Although I generally do not follow pop stars (or any celebrities for that matter), I was intrigued by the link title that I clicked, which read:

"Miley Cyrus latest victim of the sex-sells pop music biz"

Sadly, I don't see her as a victim of anything but bad parenting and both parents mention God in their public statements. Riiiiiiiiiiight.
All emphasis mine.


Miley and the machine

Miley Cyrus releases her new album Tuesday.

And it's going to be huge.

The promotion started in August with a haircut - from long brown locks to short sassy and blond. A week or two later, we were treated to quite a lot of tongue-sticking-out followed by a foam finger and grinding in a skimpy outfit on TV.

Just as the talk about twerking was subsiding (basically, bending over and shaking your rear), a new video was released shot by a notoriously pervy director featuring a naked girl ('natch), that tongue again (this time licking a sledgehammer), red lipstick and boots.

The foam finger episode along with the butt-shaking and crotchgrabbing on the VMAs was the most tweeted event, ever. And the music video with the 20-year-old's bare bottom riding a wrecking ball along with assorted other soft porn shots was viewed 13.5 million times in one day, smashing the previous record.

Sex sells, you see. And our girl Miley is a product. Every bit as much as a bag of Sweet Chili Heat Doritos, that girl has been prepared and packaged for consumption.

After her last album, which didn't sell as well as hoped, she got a new manager - the same guy who made Britney Spears a sexy starlet.
..............

................but when the cute little girl act stopped working - her last album was a disappointment - they hired Britney's old manager.

Presumably, he's the guy who decided to bring in the very creepy photographer Terry Richardson to direct Miley's video. Any thinking parent would keep their daughters as far away as humanly possible from this guy. Richardson is widely known to like getting naked on the set and has reportedly told at least one model, "It's not who you know, it's who you blow," while undoing his pants.

Charmer that he is, Richardson explained in one interview: "I don't think I'm a sex addict, but I do have issues. Maybe it's the psychological thing that I was a shy kid, and now I'm this powerful guy with his boner, dominating all these girls."

Right. So Richardson, to the surprise of absolutely no one, stripped Miley naked and had her do the latest incarnation of the sexy girl pop star thing. Almost makes one nostalgic for Madonna's wedding dress. Or Britney's schoolgirl skirt.

According to her Twitter account, Miley's mom Tish is busy: "Living the Dream day after day. GOD is so good. I'm so blessed."

As for her dad, when he's not sitting on the board of the Parents Television Council - an organization founded to "ensure that children are not constantly assaulted by sex, violence and profanity on television and in other media" - Billy Ray "enjoys lifting weights, riding his four-wheeler and horseback riding."

And getting the point. "The song is a smash," he told Entertainment Tonight after millions of people watched his daughter fellate a barbell and straddle a wrecking ball with nothing but her boots on. "Her performance vocally on the tune reflects her roots and sheer God-given talent."

Meanwhile, Daddy's Little Girl - and the family's big breadwinner - was on a New York radio station talking about the storm of outrage over the video (what the record company gleefully calls "earned media"): "If people can take their minds off the obvious and go into their imagination and see what the video really means," says the girl who is still too young to legally drink a beer, "it is so vulnerable."


http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainm ... story.html

"and both parents mention God in their public statements."

Their First Commandment is: Peddle your arse to the highest bidder.
Different god is all. It's called money.

She's 20 yo. After spending most of her teen years in the Disney star machine, where her image was of an all American, sweet and innocent pre-teen/teenager, she's now doing everything she can to leave that Miley in the past. Even if some of her choices are dumb and cringe-worthy. Some real parental guidance might have made a big difference but I don't think she's ever really had any.

What with the tongue hanging out the words bitch in heat come to mind.

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/showbiz/3429 ... ated-snaps

I left out this part of the article, which might explain that lack:

As for Miley, the story goes that when she was all of eight, she told her dad, flash-in-the-pan C-grade country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, that she wanted to be an actress. If her dad was an oncologist or a mechanic, chances are he would have said, "That's nice sweetie, now go do your homework." But her dad wanted to be a star, too. And, oh, how we want for our children that which we can't have for ourselves.

And, oh, how we want for our children that which we can't have for ourselves.

Aha!
Billy Ray wasn't gettin' any!

I was talking to hubby about pop music these days, and I said I didn't know who to blame; Madonna, Disney or MTV.

Madonna had a fair to middling voice with a fairly good song book but she began the both sing and dance requisite to most divas today.

Then came Britney. When she was on Star Search as a kid she didn't sing through her nose and it got her on Disney's Mickey Mouse Club with Justin Timberlake, Ryan Gosling and Christina Aguilera. As an "adult" like Miley she became sexualized with Baby One More Time with a singing voice that is a combination of baby talk and electronics.

Then I also have to blame MTV and the fact that every song comes with a video. All the recent female pop star videos are very sexual to the point of vulgar in the case of Rihanna's Pour it Up. Ain't no unattractive female pop stars and it appears sex does sell.

Pour it Up - Rihanna

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehcVomMexkY

Work Bitch - Britney

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt8VYOfr8To

Bow Down Bitches - Beyoncé

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGyQQUsNLsY

Roar - Katy Perry

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CevxZvSJLk8

Wrecking Ball - Miley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CevxZvSJLk8

No Whitney's or Celine's today. Lots of electronics and skin.

The difference is, Miley isn't *hurting* anyone. Madonna didn't *hurt* anyone. "Vulgar" is subjective after all. I mean, just what "thrill" was found on Blueberry Hill? Pastry?


I disagree. She's hurting herself most of all.

How is she hurting herself?

She's objectifying herself, which doesn't bode well for her future relationships. She will, mark my words, fall into the same cesspool of problems as those before her have done. Yes, she'll be "successful" with tons of adoring fans and money. When she's 50, she'll wonder why she feels empty and can trust no one. That is, unless she smartens up.

Did you read about the photographer? His reputation? As a trained professional, I can't understand why you don't see it. Her parents, especially her Dad, have pimped her out.

She was pimped out as Hannah Montana, too, probably even more so because she was a minor then. To a degree most of the Disney kids are.

They are parentified kids who are the meal tickets for their families.

She will probably have problems because people who live in the camera's eye do. They have trouble identifying where they stop and their personas begin.

Miley wants to stay in the limelight. She wants to go the Britney path and not fall by the wayside. I think this is her choice and not just her dad's.

Could be. May not be and that is the peril. It's only my opinion that she's headed for some bad times. I had this same argument about Britney with someone who defended her the same way when she first started her shenanigans. Time will tell........

Frankly, I don't care really. I just thought the article was interesting and the bit about the photographer was a little scary. I also thought the "God" references by both parents was funny.

I actually care about a different point. All the pop stars today are "limited vocal talents". Girls in high school think they sing as well as the stars because they do.

There are some major voices out there e.g Christina Aguilera and Adele come to mind, but I don't think Adele would have made it through if she originated in the US. We seem to be more interested in packaging.

I mostly agree with your take, roseanne ~ I think Miley is a rotten [and maybe dangerous] role model for tweens, teens, and even young adults ~ I also admit WE ALL do things we think are a good idea at the time ~ as for her parents, she's 20 ~ she is no longer a minor or legally under parental control ~ and for at least the last several years, she's the major family breadwinner ~ "don't bite the hand that feeds you" jumps into my mind ~

Sooz

Good points, Kath ~

Sooz

Another great voice but probably a bad role model is "Pink". She's scrubbed up a bit now but I used to joke that she didn't look like much and was having to struggle by on talent.