Can't turn away from Ashlee's show

       The second season of The Ashlee Simpson Show premiered this week, and this season the stakes seem different. Whereas last season we watched the making of a star, this season we may see the breaking of a star. And I for one, can’t turn away.
      The first episode centered around her Saturday Night Live lip sync SNAFU, and hopefully as the season goes on we’ll see the Orange Bowl booing fiasco. It’s not like I like to see people fail, but when any star becomes as ubiquitous as Ashlee was last year, it’s hard to enjoy seeing them on every piece of media every day unless they are deservedly talented. Remember when Michael Jackson was everywhere during Thriller era? That was acceptable because he had the talent to back it up.
      Last summer there was nowhere to hide from Ashlee. Whether by radio, television, magazine or by Internet pop-up ad, she accosted us with her trials and tribulations of impending fame. While this was not the first time a teenager with a manufactured and control-group-tested persona permeated America’s consciousness, it was the first time we watched the manufacturing process in such detail. Never before had the public been shown such unabashed fabricated and money-backed fame as Ashlee, and we still let it slide!
      Ashlee’s debut disc, Autobiography entered the Billboard 200 Album charts at number one this summer, and has since gone triple platinum.
      The ubiquitous pop tart had her own television show about being a singer before she was a singer. And as her Orange Bowl squealing proved, she’s not REALLY a singer. She has a lot in common with Florence Foster Jenkins, a soprano who became famous for her complete lack of ability in the 1920s and ended up selling out Carnegie Hall in 1944. The difference is that there are at least a few people who think Ashlee is a good singer. 
      And Autobiography as an album title? Aren’t autobiographies usually reserved for people to reflect back upon their lifetime full of experience? Ashlee just turned 20.
      As an actual autobiography, by the way, it doesn’t really tell any stories except 'we are in love,' 'we were in love, now we're not and I'm sad,' and 'we were in love, but I'm strong now.' Oh and also, 'I used to be jealous of my famous sister, but now I'm not.'
      I know that The Ashlee Simpson Show was not the first-ever reality series to document the making of a star, but it was the first one to document the making of an unworthy star. She’s basically just Avril Lavigne with more money behind her and less talent. What about her supposed punk rock backing band that is supposed to give her cred? That was Avril’s thing! To say nothing of the fact that she publicly humiliated those innocent musicians on national television! I hope we get to see their reaction to the whole lip sync thing next week.
      But I don’t blame Ashlee herself for her bright burning star; I blame us, the public for allowing her fame to happen. After seeing all the sculpting such as her decisive hair-dying scene, and when the label hooked her up with the songwriting team, we still bought her records. And even worse, we bought her act, even though it was sold to us as just that - an act.
      Until the closing credits of SNL, she was always honest about it, and she had played the part perfectly. In an episode of her show last season we saw her perform live for the first time. She talked about how she started to get into it by the second song, and how she “really started to like it.” That’s great, but shouldn’t fame come AFTER that, not during?

      At least her sister had actually earned some fame in her given profession before being allowed to crossover into reality star. Ashlee was a bit part in “The Hot Chick” and a player on a WB show
      I don’t hate Ashlee Simpson. I think she’s a testimony to what money can do. And her fame gives me reason to feel okay about not being famous myself. I can just resign myself to the fact that I’m not famous because I’m not rich. I can convince myself that I could hire those songwriters if I had the dough, and I could buy the alterna guys to make me look credible too. I should also mention that if my voice comes through the speakers and my microphone isn’t held to my mouth, I won’t blame these fellas for the foul-up. So if you feel like contributing to my crusade for fame, e-mail me and I'll tell you to what address you can send your checks. I’ll buy the same promotions she bought, get all the same ‘yes’ people and with your financial help, conquer the world, thousands of teenagers at a time. Plus, I’ll even sing my songs, no matter how horrible my voice may be.