Fifteen Minutes of Fame for Today's Top 40



Who remembers Bell Biv Devoe? Who can forget Vanilla Ice? Who, besides me, has permanently blocked the pain of the New Kids on the Block craze from their memories?

Teen pop-dom hasn't changed much in the last decade. The '90s came in with a gaggle of high-pitched idols, from cutesy New Kids to the electric-sync Debbie Gibson, icons who drove straight into our fascinated little hearts. At 10 years old, I was no exception to the pre-teen rule - it pains me to say it, but I wanted Joe McIntyre in a way only a prepubescent could understand. And poof-coiffured (weren't we all poofed back then?) Tiffany's "I Think We're Alone Now" was the stuff dancing at sleepovers was made of.

But this brand of bubble gum always pops. New Kids were old within two years, Ice's cool melted in no time, and the teen music fandom shifted to screen media - Fred Savage, Leo DiCaprio and Jonathan Taylor Thomas became the Teen Bop centerfolds for the bulk of the mid-to-late '90s.

We thought we were safe from boybands and babydolls, but somehow, the Mickey Mouse Club regained control of the airwaves. Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, the Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync, 98°, Mandy Moore, Jessica Simpson - a bevy of wanna-bes - all clawing for prime positions on adolescent bunkbeds.

So how long until they pop?
In late December of 1990, the Los Angeles Times' pop music critic, Robert Hilburn, predicted that maybe four of that year's top-selling singles would be considered significant a decade hence. It's been almost 10 years, and though we remember New Kids on the Block's "Step by Step" and Paula Abdul's "Opposites Attract," only three of the year's hit songs (Phil Collins' "Another Day in Paradise," Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U," and Madonna's "Vogue"), with possible mention of Roxette's "It Must Have Been Love," and Taylor Dayne's "Love Will Lead You Back," are still widely considered triumphs.

Not all the 1990 hits have sunk with their genre's ship - the Billboard list had the early successes of Janet Jackson's career ("Escapade" and "Black Cat") and Mariah Carey's first frizzy blockbusters ("Vision of Love," "Love Takes Time"). But when these primitive victories share chart space with vapidity like "Ice Ice Baby," and C+C Music Factory's "Gonna Make You Sweat," their artistic value is lost somewhere in teenybopper idolatry.

My guess is that in 2010, today's 10-year-olds will be shamefully reminiscing about their false-idol worship the way we do our "Hanging Tough" gang. Britney Spears will only be around if she takes some serious vocal lessons, and the boyband brigade will have dissolved into various attempts at solo careers.

Yet, there's hope. One of the former Mouseketeers has actually shown a formative potential for market-bending. The saucer-eyed Christina Aguilera just might be the only one to survive the inevitable teen-pop crash.

Yes, I too was under the suspicion that she was just a flash-in-the-pan "me too" artist, until this Genie Barbie stepped onstage during the December television special, Christmas in Washington. Singing "The Christmas Song," she displayed not only her previously-masked vocal range but a sultry undertone - giving her a crossover ability that her shallow league of musical contemporaries dearly lack.

She already has three markets cornered - her Barbie-blondness lends easily to pop and idoldom, her soulful undercurrent gives her R&B versatility Britney Spears couldn't find in any Miracle Bra and her Latin background will help her crossover into music's latest gold mine, the Ricky Martin fan base. Her Best New Artist Grammy win was surprising, but gratifying, and has already given her equal footing with Teen Queen Spears, a dethroning that once seemed utterly impossible.

Teen bop may fizzle, but it won't die. In 10 years we'll be contemplating yet another group of Mouseketeer graduates with fresh-scrubbed babyfaces, bare midriffs and, possibly, vocal talent (which will be hiding under bad writing), deciding which will be popular after puberty.

Where Are They Now:

Jessica Simpson & Christina Aguilera are still popular, though Jessica wasn't widely known until she appeared on some reality show with her ex in 2003.

Britney's now mostly known for being tabloid fodder and haven't released anything since 2003.

Mandy Moore have appeared on some indie movies and several like "American Dreamz", which flopped. In recent interviews, she stated that she's ashamed of her early albums. "I Wanna Be With You" is a good song, though "Candy" is also catchy.

Backstreet Boys...will soon be releasing a follow up to the
the "moderate" succes of the last album "Never Gone"

Nick appears in his own reality show with his brother Aaron Carter and the rest of the carter family.

N'Sync... split in 2002, Justin Timberlake has a succesfull solo career now

Nick Lachey of 98 Degrees also have a succesfull solo career.

A new generation have come since the past few years with Hilary Duff, Lindsay Lohan, Ashlee Simpson, Aly & AJ, High School Musical, Cheyenne, Jesse McCartney, etc.

It's all crap anyway.

Where Are They Now:

Jessica Simpson & Christina Aguilera are still popular, though Jessica wasn't widely known until she appeared on some reality show with her ex in 2003.

Backstreet Boys...will soon be releasing a follow up to the
the "moderate" succes of the last album "Never Gone"

Nick Lachey of 98 Degrees also have a succesfull solo career.

A new generation have come since the past few years with Hilary Duff, Lindsay Lohan, Ashlee Simpson, Aly & AJ, High School Musical, Cheyenne, Jesse McCartney, etc.
Jessica Simpson is not popular for her music she's popular because the paparazi is always updating us on her love life. She was popular for her music 1999-2001 even though she had hits in 2003 and 2006 with "With You" and "Public Affair" respectevely

The Backstreet Boys aren't even big anynore despite having a hit near the midway point of 2005 with "Incomplete".

Nick Lachey's 2 songs that I heard last year that were released to radio  weren't bad at all.

As for the new generation of new tee-pop their popularity is a far cry from the popularity of teen idols in the late 80's and late 90's/early 00's periods resepectively.

As fir Britney she's Generation Y"s Marylin Monroe or Madonna for the amount of press she gets omg.