providing today's youth with good role models. Of course, Hilary Duff is nowhere near as bad as Britney or Christina (she maintains a cute, wholesome image that makes her suitable for tweens, her target demographic, and unlike other pop stars, she hasn't yet been overcome by the need to express herself in an overtly sexual way). But there's just one tiny problem with her : she's got absolutely no talent. She can't sing, and she has the acting range of a door knob. There's no escaping the truth here; whatever she does, Hilary Duff sucks. Do teenies know that? Of course not. If they did, no one would let her record albums, star in ridiculous movies (Cinderella Story, anyone?) and sell clothes and accessories. Again, money is the key to Hilary Duff's career, not her talent. At least Lindsay Lohan, Hil's arch-enemy, makes good movie choices and... she can actually act.
More to come! Check back soon!
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