Interesting article in the Los Angeles Times that notes the musical contrast between current tween stars (Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, et. al., and their predecessors (Britney and Lindsey). According to the article, the current generation of teen pop is more wholesome, which I believe is a positive step in the right direction.
No matter how many backpacks they help Target sell or photo spreads they do in Vanity Fair, tween stars like the Jo Bros and Miley Cyrus (in and out of her Hannah Montana costume) have music at the center of their identities. These young stars tend to write (or at least co-write) their own material, and their hits contain some interesting lessons about both life and pop.
Today's tween pop is tasty and nutritious and just a bit tart, like a protein-packed smoothie. Anyone over 12 will enjoy its flavor but find it not quite a whole meal. It's a lot like rock, but not quite rock -- that old drop of poison, of boundary-challenging risk, is necessarily absent. The sounds of Radio Disney and Nickelodeon -- whose stars completely rule the Billboard Kid Audio charts -- are made to be tolerated by parents nervous about the messages pop music sends, especially in the wake of meltdowns by former teen stars like Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears.
No longer is teen pop based on the Lolita principle. Instead, it's a tool for learning, transforming the individualism and irreverence of the rock era into good-girl-and-boy self-empowerment.
Spears sent scintillating mixed messages in songs like ". . . Baby One More Time"; Cyrus and the Jo Bros make things perfectly clear. Tween emotions are confusing. Tween pop acknowledges this, but it exhorts kids to believe in themselves anyway, and not to play games with anyone's heart.
Growing up is the subject of tween pop, and nobody wants to skip the process. While some songs acknowledge brewing hormonal desire -- the new Jo Bros single is called "Burning Up" -- none encourage kids to equate sex with power. Girls who tease and boys who are too possessive get the boot. "This is real, this is me, I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be now," sings Demi Lovato in this summer's smash “Camp Rock.”
A decade ago, boy bands like 'NSync and girl-women like Spears projected adult sexuality even when expressing youthful emotions. Tween pop goes back one more incarnation, to Hanson and the Spice Girls, whose breakthrough hits sent forth positive vibes on waves of power-pop sunshine.
Source: Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-kidsrock6-2008jul06,0,1446624.story
