Tuesday Tunes: Christina Aguilera

My voice teacher and I were discussing today the effects that society and the entertainment industry have on young girls and women. Namely that, with effortless efficiency, society's acceptance of over-sexed, under-parented girls has promoted a culture in which it is common to see 12-year olds emulating their musical role models by dressing like the Pussycat Dolls and acting like Britney Spears. My teacher and I agreed that it was sad to see a world where children don't actually have childhoods, but instead are forced to reconcile immature, impressionable world views with an increasingly mature and oppressive world. Similarly, we remarked that it is disheartening to follow the trend of an entertainment culture that no longer encourages true talent, but rather rewards sleaze and strangeness.

Ultimately, we decided that there is still hope for a return to class and appreciation of merit. For their parts, Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus are shining examples of successful female artists who have maintained relatively uninterrupted adolescent development (except for a few million extra dollars of allowance each year) in spite of the glaring spotlights they both live in. Most remarkably, Christina Aguilera is one (and possibly the best) example of a female artist who has gone from innocent, precocious child to hyper-successful, adolescent sexpot to refined, distinguished woman, all while maintaining the standard for this generation's female pop singers.

I'm amazed by the strength Aguilera must possess to have withstood the pressures of society's expectations, public perception, and media spin in the daily adventure to live a regular life in an irregular world. Her transition through a tumultuous young adulthood into a classy and graceful (albeit still sexy) grown-up life is inspiring and encourages me to believe that other aspiring female musicians can survive the entertainment circus and end up as grounded, productive adults. I can only hope that those aspiring artists produce a musical product as worthy as Aguilera's. Viva la diva!