Lil' Romeos
One of the less salacious side effects of Michael Jackson's
passing is the renewed interest in the Jackson 5. We'll take a Jackson
5 "greatest hits" over "Thriller" any day. Michael's preteen catalog is
a marvel. Writers and critics have bent into every worded contortion
attempting to re-describe his childhood brilliance. Watching Jackson as
a child is supremely awe-inspiring. Kids like that don't come around
very often. And he made you realize there are two kinds of boy singers.
On stage left are parakeet kids. These are the ones with stage moms
still getting over their failed entertainment careers, who force their
children to sing note-for-note versions of "Fiddler on the Roof" or
Barry Manilow songs. They are the voices you hear on "Kidz Bop" CDs.
These are circus-show freak kids who have no emotional connection to
what they're singing, They are parakeets, mindlessly repeating what
they're told to say in order to get a treat. It's one step short of
child abuse and hardly passes as entertainment or art.
On stage right are true child stars. These are kids who have a
direct line to the divine. They are the prodigies, the ones who dance
like James Brown at age five or play guitar like Eric Clapton before
they're toilet-trained. They write angst-ridden songs that belie their
prepubescence, and they sing like old, world-weary, traveled souls.
They don't merely recite memorized lyrics, they get fully inside of a
song.
Jackson was obviously the child whose star shined brightest. Here
are some others. Young boys bigger than their years. Some have grown
up, and others we're watching. It's an enormous burden for any child to
bear, and some don't make the journey. Hopefully, watching Michael's
bright start and sad finish will help future child stars - and their
parents - walk into their destinies with eyes wide open.
GALLERY: See our favorite musical boy wonders
Shaheen Jafargholi
The 12-year-old who vied with Susan Boyle on
this year's "Britain's Got Talent" has the perfect pedigree of a child
star in the making: Simon Cowell has blessed him and Motown founder
Berry Gordy has praised him. After watching the young man sing the
Smokey Robinson classic "Who's Lovin' You" (famously recorded by the
Jackson 5) at Michael Jackson's memorial service, Gordy said, "If I
were [still] in the business, I would sign him tomorow." And so the
child-star torch is passed.
Romeo Miller (Lil' Romeo)
The son of New Orleans hip-hop mogul Master P, Romeo's career has been as versatile as his entrepreneurial dad's. Romeo's
2001 self-titled debut went gold before he was a teenager. Father and
son then took the act to the small screen for the Nickelodeon show
"Romeo!," which aired for three seasons and wrapped just in time for
the young star to attend USC on a full basketball scholarship. He now
plays point guard for the USC Trojans. This makes him the only child
singer/actor/point guard in child-star history. Take that, Usher.
Tevin Campbell
In the wake of Quincy Jones' monster Michael Jackson success, he introduced Tevin Campbell
as his next big thing. Campbell's five-octave range was unveiled on
Jones' 1989 "Back on the Block" album. Prince picked him up for his
"Graffiti Bridge" soundtrack, and Campbell followed that with his own
1991 debut, "T.E.V.I.N." All of this before his 16th birthday.
Campbell's been pretty quiet as an adult. He hasn't released an album
in over ten years, instead opting for a Broadway career. He was last
seen in the stage adaptation of "Hairspray."
Usher
Of all the boy-child stars, Usher's
stagecraft comes closest to the heights reached by Michael Jackson. In
1991, Usher Raymond IV was discovered on "Star Search" and quickly
given a record deal. He was 13 years old and had already been
performing for two years. His debut album, executive-produced by Sean
Combs, was released before he graduated from high school. Usher quickly
proved his strength as a dancer and actor, touring with Mary J. Blige
and Janet Jackson while starring in TV shows "Moesha" and "The Bold and
the Beautiful". All before his 21st birthday. Earlier this month Usher
got to pay his respects to a fellow child star when he sang at Michael
Jackson's memorial service, standing next to his coffin.
Justin Timberlake
Like Usher, Justin Timberlake
made an early appearance on TVs "Star Search." Singing country songs
under the name "Justin Randall," Timberlake didn't win over any
Nashville fans. By age 12 he was closer to his pop sensibilities
alongside Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and future *NSYNC
bandmate JC Chasez on "The Mickey Mouse Club." Now approaching his 30th
birthday, Timberlake has all the markings of a showbiz veteran: he's
been ripped off by a sleazy manager (*NSYNC impresario Lou Pearlman,
who's doing jail time for money laundering), been voted one of People
magazine's "sexiest men alive," and has a prerequisite celebrity
clothing line called Willam Rast.
Stevie Wonder
If Stevie Wonder
could dance, he'd have Michael beat. Another Motown child prodigy,
"Little" Stevie Wonder was signed to the label at 11 years old. Motown
staff writer and producer Mickey Stevenson inadvertently gave Wonder
(real name: Stevland Hardaway Morris) his surname when he said, "That
boy's a wonder" after seeing him play. Little Stevie was 13 when he had
his first #1 single, "Fingertips - Pt. 2." The hits kept coming through
puberty into adulthood, and thankfully, grown-up Stevie shows no signs
of leaving too soon.
Ritchie Valens
Ritchie
Valens was so consumed by music, he would carry his guitar with him to
class. He finally dropped out of high school to pursue his music carer
which was taking off thanks to a record deal with Hollywood label
Del-Fi. At age 17, he was performing his single "Come On, Lets Go" on
"American Bandstand." Ritchie had overcome a fear of flying to appear
on the Philadelphia TV show. Less than four months later, Valens would
die in a 1959 airplane crash along with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper
en route to a gig just as his second single "Donna" ("La Bamba" was the
flip side) was climbing its way to number two on the charts.
Frankie Lymon
The '50s teen star was one of the early
tragedies of prepubescent pop fame. Born into a poor Harlem home (his
dad was a truck driver and his mom a maid), Frankie Lymon
helped make ends meet by hustling prostitutes at age ten. By age 12 he
was singing in a doo wop group, and by 13 he and that group, which had
gone through a few names before becoming the Teenagers, had a Top 10
hit with "Why Do Fools Fall in Love." When Lymon's sweet soprano voice
changed, his popularity suffered. Addicted to heroin since age 15, he
fatally overdosed at 25.
Bobby Brown
Bobby Brown
was the youngest member of '80s R&B boy band New Edition - just
nine years old when the group formed in Boston. A gifted entertainer
but troubled personality from the start, Brown was kicked out of the
group for his unpredictable behavior, which included some fairly lewd
dancing. He was 16 when he got the boot. His second solo album, "Don't
Be Cruel" - and its hit single, "My Prerogative" - propelled him to pop
superstardom before his 20th birthday. Then his marriage to Whitney
Houston at age 23 gave new meaning to codependence (painfully captured
in the '05 docudrama "Being Bobby Brown"). They thankfully divorced in
2007. Now the question is "Does the world care about Bobby Brown if
he's not on a reality show high on crack?"
