Apparently Justin Timberlake wasn’t completely put off by user-generated content after his awkward Grammy experience; the first signing to his new record label, Tennman Records, is Esmee Denters, an 18-year-old from the Netherlands who has posted about 60 videos of her singing mostly other peoples’ songs (including Timberlake’s, above) to her YouTube channel. Denters’ YouTube channel is the 16th-most-watched on the entire site–she’s even more popular than the “Will It Blend? guys!–and we suspect its popularity has less to do with her perfectly adequate pipes and more to do with her camgirl-like ability to have her eyes zone in on whatever lens is recording her at the moment–which, frankly, is creeping us out a little. (Maybe it’ll look less unsettling once she uses her budget to get better lighting?)
me singing “what goes around“ Justin Timberlake [YouTube]
Internet Phenomenon Esmee Denters Signs With Tennman Records [PR Newswire]
I will say it: the fact that Justin Timberlake is taken as some genuine arbiter of cool or talent or whatever is just about the most telling sign that the End of Mankind is near/here. I realize this is stating the obvious, yes. But the man got his start on the Mickey Mouse Club, was in a friggin’ boy band (and even typing that is putting me in mind of some article in somewhere [USA Today?] ca. 1999 about whether the Beatles were ‘the first boyband,’ underscoring the idea that people are so damn dumb that, I dunno, someone else finish the sentence,I’m apoplectic), boy bands being the most disgusting trend of all prior to the AmericanIdolization of pop culture. Which this is, also, the democratization of taste to the LCD. I mean, the camera pulls back and there is JT! Swoon! As if he’d ever done anything worth a shit other than being a fairly lame Prince impersonator!
Gah!
Again, nothing new here in my rant.
Seriously, Prince should get a major share of JT’s royalties.
Does American Idol not make it out to Holland or something? I should go throw up.
@NickEddy: How do you feel about Michael Jackson? Y’know, the guy who started out in that kiddie-pop group and got packaged by his record label?
Or Stevie Wonder? Y’know, the guy who started as a child-star Motown act and had his first #1 hit with a call-and-response tune he didn’t even write, at age 12?
Or Madonna — remember her? She had this hit back in ‘83 where every sixth word was “Everybody” and the beat sounded like it came free on the synthesizer.
How about the Beastie Boys — packaged as white-rap frat boys with a massive hit album in the mid-’80s? They never went on to do anything respectable. Oh, wait…
Yes, it’s important that we instantly disqualify artists who started in prepackaged pop groups from ever doing anything respectable or worthwhile. Everybody who’s worthy of our time and attention sprang from the womb with rock cred and four-star albums.
@NickEddy:
How do you feel about Michael Jackson? Y’know, the guy who started out in that kiddie-pop group and got packaged by his record label?
Or Stevie Wonder? Y’know, the guy who started as a child-star Motown act and had his first #1 hit with a call-and-response tune he didn’t even write, at age 12?
Or Madonna — remember her? She had this hit back in ‘83 where every sixth word was “Everybody” and the beat sounded like it came free on the synthesizer.
How about the Beastie Boys — packaged as white-rap frat boys with a massive hit album in the mid-’80s? They never went on to do anything respectable. Oh, wait…
Yes, it’s important that we instantly disqualify artists who started in prepackaged pop groups from ever doing anything respectable or worthwhile. Everybody who’s worthy of our time and attention sprang from the womb with rock cred and four-star albums.
There’s a sex tape in here somewhere.
I’m far more distracted with her rapid blinking…is she suffering from some kind of allergy or what?
@zaky:
I read a story about this (Timberlake and the “amazing” Denters) on ew.com a few days ago. Apparently there are about 584,723 YouTubers who like to post their karaoke versions of other people’s songs. ::shudder::
@punkybunky:
There are such odd people on this site sometimes. What exactly is wrong with people putting up karaoke versions of their songs on youtube? Are we only allowed to express ourselves in professionally mediated or artsy-fartsy contexts? I’m sure most of the people who are doing it are teens. Isn’t that what you do when you are a teen? Sing along to your favourite songs? What’s so terrible about showing those songs to your friends?
As for the guy who suggests that taste shouldn’t be democritized to the “lowest common denominator” (whatever that is!) - well, who said you should be allowed to arbitrate the taste and the pleasure of other people? If people enjoy American Idol, why not let them watch it? No one says you have to. There’s plenty of pretentious music out there to please you.
Ugh. I hate when people who would most probably identify themselves as liberals professedly despise what the majority of the middle and working classes authentically enjoy doing.
And to anyone who thinks that taste has gotten worse over time, let’s not forget that the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction” was kicked off the top of the chart in 1965 by … “I’m Henry The VIII, I Am”
I was gonna say that this wasn’t entirely unpleasurable before I realized I have terrible taste and I’m ruining fine art in america.
@all
There’s nothing “wrong” with people posting karaoke videos up on youtube—go ahead! Post away!
The “wrong” part is that this girl Esmee sucks. And that we’re being fed to believe that she is a brilliant “singer” “songwriter” “performer” “etc.”. The only performing I’ve seen is of her sitting in a chair and blinking and singing mediocre songs with really bad accents. She also claims a Prince song to be “by Alicia Keyes”, which really just makes a bad situation even worse. Someone so “invested” in music should have the knowledge to know—I mean, if you’re gonna cover something, at least know the deets. Hardly generational—this is just stupid. Did I mention she sucks? Too many “s in this paragraph….
Grapes are sour. Most of you here, as the wording shows are a pack of lonely losers. Esmée voice is very unique, ok her association with JT is for the old fans a setback. But you need to give him credit to pick her.
“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” -Theodore Roosevelt