Fantasia Gets ‘Real’ While Pepa Searches For A Date
We’ve been eagerly awaiting VH1’s two very different case studies on pop artists seeking redemption, Fantasia Barrino’s Fantasia For Real and Sandra “Pepa” Denton’s Let’s Talk About Pep. Is either one worth watching, or are we better off just remembering these two by dusting off their albums? Check out clips of both shows’ debut episodes after the jump:
For the record, we never really wanted to see a Fantasia reality show — we’d rather the Amercian Idol Season 3 winner enjoy a hit-filled music career, a dream that she once seemed destined for. But since we’re dealing in reality, we will say this: whether from the constant presence of the cameras on Idol, or from something else, the girl’s a natural in front of a lens. She doesn’t hold back one bit as she gets tough with her older brother, Tiny.
But if one episode is any indicator, the heart-rending troubles in her life (teenage pregnancy, illiteracy) were somehow more captivating to watch in her autobiography-turned-Lifetime movie, Life Is Not a Fairy Tale, in whichFantasia played herself, than in the bland format of a generic reality show.
We’re still rooting for Fantasia, though—we just wish she didn’t have to be concerned with the necessary soap opera required by a reality show while recording her album and instead put all her focus on actually recording it.
Fantasia For Real – Episode 1
Sandra Denton, aka Pep aka one-third of Salt-n-Pepa, previously played out her life on camera in VH1’s The Salt-N-Pepa Show, which chronicled a would-be reconciliation with her former bandmates. Now, it sounds like music is taking a back seat, and she’s using the reality show format to land a date.
After a series of failed relationships, says the show’s site, “she’s ready again to search for love and action in the capital of hooking up, New York. She’s joined by three friends also trying to negotiate the romantic minefield of NYC.”
So, it’s really more like Pep in the City, no?
Let’s Talk About Pep – Episode 1 (Full Episode)
Really, Pepa? This is one step above starring in a VH1 dating reality show à la Brett Michaels in Rock of Love. We would say TLC would never stoop that low, but they already kinda did.
