With all the Hollywood scandals from last week’s "Summer ofScandal" issue running through my head, I found myself listening to Britney Spears’ 2000song "Lucky" — a popditty about an overworked starlet forced to feign happiness in front of hermany fans. When Britney (pictured) says, "This is a story about a girl named Lucky,"I heard "This is a story about a girl named Britney." And it is. "Lucky," ofcourse, was only a prelude to 2004’s even sadder "Everytime." If thesearen’t cries for help, I don’t know what it is.
I got to thinking about other troubled musicians and not-so-subliminal warnings they may have left us. For instance:
Lindsay Lohan:"Confessions of aBroken Heart (Daughter to Father)" — LiLo gave the world a front rowseat to her family troubles (through a plate glass window, actually) in thevideo for this 2005 ballad.
Amy Winehouse:"Rehab," et al. — This is an obvious one; Amy’s old-fashioned soul allows herto do melancholy like no one else, so it’s not surprising some of her biggesthits are woeful tales of alcoholism ("Rehab"), love lost ("Back to Black," "TheseTears Dry on Their Own," "Love is a Losing Game") and the basic inability to liveup to standards ("You Know I’m No Good").
Lil’ Wayne: F. Babygets an honorable mention here, though Weezy enthusiast Chris Schonbergermaintains that he is not a hot mess, just crazy. But really, could a songcalled "I Feel Like Dying" be anything but a cryfor help? Yeah, yeah. I know. It’s supposed to be ironic.
Mariah Carey: Anotherhonorable mention — emphasis on "honorable." You might know from previous poststhat I’m a huge Mariah fan. But I can’t deny that girlfriend’s had some trouble,and she’s shared it with her fans. A few examples — "Looking In," "Outside," and "Petals" all speak to Carey’s troubledchildhood and her struggle to fit in as a biracial girl. Of course, Carey’s streakof No. 1 hits suggests that maybe she didn’t need our help after all.
Just a few of my favorite musical pleas for help. Is it wrong to have favoriteshere? Isn’t this what music is about?
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They’re all nut cases…even going back to Judy Garland…there are just a few who make it through to grownup age without cracking up.
I love Britney. I’m only watching the VMAs if she performs. I don’t know if she really has problems, or if everything has just been speculation, but I miss her dearly.
Elite, you’re kidding right? you LIKE BRITNEY Spears? What has this world come to? And Amy Winehouse is a total wreck. Anybody who buys her CD is an enabler.
Was a time when a singer had a problem, they kept it secret, the public didn’t know about it, now they advertise to the world, as if we want to know….I think they’re both trashy…no class….no finesse, and their adoring public is just enablers.
If that outfit Spears is wearing isn’t a cry for help, nothing is.
Snarf, that was hilarious HAHA.
Seriously, that “outfit” is just…there are no words.
Yes, Sally. I like Britney. She hasn’t done anything to me, and I like her music and performances. I don’t expect recording artists to be perfect or even perfectly sane. I don’t think she advertises anything intentionally. She’s hounded by photogs every second of her life. Why do we blame Brit instead of the numbskulls reporting her every single move? If she blinks to fast it will be international headline news. The media is a much sadder, desperate case than Ms. Spears ever has been.
The media’s not the problem; they’re just feeding the audience its food. Without the readers to gobble up what we’re fed, there’d be no media following these people around. Unfortunately, these days, it’s become socially acceptable to unload all one’s troubles, to purge all one’s demons. In the old days, these things used to be private (and were considered scandals when they got out). So now, instead of singing about how one’s heart is broken, one sings instead of how one’s been left pregnant, broke, with a disease, and has attempted suicide. Nothing’s private anymore. The public eats it up, demands more, and so the media goes on the hunt for more, giving the people what they demand. The audience created this hideous mess of “too much information.” Me, I’d rather have too *little* information: I find I like performers less when I know too much about them. I used to like Tom Cruise a lot more before I found out he was batsh!t crazy, for example.
BinkyM – rather than going on a random diatribe, your argument would be more credible if you actually gave us an example of a celebrity that you had “too little” information of…how about Parker Posey? She’s not involved in any scandals, to the best of my knowledge…
beb, here you go: Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Adrian Brody (does he even *exist* outside of film?), Paul Walker, Ben Affleck (kidding!), Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Morgan Freeman … okay; I got the ball rolling. See what I mean? These people are sphinxes, and I like it that way.
beb, here you go: Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Adrian Brody (does he even *exist* outside of film?), Paul Walker, Ben Affleck (kidding!), Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Morgan Freeman … okay; I got the ball rolling. See what I mean? These people are sphinxes, and I like it that way.
beb, here you go: Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Adrian Brody (does he even *exist* outside of film?), Paul Walker, Ben Affleck (kidding!), Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Morgan Freeman … okay; I got the ball rolling. See what I mean? These people are sphinxes, and I like it that way.
