Blame Star Search. It was the Ed McMahon-hosted talent show that elevated karaoke stars to pop heroes and planted the seed of superstardom in the mind of every little runt who should have been happy eating Play-Doh. Whether they actually appeared on that fabled contest (two did), each teen star reviewed here started as a starry-eyed kid with a television dream. Three of them — the Backstreet Boys, Ricky Martin, and Britney Spears –are currently slotted #1, #2, and #3 on the Billboard Hot 200, and all five albums reviewed here have gone platinum and multiplatinum. They don’t play instruments (yet); they don’t write their own songs (yet); but they are talented — it’s just that their talent isn’t always apparent in their music. They can create killer videos, put on a good show, hold charming press conferences, and remain attractive and unshaken under the fusillade of a thousand blinking cameras. And for millions of girls and boys across the country, they are proving to be the perfect, albeit costly, first love. The romance may last as long as a summer camp fling, but the comfort these teen sensations provide perhaps cannot be underestimated. It’s been said before that the high school experience is low-grade trauma — the closest any of us will get to real combat. Consider the following USO entertainment relief. — Sarah Hepola
BACKSTREET BOYS/MILLENNIUM (COLUMBIA)
This Orlando, Florida, quintet — Nick, Brian, Kevin, Howie, and A.J. (in that order) — are eager to get their hard-earned props with Millennium‘s “harder, edgier” sound, although it’s doubtful anyone will confuse the B-boys with, say, a real band. That said, their third release — and the first not to be self-titled — is a big swollen heart of an album. Brian Littrell (aka “B-Rok”) penned two of the 12 tracks, including “The Perfect Fan,” a song about his mom that features backing by Littrell’s high school choir. Millennium throbs with tender ballads, won’t-somebody-take-us-seriously posturing, and sincerity so without irony, it could well make you gag. That is, if it weren’t so fun to sing along.
BRITNEY SPEARS/ … BABY ONE MORE TIME (JIVE)
Her first video left more than a few boys salivating about the little Lolita in her jogging bra, but the real Britney fan power comes from the apple-cheeked, screaming girls themselves, who worship Brit like she were the pep squad, student council president, and prom queen all rolled in one. The 17-year-old’s ditties of lost love, secret love, hopeful love, and just love in general are as artistically distinctive as a paper doily (a song called “E-Mail My Heart”?), but they do the job, as proved by her dance smash single “… Baby One More Time” — a song as classic as lollipops and little hearts doodled on a page.
RICKY MARTIN (COLUMBIA)
The eyes, that voice, and those leather pants — Ricky Martin is more than a pop star, he’s a walking sexual awakening. The vocal lines on his self-titled second album are hopelessly simple, but the propulsive Latin rhythms and enthusiasm of songs like “The Cup of Life” (the official World Cup anthem, which Martin performed at this year’s Grammy awards ceremony) are impossible for your feet to ignore. All this attention could lead to only one question: Is he gay? No matter what the trash mags find, it’s clear the 27-year-old singer — who has spent 15 years enjoying modest fame, first as part of Latino boy band Menudo and later on General Hospital — will spend a lot more time plastered on your daughter’s (or son’s) wall.
‘N SYNC (RCA)
Despite five smash singles, the second of the hot quintet boy bands (a gaggle that includes Five, 98 Degrees, and C-Note, among others) seem unable to shake the notion that they’re Pepsi to the Backstreet Boys’ Coke. Their official Web site pleads: “What’s this we hear that Carson Daly reports on MTV Total Request Live that the Backstreet Boys are the best boy band? … Tell MTV that ‘N SYNC is the best boy band!” A taste test would surely prove telling the two bands apart difficult –both churning out dance hits and ballads shaped by slick Swedish producers, both bands formed in Orlando — but all you really need to know is that in ‘N Sync, Justin’s the cutest.
MONICA/THE BOY IS MINE (ARISTA)
Any teen who titles her debut Miss Thang has some attitude to spare. Indeed, on this collection of pop, gospel, and blues, 18-year-old Monica makes close-guarded sexuality fashionable in “The First Night.” With a producer who also happens to be her father (the curiously named Dallas Austin), Monica’s much-reputed wholesomeness may be more a reflection of dad’s denial (� la Aaron Spelling) than anything grounded in reality. And as for that remake of Richard Marx’s “Right Here Waiting for You”? Ah, the folly of youth.
This article appears in June 11 • 1999 and June 11 • 1999 (Cover).