Rolling Teenpop 2007 Thread

Oops, a catastrophic appostrophe: let's try again:

[i]it depicts a conversation with Now and the past

When I first read this, I - truly - thought that the "Now" referred to was the album series Now That s What I Call Music.

But this makes me happy.

Perhaps one day I will learn to smile again.

This might help a little.

No wait, This might help a little

Joe McCombs says that the chart rebound of Pink's "U + Ur Hand" was due to the song's being belatedly serviced to dance radio in remix form and then taking off from there. As of today it's number 16 on Mediabase's Top 40 airplay list, and is also getting additional action on Hot AC. (Maybe the fact that a couple of Skye's producers are on this late-breaking hit will convince Capitol Records to spare her the guillotine.)

Reviewing The Dollyrods album and it *should* be teenpop; it sounds like what every Disney network girl band should sound like, all sugary sweet yet cracklingly poppy (which makes it sound like a breakfast cereal!) with fun infectious choruses that still 'rock out' kinda like '80s poof metal bands did or Joan Jett (it is on her label) playing in Morningwood if they did surf music for the new generation. Loud cover of "Brand New Key" makes me want to go skating. xhuxk would either approve or be disappointed, I never know for sure, but I like it okay.

Finally got a copy of the Good Charlotte album. Still working on my review about it, but Teenpop specific observations: lot of songs about being depressed and dark ("All Black") though that song also namedrops Johnny Cash. Also, Frank, I find that "Keep Your Hands Off My Girl" single incredibly disturbing. On a couple different levels.

The only recent thing I heard from the Dollyrots (who counted as teenpop last year) was from their Myspace called "Because I'm Awesome," which reminds me of something that could have been on the Clueless soundtrack.

I don't think I've mentioned Stephanie McIntosh here, though I've been liking "So Do I Say Sorry First" for a while; it's now getting its push as a single. The opening riff could be Sixties progressive rock, such as Cream's "Tales Of Brave Ulysses," a psychedelic scream from the guitar; but McIntosh sings "dit dit dit" above it, as if the rock were generating pop, and then what follows is totally Eurobosh love-pained poppiness in melody and lyrics - "If I cry would you hold me just like we rehearsed/So do I so do I say sorry first?" smart words, about a couple's love quarrels turning into shtick, into routine - while the guitars go for the same rocking loudness that Luke and Max have been inserting into their pop lately. (I think there is some Martin and Rami input on the album but not this song, which is co-written and most likely produced by Tom Nichols.)

Over on Poptimists they've been using "bosh" to mean your basic Europop Eurodance and also for Eurodance covers of rock songs, while this I'd call "bosh rock," meaning that it's a pop song with a lot of guitar crunch that is nonetheless totally dancepop.

Stephanie McIntosh is Aussie soap star Jason Donovan's half-sister, and Stephanie herself is in the cast of Neighbours (which never aired here and which I've never seen, even when Kylie was on it). There was a making-of-the-album reality show, modeled I suppose on Ashlee's, that is possibly going to air on U.S. MTV this year. Her first single, on the heels of the show, did very well in Australia, and the next two did progressively worse, which is too bad, because actually they've been getting better, the "So Do I Say Sorry First?" being the best of the three.

(Sasha Frere Jones calls "Because I'm Awesome" the 5th best song of the year so far)

they've been using "bosh" to mean your basic Europop Eurodance and also for Eurodance covers of rock songs

In that case I should note here that I have been enjoying the recent bosh compilation Club NRG on Interhit Records. Favorite tracks: Culture Beat's "Take Me Away" (which has the most Snap-worthy rapping), Ondina's "Summer Of Love" (in part for the bubbledancheall toasting), Newton's "Sky High" (which I think I prefer to the original by I think Pilot), Outta Control's "Together (In Electric Dreams)" (which I think I prefer to the original by that Human League guy and Giorgio Morodor or whoever did it.)
Other artists covered include Elton John with Terri Desario (or whatever her name was), Madonna (twice), Bonnie Tyler (covered by Nikki French, who is the most famous artist on the compilation I believe), R. Kelly, Eric Carmen, No Doubt. One of the tracks ("Don't Cry For Me Argentina," I think?) has the exact same melody of some Simon and Garfunkel song.

Oops Club NRG Volume 1, to be exact ("over 70 minutes of non-stop dance hits!")

One thing I should say though is that, while the bosh tracks' fairly consistent (and sometimes transcendant) beauty and n-r-g inevitably stands out when the CD is in my changer with four other (country/metal/hip-hop/whatever) discs, if I try to play all 70 minutes at once their saminess gets oppressive.

