I was talking with some of my business friends the other day, and we were discussing how growing up in the industry and developing in the public eye can be, in many ways, negative and very hard. For many artists that have their careers start at an early age and grow up under the telescope of the public eye, it can be very difficult to actually grow up. Many people become critical of an artist just for simply growing up. People and fans have maybe seen that artist a particular way when they are younger and when that changes they criticize the artist. Now, granted, many of the young celebs today do grow up probably a little faster than the average person their age, because of their access to particular things, and exposure to the world, that average youth do not have. But they are still human, and go through a process of growing up.
Growing up; we all have to go through it at some point in our lives, even celebrities. So why is it that when a celeb is going through that stage of life, and it just so happens to happen in public, that they get scrutinized for it? Many stars have grown up, what seems like, right before our very eyes. Stars such as Beyonce’, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Britney Spears have literally grown up in the limelight. Even more recently stars like Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber will be heading toward the road of growing up in the light of fame very soon, if they haven’t already begun the process.
 |
| Britney back in the day |
 |
| Britney now |
Questions are always asked if the child star is “doing too much” or growing up too fast. Britney Spears was talked about when she started getting a little more provocative with her videos, and today Miley Cyrus has really been talked about badly for her new video “can’t be tamed”(see below), sure she may not have much on, but she will also be 18 in a few days (Happy Birthday Ms. Cyrus!!), and in this great country that we live in she is allowed to make a decision about how much she wants to wear in HER music video! She’s old enough to vote she’s old enough to make her choice of how she wants to be portrayed. If there is something different or new for an artist, people tend to feel the need to talk about it.
For example: Poor Emma Watson, a star from the Harry Potter series, recently got a simple hair cut and people are making a FUSS about her, now short pixie hairdo. She states “I knew it would be kind of a shock, but I had no idea that it would be that big…Like everyone would make this much fuss over it’. Just let the girl live and grow up ya’ll goodness! It’s just hair! She’s old enough to choose a new hairstyle for herself! People have even started talking about
Willow Smith, 9, saying maybe she’s too young, and acting too grown. No the girl likes to sing dance and have a good time (Which is all she is doing in her video, “Whip my Hair”) and luckily she has a family that has the connections to help her out with making her dreams be a reality. Nothing more, nothing less.
I mean honestly could you imagine having to grow up with everyone watching you? Those developmental years can be some of the toughest times in ones life, but for stars its even harder because not only are you going through it but now everybody is watching and critiquing your every move. I say leave these kids alone and let them grow up!
