Yareah Magazine

Charles Kinney Jr

por Sabela Baña

 Pop princess metamorphosis moves like larva to pupa:

 ingénue arrives out of nowhere to take the world by storm; ingénue becomes sassy pop princess, usually on the back of one or two songs; princess enjoys living large, feasting on members of boy bands and ending up drunk in an alley, or the victim of an ill-conceived reality TV show; princess goes into seclusion or recovery and after appropriate waiting time to demonstrate reflection and contrition, makes a comeback.  The metamorphosis complete, and figuring out how to have a shelf life of more than three years, the pop princess can transform into a matriarch, a queen, a true survivor.  That, or she slips away into obscurity, death or even worse, Branson, Missouri.

 It's nearly formulaic.  Take the stars of Whitney Houston, Christina Aquilera and Britney Spears, who've been tarnished so badly that even liberally applied industrial-strength cleaners wouldn't be enough.  Whitney has had more up and downs than a toddler.  Her rise to super-stardom was only matched by her decline into hell.  It was a train wreck you couldn't stop watching.  Finally free of the Bobby menace, and thanks to an appearance on Oprah, Whitney miraculously appears to be metamorphosing into reformed diva, who was on an awful reality TV show.  After a near cataclysmic meeting with destiny for a reputation of being a skanky whore, Christina demonstrates that contrition, and carefully placed photo opportunities showing you with more clothes on than off, can revitalize a career while escaping being on an awful reality TV show.  Britney burst out of her seams on the semi-slutty Hit Me Baby One More Time, dated boy-band hunks, went on binges, went into recovery, and made a comeback, all the before the age of 25, even with an awful reality TV show.  True, Alexander the Great had conquered most of the known world by the same age, but have you tried to have a hit pop song or an awful reality TV show?  It ain't easy. 

 Who do these pop princesses have to emulate?  Madonna, Cher and Tina Turner fall into the survivor category.  Madonna is a near chameleon, rising like some middle-aged phoenix to re-brand herself or catch a ride on a hook-up with the latest pop princess (see Britney Spears BEFORE the meltdown).  Cher has had so many comebacks that the only thing that equals them is her number of plastic surgeries.  We DO believe in love, and the power of synthesizers to boost a warbly voice.  Tina Turner is not just a survivor; she's the queen.  Thirty years after kicking Ike to the curb, she did a world tour at nearly 70 years old.  When she retires, it won't be out of obscurity.  It'll be because she deserves it.  Every pop princess should be so lucky.

Read more about Charles Kinney Jr.

http://charleskinney.blogspot.com

*Yareah magazine es una revista cultural fundada y dirigida por el escritor Martín Cid: http://www.martincid.com
**Created and edited by the writer Martin Cid: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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