Children of famous musicians compete for stardom
MTV’s new talent show “Rock the Cradle” has created an unusual experiment by testing the singing abilities of nine children of famous rock stars to see if the musical DNA of their talented parents has been passed down.
These stars’ kids are going to try to step out of the shadow of their parents and gain fame based on their own talents. The winning prize is a recording contract.
Katie Bernstein, a sophomore pre-communications major, said that the concept of the show is different and that the contestants have an advantage.
“I think it’s an interesting concept for a show and I understand why there’s interest,” Bernstein said.
Bernstein said the show plays up celebrity talent even more than usual.
“I think there’s an unfair advantage of celebrity children trying to get in the industry,” Bernstein said. “I don’t know if they’re going to be more talented, but they have a better knowledge of the music business and how it works.”
Some of the contestants are children of iconic figures of past generations.
Chloe Rose Lattanzi, daughter of Olivia Newton-John, who sang her way to fame in “Grease,” Jesse Snider, son of heavy metal rocker Dee Snider of “Twisted Sister,” MC Hammer’s little girl, A’Keiba Burrell, and Lucy Walsh, daughter of Joe Walsh, the guitarist from the legendary band “The Eagles,” are just a few of the names competing on the show.
Each week the contestants step up to the microphone to perform songs with their famous parents watching in the audience. They hear comments and get rated by expert judges in the music business. However, the final decision lies in the hands of the MTV audience to vote for who they want to stay in the competition.
Max Pollak, a sophomore studio arts major, said he does not like the show and thinks the contestants lack talent.
“I think it’s kind of ridiculous that they have rock star’s children on the show,” Pollak said. “They’re not going to be as good as their parents. It’s a ploy because you’re attracting people to the show by putting out all these rock stars’ names, and when you watch it, you can tell the kids are really horrible singers.”
The show also focuses on what it’s like for the contestants to have a famous parent and how they deal with it.
Executive producer Tony DiSanto talked about the idea behind the show in a statement.
“It’s the roots of MTV meets today’s generation,” DiSanto said. “We’ll explore the relationships, the home life, the drama, the music and the universal experience of dealing with and living up to the expectations of your parents.”
Isaac Law, a senior Japanese major, said he thinks the show is a waste of space.
“I think it’s a waste of air time with all these ridiculous reality shows,” Law said. “MTV used to be good and actually show music. I think people’s ideas aren’t as creative anymore.’Just because my dad is a rock star, I can be one too’- it’s stupid.”
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Melanie Cohn @ Melanie.Cohn@colorado.edu.
