The Lincoln Log

Everyday I see more and more new celebrity artists appearing on television, and it seems that all of them can act, sing, and dance all at the same time. But after seeing Ashlee Simpson’s embarrassing non-attempt to lip-sync on Saturday Night Live when the wrong song started playing and the recent bust on Lindsey Lohan’s lip-synching on “Good Morning America”, I decided, I have had it. When I was young, I had dreams of becoming some huge singing sensation, or a mega-superstar in Hollywood. And although I know my singing would never take me anywhere, I know there are a lot of people out there that really can sing. A question I think a lot of people want to ask is, what does it take to make it big now-adays?

The way I see it, one must have the ability to be able to lipsync and make it look as real as possible. Now that’s some hard work. But really now, there are plenty of “artists” out there with music videos and record albums who cannot sing for squat, and the world knows it, at least the people who pay attention to it.

Take a teenage celebrity like Hilary Duff as an example, not only is her acting pathetic on Lizzie McGuire, but she comes out with a music video and all of a sudden, she’s a singer! So how was she suddenly discovered for her voice? Well if you ask me, her publicists probably thought, she’s a pretty gal with a mediocre singing voice and little girls love her, let’s just use all the wonderful technology we have in a recording studio and fix her voice and market her as a singer. I watched her sing in a live concert on the Disney channel, and she covered her lips with the microphone the whole time so the audience can’t even see her sing, and all the audience hears is a projected song. Sneaky, sneaky.

Unfortunately, it’s not just Ms. Duff, who fakes her ability to sing. There are a lot of “artists” out there who don’t deserve to be labeled as an artist. I feel that our society is obsessed over marketing “teen sensations” such as Hilary Duff, JoJo, Lindsey Lohan, and Ashlee Simpson and it sends out a sickening message to fans. While the younger fans cannot understand the way our society works, I can see the trends of marketing young people who portray themselves as regular teens used as icons to make the big bucks, making fans believe they are the deluxe package.

One thing I do give these fake artist props for is how they can push aside their morality and guilt and continue to a happy life knowing they are living a lie. They know they don’t deserve this fame from the people who has the talent to sing and the people who write their songs. One way I can imagine helping them get through the guilt is repeating in their head: “Well, I guess I can’t help being beautiful,” or like someone said, “They probably took one look at their fat pay check and totally forgot about the guilt.” Maybe these young stars are being told by their publicists to do everything, but they sure look happy spending their riches and trying to drown the “misery” of being pressured into it.

Succeeding as an honest artist seems like such a hard thing to accomplish now. Our society sends the message that you have to be “perfect” if you ever want to make it to stardom, or just pull off the idea that you’re perfect. Point being, the real talents need to continue to fight and do their thing.

As for the people who enjoy music, don’t fall for the marketed Hilary Duffs, the Lindsay Lohans, and go support the real ones. Take down these fake artists and tell them to get out of the way of real talent. Go to local concerts and take your attention elsewhere. Spend your money on the ones who write their own songs and play their own instrument. I say, keep dreaming and strive for your goals, even if you don’t dream of becoming some famous superstar.