Month: January 2016

Music celebrity may initially seem like a fun circus, but ultimately, it proves to be a dizzying, nauseating ride. Most people only see the glitter and glow of the music industry: the fame, the “rock star” persona, the party lifestyle and the fan base. What they do not see is how fickle the industry is, how it will promise you success and glory beyond your wildest dreams, but in actuality, what it does is chew you up and spit you out.

Celebrity status as a musician is a very fickle, short lived thing. When it arrives, it feels like it will last forever. Celebrity musicians take their money and blow it on an extravagant existence that always features them in the lime light. They attend parties and bask in the glow of their success. The problem is, if you do not keep reinventing yourself as a musician and offering your audience new reasons to love you, they will fall away, taking your industry success and glory with them.

The substance abuse that celebrity musicians often engage in is another element of musical fame that may seem fun at first but ends with dire consequences. Music celebrities are constantly being offered drugs and alcohol as a reward for their success. Entertainment industry people and party people alike bring it to them consistently, and many people fall into the habit of using and drinking on a regular basis. As their addiction and substance abuse problems take over their careers, they are left ragged and used up, only to find that the party has moved on without them. Frequently, a musician’s drug and alcohol problem result in deteriorated health or even death.

The sex opportunities that are thrown at celebrities are also something they are known to fall head over heels for. Everyone knows that music celebrities are often sexual icons. Many of them are also aware of this and use it to their advantage, hooking up with every piece of tail that comes their way. What they do not account for is that their every move is being followed by the paparazzi who are eager to report their affairs. Sleeping around will quickly damage a musician’s reputation.

When we observe a musician who used to be famous but used their fame toward debauchery instead of developing their talent, we find this very sad. Sad that talent was wasted and sad that a person was so mislead in their priorities. If they managed to continue writing good music through their debauchery, that is one thing, but if they rose to fame only to exploit it and live a life of excess instead of advance their careers, that is a disappointment. The iconic washed up musician is a sad prospect to us, yet there are so many of them. They can be identified by their lechery, their addictive tendencies and substance abuse, and their tendency to milk their celebrity.

Lechery is a word more commonly applied to men, but it can be applied to women as well. A lecher is one who displays excessive, offensive sexual advances. Music celebrities tend to do a lot of this because they know their celebrity status commands sex appeal. When it becomes creepy is when celebrity musicians abuse their powers and overly sexualize themselves and others. Even people who used to be loyal fans of theirs will take notice of this behavior and will think less of them.

Another common trait of former music celebrities is addiction and substance abuse. This is perhaps their most well known calling card. So many musicians go down this road to their own detriment. They achieve fame and embrace the party lifestyle, accepting drugs and alcohol from everyone who offers them. They abandon their former devotion to their craft in order to be wasted full time. Not only does this jeopardize their health and safety, but it also loses them a great deal of respect among their fan base.

In general, when former celebrity musicians ride out their celebrity for its perks instead of respecting their careers and musicianship, it is very disappointing. So many musicians who have shown great promise quit working hard at their first taste of fame in order to revel in their fame. Imagine the great musical works of art that could have been created if these musicians were not distracted by the glitter of celebrity.