I agree with most of your post, except for the part of not airing any type of inner demon. Sometimes it is very therapeutic (sp?) to share your problems, although it needs to be done right. Because, sometimes bottling up emotions can lead to tragedy. (R.I.P. Kurt Cobain).
There *are* therapists, friends, and family members for these sorts of things; it’s not necessary to broadcast ones troubles to every member of the entire planet. That results in the media hounding them for more information, and everyone feeling entitled to yet more information, their every move being scrutinized, and whaddya know! We’re back to square one, right where we started! (And today is the start of Owen Wilson Overload Month, too.)
True, there are therapists, but some stars come forward because they want to help others going through similar struggles and let them know they are not alone. And sometimes, family and friends just don’t understand, so people who have problems find refuge in books and music.
I am exhausted with them all..there’s nothing they can do that will surprise me anymore…Britney feeds dog food to her kids? Sure! Lindsay still drinks? Of course! Nicole still takes drugs even while pregnant? Why not! Its all so crazy that its not even shocking any longer, simply sad sad sad…I wish they would all just go away because their only claim to fame is doing stupid stupid things…
Bethonie, I am the biggest Mariah fanatic posting, so I’ll represent my girl(though of the others you mentioned, I have a soft spot for Britney). On MC’s excelllent CD ‘Glitter’ there was a song called ‘Twister’ a short, mournful song containing lines like ‘Lord I pray she’s found some peace/And that her mind is at ease.’ While Mariah was in the hospital for that month in 2001, that song played in my mind again and again.
But, as we know, the story had a happy ending. She wrote ‘My Saving Grace’ for her next CD Charmbraclet addressing her recovery, and there were no introspective songs of that ilk on Mimi, which brought her back.
Looking forward to the new Mariah CD! Three months to go, baby!
I just don’t buy the idea that Britney Spears’ “Lucky” was a cry for help. After all, she followed that song with a reality show in which she and Kevin Federline let the entire country see their home movies. Britney has always, always, always tried to call as much attention to herself as possible. I think it’s only very recently that she’s started to regret it, but now it’s too late.
I have sympathy for the other women on this list, and for most celebs who want privacy, but not for Britney. She got what she wanted.
The Beatles’ “Help!” is still the best musical cry for help.
I need to qualify. Britney didn’t get what she wanted, she got what she asked for. There is a big difference. She just doesn’t seem to get it through her head that privacy IS important. She’s addicted to fame and to be without it is, i’m sure, painful and incredibly frightening. She needs to go to rehab to get off that drug called popularity.
How can anyone like Mooriah? That’s the real question here, lol!!
To Aron–How can anyone like Mariah? It’s quite simple–she’s the best singer in the world. Ah, if only every question I had to answer was as simple as that one.
Does it say bad things about me that I actually love Britney’s “Everytime”? It’s the only song I think she ever did that was worth more than it’s five minutes on MTV. It’s certainly the only song she ever sang that I found to be at all moving. And though I think part of the charm of it is derived from the fact that she sings it in her wavering baby voice, I’d love one day to hear someone cover it who can actually, you know, really sing.
Thanks for the reminder about “Lucky.” That song was one of my favorite, and guiltiest, guilty pleasures when it was released. Now I am off to iTunes to buy that cry for help.
Laura, there is a great cover of Everytime by Glen Hansard, the guy from the band the frames and i think hes the guy in the movie “once” anyway its on itunes, its with some other guy from the frames on a compilation CD called better than the first time or something, check it out its really good!
Yeah, don’t read too much into Lucky. I remember that when she was once interviewed about the song and what it meant to her, she said: “Um, it’s a song about a girl called Lucky, and she is a star, and she cries at night”. Now, if couldn’t milk the sappy lyrics for anymore meaning than that, then I get the feeling she didn’t relate to it. Besides, didn’t Max Martin write that for her?
For the record, I enjoy ‘Lucky’ too, Laura. So don’t feel guilty, lol!
You know, I think I’m the only person who doesn’t think she has a bad voice. In “Everytime” she showed she had a sweet little tune, kinda like Lily Allen if Britney had some training. Certainly better than Rihanna.
If she had written “Lucky” then I would agree that it could have been a cry for help. That song was written by Max Martin and could have been about anyone. If she was feeling that way, she could have just walked away from it all. At that point she had the money and would have been set for life to pursue other interests.
Joe C…you need to get out more and listen to some decent music and singers…Mooriah is not the best singer in the world(biggest laugh for me and my colleagues at work today! thanks for that!!)..she is not the best anything…well actually she is: scary, psycho, vain, crazy, annoying, fat, need i go on?????