Role Models for Girls Suck Sometimes...

Originally Published in the March Gleaner Issue...

Why can ANYONE in the entertainment business, at any time, become an “aspiring singer?” These artists are just trash, and their music is over commercialized for the consumption for the mindless MTVers that buy the songs. Very few female artists out there now promote a positive message for girls. Stars these days seem to have some racy mishap surrounding their careers. I’ll count down from number four to number one of ladies that are ruining music right now.




Have you seen Heidi Montag’s (#4) new video? If you haven’t seen it, the song is called “Higher” and it features Heidi and her new “twins” rolling around a deserted beach in a teeny weeny little bikini. This Hills star is the just the newest “celebutant” on the block.




Coming in at number three is Brooke Hogan. She starred on VH1’s Hogan Knows Best, leading to her official debut album in 2006. She had a semi successful hit in “About Us” with Houston rapper Paul Wall, made popular only by the viewers of her show. Her father/manager, Hulk Hogan, has done everything he can to keep her positive and “clean.” However throughout the season of the show we see her desire sex up her appearance for the limelight. Since then she has had little to no success.





Number Two. Lindsey Lohan. The interesting thing about Lindsey is that she’s had a fairly decent music career sales-wise. Her first album, Speak, actually went platinum (one million units sold) and her second album, despite lack of promotion, went gold (500,000 units sold.) However since then she has been in the news as a frequent partier and cocaine aficionado, which is exactly what shouldn’t be in music marketed towards teens. While she and her manager may claim that her music is for adults, her fan base is comprised largely of young teens. Her role model status fails in my eyes.




Finally We’re at Number One. You know her, you love to hate her…Paris Hilton. Through her rich upbringing, she’s moved into the celebrity class, starring in a number of failed movies. She is the quintessential B-Actor, so naturally she decided to try her hand at music. Led by the single “Stars are Blind,” which became a dance club hit; her 2006 album Paris was a flop. To this date she has sold only 607,000 copies worldwide. She’s also had a nice video adaptation of her romp in the sheets, as well as her stint in jail for DUIs.

These girls are treated as stars by the media and by many of our very own friends and siblings. The problem with these four stars is the message they portray to our youth. Each of them has had some controversial situation that we would not want our sisters or daughters to emulate. Why should we allow this to happen? We are the ones perpetuating them by watching their TV shows and movies. As many of you know I am a music producer, and am starting to experience many of these people first-hand. What I have seen is that the businesses COUNT ON VIEWERS TO SELF-PROMOTE THE MUSIC. I am asking that we all stand up for good, meaningful music from quality acts. Now I haven’t mentioned rock or rap groups, and trust me they’re not faultless either, however these acts seem to have more of an influence on older people, who have a choice on their behaviors. These young people are shaped by their surroundings, and need more Miley Cyrus’s and Hillary Duffs to look up to.