0
Yeah, so some of these idle thoughts might be construed as overly harsh, but understand they're not pointed directly at anybody in particular...
Right now, some of those idle thoughts are about Whitney Houston (how could they not be?). My playlist has been all-Whitney, and I pray for her soul and for her family often during the day. Ever since her unexpected passing on Feb. 11th, 2012, I’ve been wondering about the price people pay for mega-stardom. I’ve been watching old interviews she gave vs. recent ones, and through it all, I wonder when Whitney Houston came to the realisation that she might never have a peaceful, normal life.
What kind of person can survive in a world where it seems like ‘everything’ you do and say is dissected and talked-about, splashed on TV, the Internet, newspapers and tabloids? Not only that, people don’t edit or censor what they say about you, either. They ridicule you publicly, because it’s all part of the game of celebrity, don’t you know? One of the biggest (and perhaps most important) lessons I learned much too late (by my estimation) was how to laugh at myself and not take everything too personally. I’m an admittedly sensitive and serious person who prefers taking things seriously before jesting about them, and I could never understand as a child how other people were so ready and quick to tease. Teasing is one thing, but surely the level of ‘teasing’ that modern-day celebrities must endure can’t be healthy for the psyche or the soul.
What’s a person supposed to do when they’re constantly bombarded by hurtful comments, rumors that just won’t die no matter how much you deny, and when the most personal and painful parts of your private life are made public?
How much can someone scream I’m in pain! Can’t you just leave me alone, now - before people believe them? There is no being ‘left alone’ for a megastar. Fans always want to know what’s going on with you! When’s your next album-movie-special-interview-red-carpet-walk-awards-show-photo-portrait-anything-about-you-so-we-can-see-you-again-because-we- 'love'-you?
Will you still want to see me when I’m drunk? When I’m high? When I’m disheveled? When I’m acting boorishly? When I lose the babies I want to have due to whatever stress/medical/unknown reasons that might be? When my marriage fails? When I lose my voice? When I cancel my concerts? When I’m caught with illegal substances?
Or will you finally turn your back on me and wash your hands of me? Is it then, and only then, that I’ll have peace to live my life without worrying about what others will think of me/say of me/write of me? Do I have to destroy the ‘me’ you know to get the ‘me’ I want to be back for myself?
Before she died, Whitney Houston said (whether she was being facetious or not is not for me to determine) that what she wanted to do was open some little fruit juice stand on some little island somewhere. It sounded wistful. It sounded that she just wanted to live life in obscurity; maybe in simplicity. Happily. No more pressures to be Whitney Houston: The Megastar, with all the responsibilities that come with carrying that mantle. You get the feeling she was just sick of the whole fame game. That she wanted to sing as a young woman is fine; she had the voice for it, and came to be known as The Voice.
But you know that even if she went off to some little island to have her little Fruit Juice Stand, people would still find her. They’d still want to hear her sing. Heck, they’d feel put out if she didn’t!
I Saw Whitney Houston On Island Nowhere And All I Got Was This Lousy Cup of Juice!
Oh, you know it would happen. There is no obscure living for someone like Whitney Houston. Even in death, she’s still breaking records and selling papers as the music execs and media moguls ramp up production and capitalize as best they can on her passing. I’ll admit I bought a few tracks and an album I didn’t own because I wanted to hear something from her I hadn’t heard before – just because she’d died. I wouldn’t have bought the music otherwise.
So, yes, right now, I pray for Whitney Houston. I pray that she’s receiving consolation for the misery she clearly must have suffered in life. There are no fruit juice stands in Heaven, but there is supposed to be rest from the burdens of this life.
Right now, some of those idle thoughts are about Whitney Houston (how could they not be?). My playlist has been all-Whitney, and I pray for her soul and for her family often during the day. Ever since her unexpected passing on Feb. 11th, 2012, I’ve been wondering about the price people pay for mega-stardom. I’ve been watching old interviews she gave vs. recent ones, and through it all, I wonder when Whitney Houston came to the realisation that she might never have a peaceful, normal life.
What kind of person can survive in a world where it seems like ‘everything’ you do and say is dissected and talked-about, splashed on TV, the Internet, newspapers and tabloids? Not only that, people don’t edit or censor what they say about you, either. They ridicule you publicly, because it’s all part of the game of celebrity, don’t you know? One of the biggest (and perhaps most important) lessons I learned much too late (by my estimation) was how to laugh at myself and not take everything too personally. I’m an admittedly sensitive and serious person who prefers taking things seriously before jesting about them, and I could never understand as a child how other people were so ready and quick to tease. Teasing is one thing, but surely the level of ‘teasing’ that modern-day celebrities must endure can’t be healthy for the psyche or the soul.
What’s a person supposed to do when they’re constantly bombarded by hurtful comments, rumors that just won’t die no matter how much you deny, and when the most personal and painful parts of your private life are made public?
How much can someone scream I’m in pain! Can’t you just leave me alone, now - before people believe them? There is no being ‘left alone’ for a megastar. Fans always want to know what’s going on with you! When’s your next album-movie-special-interview-red-carpet-walk-awards-show-photo-portrait-anything-about-you-so-we-can-see-you-again-because-we- 'love'-you?
Will you still want to see me when I’m drunk? When I’m high? When I’m disheveled? When I’m acting boorishly? When I lose the babies I want to have due to whatever stress/medical/unknown reasons that might be? When my marriage fails? When I lose my voice? When I cancel my concerts? When I’m caught with illegal substances?
Or will you finally turn your back on me and wash your hands of me? Is it then, and only then, that I’ll have peace to live my life without worrying about what others will think of me/say of me/write of me? Do I have to destroy the ‘me’ you know to get the ‘me’ I want to be back for myself?
Before she died, Whitney Houston said (whether she was being facetious or not is not for me to determine) that what she wanted to do was open some little fruit juice stand on some little island somewhere. It sounded wistful. It sounded that she just wanted to live life in obscurity; maybe in simplicity. Happily. No more pressures to be Whitney Houston: The Megastar, with all the responsibilities that come with carrying that mantle. You get the feeling she was just sick of the whole fame game. That she wanted to sing as a young woman is fine; she had the voice for it, and came to be known as The Voice.
But you know that even if she went off to some little island to have her little Fruit Juice Stand, people would still find her. They’d still want to hear her sing. Heck, they’d feel put out if she didn’t!
I Saw Whitney Houston On Island Nowhere And All I Got Was This Lousy Cup of Juice!
Oh, you know it would happen. There is no obscure living for someone like Whitney Houston. Even in death, she’s still breaking records and selling papers as the music execs and media moguls ramp up production and capitalize as best they can on her passing. I’ll admit I bought a few tracks and an album I didn’t own because I wanted to hear something from her I hadn’t heard before – just because she’d died. I wouldn’t have bought the music otherwise.
So, yes, right now, I pray for Whitney Houston. I pray that she’s receiving consolation for the misery she clearly must have suffered in life. There are no fruit juice stands in Heaven, but there is supposed to be rest from the burdens of this life.