Finally heard the Cassie CD, and (as I already knew from her Mice Pace) "Long Way 2 Go" and "Just One Nite" do a nice job of somewhat filling out her sound without losing the chill-warmth dialectic of "Me & U." "Just One Nite" also has touches of "Bali Ha'i" South Pacific hauntingness. But a surprise is "What Do U Want," which is what you get when you cross "Me & U" with Avril's "Girlfriend" - has the spareness and the nonchalant hauteur you'd expect but also throws in cute bubblegum cheerleader chants and a left hook that's half Asian (like Cassie). The idea seems to be that she's got a tough crew of cute little cheerleader cupcakes who will help her make the boy cry. "You want my time, my money, and my body too/Give me one good reason I should give it to you/LET'S GO!" When she says "Boy it's your turn to shake shake shake shake shake, yeah yeah yeah yeah-yeah-yeah yeah yeah" she means "shake with fear," while of course the music dances with joy.

Marv Reynolds, 42, father of 11-year-old Ashley, slipped into his daughter's bedroom for one more look at the liner notes to her Britney Spears album Monday. "Just like to see what my daughter's into these days," said Reynolds, perusing the photo-packed booklet accompanying Spears' Oops!...I Did It Again for the fourth time in as many days. "I bet she'll put this on the moment she gets home from soccer practice in 20 minutes." Upon hearing a car pull into the driveway, Reynolds, who has previously browsed the liner notes to his daughter's Mandy Moore and Christina Aguilera CDs, put the Spears disc back exactly where he found it and left the room

Area pedophile Dwight Sanderson said Monday that his interest in getting to know and eventually meeting MySpace.com member "Courtneee" has significantly declined after a closer read of the "lame" hobbies and "self-involved" blog entries on the 13-year-old's profile.
"At first, she seemed like my type of girl—innocent-looking, single, and, best of all, she lives right nearby," he said.
Sanderson continued: "Her profile seemed very enticing at first. She plays softball in the same park that I always hang around in. But right before I was going to leave her a private message, I decided to check out her latest blog post."
He said the 1,500-word entry "droned on and on" about everything from dealing with her great-grandmother's death last year to hopes for her new job as class treasurer.
"I'm looking for a cell-phone number and a home address, not your life story," he said.
Though admittedly discouraged, Sanderson, who classifies himself as "not very picky," said he still hoped that Courtneee could play a small, fleeting part in his future.
"I'm an optimist, even though I've been burned by girls like Courtneee in the past. You think you know everything about them—their dark secrets, their heroes, their class schedule—but they end up betraying your confidence and talking about your relationship behind your back to any authority figure who'll listen," Sanderson said.
Sanderson pointed out several other "red flags" in Courtneee's profile, including "pathetic, almost obsessive" blog entries about her ex-crush, the fact that her "Interests and Personality" section mentions that she might want to have children someday, and her terrible taste in movies.
"I'm used to getting involved with younger, less mature women, but she's got the sense of humor of an 8-year-old," Sanderson said. "I can't bring myself to pretend to like 50 First Dates, even to establish a base of shared interests, build rapport, and eventually earn her complete trust."
"Also, one of her friends left a recent comment accusing her of being a 'big-mouth who likes to spread rumors,'" Sanderson added. "I can't tell you how big a turnoff that is for me."
According to Sanderson, the most discouraging revelation came when he viewed Courtneee's "More Pics" section, in which she reportedly looks "way older" than she does in her featured front-page photo.
"When I saw the other pictures, I was like, 'How old is this girl, 15?'" Sanderson said. "In these pictures, she had braces, acne, noticeable breasts—nothing like the baby-faced little girl she appeared to be on her main page. She probably hasn't updated that picture in a year and a half."
Though he made a legally binding promise to himself and law-enforcement officials that he would never pursue another relationship like this, Sanderson says he nonetheless plans to "give it a shot."
"Internet dating can be risky," he said, "but at my age, and their age, it's really the only way."

Uh... I think I'm missing something, bobby. Like the source, or the context... are these from the Onion?

These would be my Pazz & Jop/Jackin' Pop top ten if I were voting today. Won't say that most of them are teenpop (Sadie and Taylor are actual teens, but one's in r&b and the other's in country, though I can imagine each getting teenybopper support), but this thread is as good as any to post this list. I'm deciding that "You" is eligible for 2007 by the "greatest impact this year" rule, and anyway it's the only one here that's likely to be still standing on December 31. I agree with the people who think the Swift song loses its intensity in the chorus, but I feel that the great achy-breaky pang in her throat in the verses more than compensates.

1. Lloyd f. Lil Wayne "You"
2. Taylor Swift "Teardrops On My Guitar"
3. Linda Sundblad "Lose You"
4. Keak Da Sneak "That Go"
5. Sadie Ama "Fallin'"
6. Dragonette "I Get Around"
7. Mia "Zirkus"
8. Drop The Lime "Wake Up Call (Infants Remix)"
9. M.I.A. "Bird Flu"
10. Julieta Venegas "Eres Para Mi"

Brie Larson:

Things I Like: "A Day in the Life" - almost "A Song for Emily" sweet, but with more rattling, like nails in a box in the background being shaken. And very The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ears to the Groundesque. Which is good. Especially the halted ending, etc.

