Reality TV Made the Radio Star?
How 24-Hour Scrutiny Revived or Kick-Started Musical Careers
Aug 24, 2009
Everyone’s heard of the satirical tune Video Killed the Radio Star, but probably nobody, not even original singers The Buggles, would have foreseen just how much the advent of visual technology could contribute to flagging musical careers. True, the music videos might have damaged the careers of talented – but less physically attractive – singers; but there are also celebrities who ride on reality television’s coattails onto fame and fortune which might have eluded them otherwise.
Here are some examples of singers who revived their careers via the small screen:
Jessica Simpson
Before Newlyweds, Simpson was just another blonde bubblegum pop singer in the wake of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. But then she married Nick Lachey of boyband 98 Degrees and kept the cameras rolling long after their wedding – yielding such classic quotes as “Jessica, would you like some buffalo wings?” “Sorry, I don’t eat buffalo.”
The pair have since split up, but not without milking their fifteen minutes of fame – Simpson’s album In This Skin was re-released due to her increasing popularity, and hit #2 on the Billboard Charts. Lachey too released What’s Left of Me, obviously still clutching onto the straws of fame he had attained with his ex-wife.
Peter Andre
A fairly successful artiste of the 90s, Andre’s career had been stagnating until his relationship with glamour model Jordan, nee Katie Price. It was then that he became a household name. In the same vein as the previous duo, they appeared on Katie and Peter, a warts-and-all series documenting their relationship. Riding on his resurgent popularity, in 2004 Andre re-released his breakthrough hit Mysterious Girl which hit #1 in the UK charts eight years after it was first heard by audiences. His subsequent single Insania also peaked at #3.
Kelly Osbourne
The daughter of rocker Ozzy Osbourne, Kelly became a celebrity in her own right when MTV chronicled the antics of her dysfunctional family in The Osbournes. Kelly was portrayed as a potty-mouthed anti-thesis of the then-popular wholesome teenage female singers, and this image was continued on her 2002 debut album Shut Up! It received moderate success and was slammed by critics; but Kelly deployed another not-so-sceret weapon: her father, Ozzy, with whom she had a UK#1 duet of Black Sabbath’s Changes.
Kevin Federline
Hardly anyone would think of Federline as anything other than the ex-Mr Britney Spears, but here’s a clear example of someone who was basically plucked from obscurity onto the cover of every tabloid, through no talent of his own. Despite not needing the extra publicity, the couple still welcomed the cameras into their private lives on Chaotic. They have since split up, but Federline still managed to release his debut rap album Playing with Fire – which was, quite unsurprisingly, a commercial and critical disaster.
Paula Abdul
Dance-pop darling of the 80s and 90s, Abdul had not released a new single since 1996 when American Idol came knocking on her door at 2002, where she gained a new fanbase for being the ‘nice’ judge. Her own reality TV show Hey Paula probably did more damage than good to her reputation, showing erratic behaviour and childish tantrums. Musically, she still attained success with her 2008 single Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow, which peaked at #2 on the US Dance Charts.
Of course, many would scoff at the credibility of artistes who expose their personal lives to rise to the top (well, they’re not quite there yet but who’s keeping score), claiming they are exploiting the public craving for celebrity gossip rather than relying on any inherent musical talent. Unfortunately, record sales (or downloads, in this day and age) are the strongest defence against naysayers, so this tell-all trend may be going strong for a while yet.
 |
