Teen pop music trend demonstrates staying power

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: Aug 12, 2000 Source: Jacksonville Times-Union Submitted By: Liz Friday, August 11, 2000 By Nick Marino Times-Union music writer Most observers thought the platoon of teen pop vocalists would march into obscurity this year when the Backstreet Boys' legion of fans moved on to something else. In fact, the opposite happened. The Backstreet fervor has cooled slightly, but the Boys paved the way for a dizzying array of other teen pop artists, at least a dozen of whom, including 'N Sync, will perform this weekend at the Jacksonville Coliseum. Because nearly all of these artists are platinum-sellers in their own right, we now find ourselves unable to dismiss Mandy Moore as just another Jessica Simpson, or 98 Degrees as just another 'N Sync. Sustained record sales prove teen pop is not a fad -- it's a genuine movement that shows no signs of abating. This has positively flummoxed many critics who have searched endlessly for the movement's higher meaning. How, they ask, can a bunch of kids with toothy smiles and voice coaches continue to dominate the pop charts? After watching one teen pop artist after another mow down the charts, industry observers have come up with a few theories. You sexy thing As with all movements, this one is as much a reaction against something as a push toward something else. In other words, kids (and parents) have always wanted to hear fun and accessible songs, but that desire heightened as the heavy Seattle bands dominated the early '90s. Even today, the alternatives to teen pop bands are mostly loud rock acts such as Deftones and Limp Bizkit. Understandably, a certain segment of the population just wants to feel good when they listen to music. The upbeat music is undeniably important, but perhaps the most widely-accepted force behind the movement is simple sex appeal. None of the most popular teen pop artists (the boys come in groups, the girls tend to go solo) are, by any stretch of the imagination, unattractive. Countless male readers no doubt concurred when Rolling Stone, which recently ran a revealing cover photo of Britney Spears, later published a letter from a fan begging to see more of Spears' skin. But Patty Adams, the senior entertainment editor at YM magazine, said her female readers aged 14-18 also connect with the pop-girl artists. "To have people that you can really relate to, and people that are your age [like Jessica Simpson who is 19 or Christina Aguilera who is 19], that is something that they can really look at as: You could be my friend, you could be my sister, that kind of thing. So I think that's really the driving force, and that they're singing about things that [teenage girls] can relate to whether it's crushes or, with Graduation by Vitamin C, losing your friends when school's over." Of course, millions of teenage girls have also developed gravely serious crushes on their boy band member of choice. Waiting in line at the Coliseum for tickets to Sunday's concert, several girls expressed as much enthusiasm for 'N Sync's looks as for the music they perform. Justin Timberlake (long rumored to be Spears' boyfriend) almost always gets the highest marks. "I think he's just fine," said 16-year-old Ashley Case. "He's able to put on and look good while he's doing it. And he's young, too, so it makes it even more fun." Case's friend, 16-year-old David Petlansky, understands the power of the Timberlake look. With his curly bleached blond hair and two earrings, he's a dead ringer for the 'N Sync hunk. Petlansky said girls stop him about three times a day because he so closely resembles their heartthrob. He figures this can't hurt his own chances with the ladies, and he has a simple theory for why the guys in 'N Sync are so popular: "They've got good music, and they're all hot." So it's about sex appeal? "Exactly." Interestingly, many fans seem to be shying away from the Backstreet Boys. Perhaps that's because they haven't released an album this year. But it may be something else, something that might indicate a distant plateau for the teen pop trend: Now in their mid-20s, the Backstreet Boys are getting old. "I listen to Backstreet Boys, but I wouldn't really go and see them," Case said. "I've seen shows on TV and stuff; they're not that good. And I'm not trying to criticize them and compare them to anybody, but they're kind of like sellouts. They're kinda getting old, and, you know, kind of fading off. Not being mean, but they're all getting married and everything. You always want to think 'Oh I have a chance with them.' But when they're married, you know for sure you can't say 'I love you, Kevin,' because he has a wife and like six kids or something." Further down the Coliseum line, 15-year-old Crystal Chasez repeated the refrain. "I don't really like Backstreet Boys 'cause they're all engaged," she said. "Everybody likes ['N Sync's] music, and they're like all cute so all girls will like them. And some boys like them, too. I mean, everybody wants to be like them." It's an interesting point to ponder -- Maybe fans won't outgrow the teen pop artists after all, because the teen pop artists will end up outgrowing their fans. No warning labels Even if that happens, it probably won't be for a while. Today's teen pop is continuing untrammeled, with plenty of young and attractive artists to keep the movement going. It certainly doesn't hurt that parents generally consider the music to be family-friendly. Songs such as the Backstreet Boys' I Want it That Way may have thinly-veiled innuendos, but parents are more willing to shell out money for innuendo than explicit discussions of sex, drugs and violence. "The music is great," said mother Lera Wullenweber, who waited in line with her daughter, Kyli. "It's a wholesome music. You know, they're not up there downing America or saying negative things about America, or about police or anything that you should look up to." Terry Simmons, who waited in line on behalf of his daughter, had similar thoughts. "It seems to be good, clean music," he said. "And I mean I screen all my daughter's music. And there's some of them that she can't listen to." Simmons cited former New Kids on the Block member Jordan Knight as a contraband artist. "It's too suggestive," he said. "You know, one of the songs . . . talks about wanting to have sex with her. I'm sorry, she's 14. She doesn't need to be listening to that." Almost universal parental support for teen pop has helped spur a merchandising blitz, with the faces of the pop stars (mostly the boys, and especially 'N Sync) emblazoned on everything from key chains to the hottest sellers of all -- beanie bears wearing shirts with the resemblance of an 'N Sync member. "Oh, I think [sex appeal] plays a big role," said Karri Watson, assistant manager of Claire's Boutique in Orange Park, where the hard-to-find bears "fly" out of the store. "That's what sells: their picture is on the pens and on the notebooks. It's on the stickers. I mean all the merchandise as far as that goes has nothing to do with their music. You know, you can't hear a song from buying a notebook and a pen and all that stuff." More than a pretty face For many observers, the commodifying of teen pop proves that the artists provide little more than pretty faces to plaster on trinkets. But pretty faces alone can't spark a movement. Few people camp out on the sidewalk for two nights to see Cindy Crawford, and Ralph Fiennes certainly couldn't sell 6,500 tickets in 12 minutes. Maybe the secret of teen pop (and the reason those beanie bears sell so well) really does boil down to the way the artists make people feel. Groups like 'N Sync make parents feel safe, while making kids feel euphoric. If that's really the driving force behind the movement, the naysayers had better buckle up. Most people want to keep euphoria going as long as they can. Comment on this item. Next Item: Control Issues Prev Item: How To Win The Love Of A Backstreet Boy