Manufactured celebrities

Everyone in our office is buzzing about the Orange Bowl. Some of us like me love football and tuned in for the game. Before moving to the main topic at hand, I have to point out that Auburn should have been playing, not OU and the Sooners getting their asses wacked was fun for me to watch. Now please, Matt Leinert, go pro; my Hogs play Southern Cal next year and I'd like to see him in the NFL, not facing my beloved Razorbacks.

My main rant this week is this. WHYYYYY do we have to deal with untalented jokes for stars like Ashlee Simpson? Her sister Jessica is a travesty too. But please folks. For those who didn't watch, I'll catch you up. There were 3 performers for the Orange Bowl halftime. They were Kelly Clarkson, Tracie Adkins, and finally Ashlee Simpson.

Now in defense, all 3 had the same problem with sound. Kelly's mike didn't even work for half of her first verse; she was visibly frustrated. The difference though is that she worked through it and actually sang her song. Her voice was evident and she largely overcame the issue and sang well. Tracie Adkins also had sound problems and was up next; he has considerably less vocal talent than Kelly Clarkson though. Fortunately, he's old and seasoned and could just work with what he had; his performance wasn't any lamer than you would normally expect.

Then comes Ashlee Simpson. Remember the SNL incident; she should have lip synched this again in spite of it all. She was soooo bad that most karaoke I've heard was MUCH better. I mean by people who don't get paid to do it. She screamed and wailed a vulgar song and dance, looked like a tramp, and ended the song saying " you make me want to scream", which she in fact did scream. The crowd at the Orange Bowl boo'd her heartily like I've never seen an artist get boo'd before. She deserved it. Or did we deserve it?

Why is it acceptable for record companies to prop up a manufactured artist with no talent? There are artists out there that we listen to that have real talent. But many don't. Britney Spears cannot sing or write a note; I'll give that her showmanship (dancing and demeanor) make up for much of that. But there are soo many people that have real talent that can't get heard. They write actual songs that say something, sing them well, and most of us don't have access to them. Go to Eddie's Attic in Decatur, GA and watch Michelle Malone play sometime and tell me why she never "hit it big", but Ashleee Simpson did. Michelle sings well, has an awesome stage presence, writes her own music.... etc... I hope that the market punishes Ashlee's studio for bringing her to us. It's not her fault, she's just doing what we'd all do. But enough is enough. Her performance gave me flashbacks of William Hung from American Idol.

The Orange Bowl attracted a lot of celebrites. Will Farrel, Shaq, and USC alumni OJ Simpson. I think the comedian I saw last night on the Best Damn Sports show said it best. "Ashlee screamed so much and so horribly last night that I thought OJ was stabbing her. "