I started the day at 8 this morning watching Neil Patrick Harris' opening performance at the Tony awards,post which you tube merrily directed me from tony performances to oscar ones, to acceptance speeches, to stand up shows,to concerts and finally Whitney Houston!
My earliest memory of her was as a child playing the "Greatest Love Hits" cd that dad had recently bought, in our latest Kenwood 8 cd changer system. I'm talking 1993, when Channel V hadn't even hit Indian cable networks, let alone MTV. I'd sit in front of that system all day singing along with Cyndi Lauper, Beverly Craven, Mariah Carey, Simon & Garfunkel and of course Whitney Houston. Her song "Greatest love of all" was on that cd, and every time I'd sing it with her, I'd think she was singing about me and how I had to "lead the way" and that my "laughter" had to remind her of who she was. At 8 that was a huge responsibility to shoulder; I mean I had to singularly show humanity 'the way' and bring a smile to their face. Little did I know that Ms Houston was on her path to complete self destruction and living in denial for over 16 years post that and all the love she was speaking of had no place in her life at all.
Having seen the entertainment industry and its functioning from such close quarters, its not rocket science to tell that you need to be built certain way to survive. The road to success in entertainment can be emotionally debilitating and once you get there it ruins you anyway. Not always, but take some of the greatest names that have had immeasurable success and talent to match. It has definitely not been a fun ride, and I'm sure if you switch the cameras off, wash off the make up, look them in the eye and ask them the truth, most of them would have done it differently. But that's the problem with fame and success, when you're in the moment, reason and judgement don't really have a voice. You're just chasing one high after another, trying to balance your perfect image on the other side for the world to be sold on your 'Utopian life' which is anything but that. How can one human being keep satisfying their never ending need for fun and excitement when every beautiful experience they should have had over 15-20 years, they have in less than 5!
So first your famous- what more dya need?
Money- got it, now what?
Men/ women throwing themselves at you- check
Alcohol n drugs - tried them all, now?
Homosexuality - ok-ay!
Get Married - done that thrice over.
Have a baby - done (ended up with more than one in some cases ; what with all the IVF)
You've OD'd on every one of life's highs sooner than you could keep them coming. NOW WHAT?
Now you happily end up as a wreck for one and all to see.
You need the highs to combat all the pressure that you're in to sustain your acquired position- and you've exhausted all of them way too soon.
Agreed some of them had tough childhoods which have made them so, but fame still takes its fee from you for its unlimited benefits you enjoy.
Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Charlie Sheen, Amy Winehouse, Bruce Lee(not his doing, but killed nevertheless), Mathew Perry,George Michael, David Hasslehoff, Macaulay Culkin, Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Halle Berry ..... Whitney Houston. For her to have lost so many precious years of her career with a voice like that makes me wonder at how much greater an artist she could have become. Of all the divas Celine Dion seems to be the only one who has kept it together . All the rest of them gone! Whitney, Mariah, Toni Braxton, Shania Twain, Tina Turner - either it was/is drugs or an abusive relationship/ failed marriage.
Ah well, I'm sure the joy of fame and recognition compensates for some of it, or for their sake I hope it does.
My earliest memory of her was as a child playing the "Greatest Love Hits" cd that dad had recently bought, in our latest Kenwood 8 cd changer system. I'm talking 1993, when Channel V hadn't even hit Indian cable networks, let alone MTV. I'd sit in front of that system all day singing along with Cyndi Lauper, Beverly Craven, Mariah Carey, Simon & Garfunkel and of course Whitney Houston. Her song "Greatest love of all" was on that cd, and every time I'd sing it with her, I'd think she was singing about me and how I had to "lead the way" and that my "laughter" had to remind her of who she was. At 8 that was a huge responsibility to shoulder; I mean I had to singularly show humanity 'the way' and bring a smile to their face. Little did I know that Ms Houston was on her path to complete self destruction and living in denial for over 16 years post that and all the love she was speaking of had no place in her life at all.
Having seen the entertainment industry and its functioning from such close quarters, its not rocket science to tell that you need to be built certain way to survive. The road to success in entertainment can be emotionally debilitating and once you get there it ruins you anyway. Not always, but take some of the greatest names that have had immeasurable success and talent to match. It has definitely not been a fun ride, and I'm sure if you switch the cameras off, wash off the make up, look them in the eye and ask them the truth, most of them would have done it differently. But that's the problem with fame and success, when you're in the moment, reason and judgement don't really have a voice. You're just chasing one high after another, trying to balance your perfect image on the other side for the world to be sold on your 'Utopian life' which is anything but that. How can one human being keep satisfying their never ending need for fun and excitement when every beautiful experience they should have had over 15-20 years, they have in less than 5!
So first your famous- what more dya need?
Money- got it, now what?
Men/ women throwing themselves at you- check
Alcohol n drugs - tried them all, now?
Homosexuality - ok-ay!
Get Married - done that thrice over.
Have a baby - done (ended up with more than one in some cases ; what with all the IVF)
You've OD'd on every one of life's highs sooner than you could keep them coming. NOW WHAT?
Now you happily end up as a wreck for one and all to see.
You need the highs to combat all the pressure that you're in to sustain your acquired position- and you've exhausted all of them way too soon.
Agreed some of them had tough childhoods which have made them so, but fame still takes its fee from you for its unlimited benefits you enjoy.
Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Charlie Sheen, Amy Winehouse, Bruce Lee(not his doing, but killed nevertheless), Mathew Perry,George Michael, David Hasslehoff, Macaulay Culkin, Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Halle Berry ..... Whitney Houston. For her to have lost so many precious years of her career with a voice like that makes me wonder at how much greater an artist she could have become. Of all the divas Celine Dion seems to be the only one who has kept it together . All the rest of them gone! Whitney, Mariah, Toni Braxton, Shania Twain, Tina Turner - either it was/is drugs or an abusive relationship/ failed marriage.
Ah well, I'm sure the joy of fame and recognition compensates for some of it, or for their sake I hope it does.
how do you think you'd be if you were famous-er?
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