POP IDOLS
those damn yanks
POP IDOLS What do you think the following artists have in common? Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Pink, Shakira, N’Sync, the Backstreet Boys, Blue Mirror and Justin Timberlake. Well, they’re all teen idols. So, “what is a teen idol?”, you may well ask. Well, they are basically singers or artists that were created artificially by the music industry. This “teen pop” business is worth billions and has been around for more than five decades; and these days there are lots of teen idols around, especially because of TV shows like “Popstars”. How does the industry work? And when did it start? By Laura Warrell (US English spelling) Illustrations by Sonia Beduya
Sex, Drugs & Rock ‘n Roll
Monkeys & Beatles
The formula for creating a teen pop idol is simple: you take a kid, surround them with managers, stylists and media trainers and in just a short time they have a record contract, a television series and lots of money, fame and sex. After a few years they usually disappear and no one cares about them anymore because they get old, or end up in drug rehabilitation centers, prison or hardcore porn films. So where did it all start?
The Monkees were the first and most successful teen pop band. The four members of the Monkees were chosen from auditions. None of them knew anything about music or played instruments (at least, they didn’t play them well). But that didn’t matter and soon afterwards the marketing department created a line of Monkees products, including T-shirts, posters and lunch boxes. They looked and acted just like the Beatles, and they also had their own show, called the Monkees. Of course, true music lovers hated this manufactured band; and real musicians resented them because the Monkees were so successful. However, when their show finished, none of the Monkees had any friends and the group went their separate ways.
Wild Boys The first teen idols were created during the 1950s. At the time, American teenagers just wanted to have a good time; and Rock n’ Roll was the answer. In 1955, Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock,” introduced them to this new music, which had its roots in Rhythm ‘n’ Blues, a mostly black style of music. Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis were the white boys who played “black music”. This scared American parents because they feared sex and the influence this music was having on their kids. In response to this, the music industry created teen idols. These first versions of teen idols played gentle pop songs with no sexual or political content. The girl pop stars dressed like nuns and sang innocent songs about being in love with school boys. The boys, like Fabian and Frankie Avalon, had bouffant haircuts, no facial hair and sang in whiny voices. The music industry made millions; and teenage girls fell in love with the idols and regularly cried and passed out at concerts. Teenage boys imitated the idols hoping to snog teenage girls.
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Old Men & Pain Killers 1970s teen idols were completely different. They had long hair and lots of chest hair. One of the most famous 1970s teen idols was David Cassidy, star of the TV series, The Partridge Family. This TV show was all about a family of musicians, and was really popular. David was a short, mildly attractive guy who once said: “Fame is difficult because one day it will end. Until then, I’m going to enjoy the traveling, the girls and the music. So, the day I wake up as an old man working as an auto mechanic addicted to painkillers, I won’t have any regrets.”
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