Dean's Thoughts on Entertainment

Thoughts on Politics. Well...Music Industry Politics

I have found something very bizarre about how the World views its entertainers. I have two instances that come to mind immediately the first concerning R.Kelly and the second concerns Britney Spears.



For those of you who don't know, R. Kelly was accused of video taping sex with minors in which he urinates on them. An atrocious crime, of which he was very likely of being convicted. His name was destroyed and everything around him died. But then he releases his album. His album contains 4-5 singles which all shoot up the chart, and he rules the radio like no one else this year. For his great music he is forgiven of his crime, people no longer care what he did. And the weirdest part, I am doing it too. His (Potential, I will give him the benefit of the doubt) crime was so awful yet his songs are so good, I couldn't think of discrediting him. On the same lines, Michael Jackson didn't just suddenly become weird. He's been weirder than a two-headed duck for the longest time, but recently he hasn't had hit records to make us forgive and forget. It boggles my mind that this happens, and that I am prey to it as well.

VS

Second, Britney Spears. Everyone is aware that there is some competition between Spears and Christina Aguilera (it may be all created in the media and not in real life but it still remains). This situation reverses what is true of R. Kelly, because everyone puts Spears above Xtina but Spears hasn't had a good album in awhile. Spears gets the Pepsi and NFL endorsements (I can't think of any Christina endorsements although I'm sure she has some) and she gets the Behind the Music and Diane Sawyer interview. But Christina has been the one putting out singles and touring and making albums that can be listened to. All of this is because Britney is more conventionally attractive than Christina, and I think this is one of the better illustrations of the shallow nature of the music business. Plus, Britney gave a little more than Aguilera in the infamous Madonna kisses. I think it is all ridiculous, while I'm not a big fan of either artist I have far more respect for Xtina for her work than Spears for her use of the midriff.

Anyway, I didn't say anything particularly brilliant. But I just wanted to write something different.