Things I Don't Like: Her Stevie Knick'esque picture which doesn't do Stevie well and just looks dirty/hippie (not that they always mean the same, but that in this picture they do). Is she doing freak-folk now? I knew Joanna Newsom was big but...

Things I Don't Get??: Can someone explain Bunnies and Traps to me? I read the about us on the website, and it made no sense. Which might be the point - but how can you submit if you don't know what you're submitting to. Maybe someone whose already read it? (Speaking of zines, any news on those Music Sucks issues, Frank?)

I agree with Lloyd and Taylor, Frank. I never got MIA - so I'm not going to comment here. Things you're totally missing:

Natasha Bedingfield - Babies (If a song can make me like Bedingfield, it is doing something right.)
R Kelly - Flirt
Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend (I've talked about this above, so I won't repeat.)
Fallout Boy - I'm Like a Lawyer (Alt: Good Charlotte's River if you can deal with the asshole-factor. But Fallout Boy could fulfill the dark-emo-teen slot, and nicely too.)
The entire Spring Awakening OST! People need to get on this. It's incredible. Here's a good starting place: "The Guilty Ones." Such a pretty, harsh, wistful song.

cassie says 'what do u want' is her favourite on the album! i must have forgotten to mention it last year, it's just the sort of thing which fits here.

Ha, was planning on cleaning the apartment today (invited my writer's group over for Wednesday so as to motivate myself to finish unpacking the boxes that have been cluttering up my living room since I moved in July!), so will look when I do to see if I can find which back issues of WMS are still around. Except a good deal of today is over, so I might not get to it.

xpost

Lex, Cassie's wrong. "Me & U" is by far the best (not to say there aren't other great tracks on there). But "What Do U Want" manages to maintain the sexiness of her restraint while not being restrained. (I think I know what I mean by what I just said.)

"Guilty Ones" Lyrics:

WENDLA
Something’s started crazy / Sweet and unknown / Something you keep / In a box on the street / Now it’s longing for a home.

ALL
And who can say what dreams are?

WENDLA
Wake me in time to be lonely and sad

ALL
And who can say what we are?

WENDLA
This is the season for dreaming / And now our bodies are the guilty ones / Who touch / And color the hours / Night won’t breathe / Oh how we / Fall into silence from the sky / And whisper some silver reply.

MELCHIOR
Pulse is gone and racing / All fits and starts / Window by window / You try and look into / This brave new you that you are.

ALL
And who can say what dreams are?

MELCHIOR & WENDLA
Wake me in time to be out in the cold.

ALL
And who can say what we are?

MELCHIOR & WENDLA
This is the reason for dreaming.

ALL
And now our bodies are the guilty ones / Our touch / Will fill every hour / Huge and dark / Oh our hearts / Will murmur the blues from on high / Then whisper some silver reply. / And now our bodies are the guilty ones / Our touch / Will color hours / Night won’t breathe / Oh how we / Fall in silence from the sky. / Then whisper some silver reply

I've never gotten R. Kelly. I've nothing against his singing, but I've nothing for it, either. "Pretty enough" is my most positive response, "pretty boring" my most negative. (He counts as teenpop as a producer, or whatever, right?)

I don't care for his ballads, but Ignition and I'm a Flirt are crown jewels of mainstsream R&B.

New Girl Authority album, four tracks streamed on their MySpace and one other streamed at Amazon. I don't recognize any of the five as covers, but that hardly is definitive. Think I like the one on Amazon most (mentions the name "Girl Authority" and claims "we have the power"), nice mixture of southern soul horns, w/ hints of reggae and country, nice loose drummer. Doesn't have the extra hookiness that'll get it on Radio Disney (like I would know)(like Disney's going to play something on a Rounder subsidiary). The rest aren't bad either, I guess; I like "Rhythm Of The World," which could be one of the Cheetah Girls' better tracks. (You can see me falling all over myself with enthusiasm here.)

"U + Ur Hand" still rising on Top 40 airplay; up to number 15, slightly ahead of "This Is Why I'm Hot." (But getting less than half the spins of "It's Not Over," "What Goes Around Comes Around," "Say It Right," or "The Sweet Escape," which have owned Top 40 for a while.) "Girlfriend" starting to rise substantially, though still weak in total plays, possibly owing to "Keep Holding On" holding on above it.

Yeah--Spring Awakening is the first major migration of the teenpop thing into abother medium.

But you really do need to see the damned thing for it to really, but really work. And then it's pretty amazing, despite a rushed third act.

(First producer smart enough to option "A Darkness I know" for some poptress will make a mint.)

Besides having a kickass score, "Spring Awakeings" is also the first production to directly engage in mindboggling refelections the multiple pederastic weirdnesses lurking around the subgenre.

I can't say how self-aware the creators are about this, but the fact remains that this is a play written by adults and scored by a guy known for sorta age-regressive pop which is about very young teens toiling under adult repression and having fairly explicit sex on-stage, then dealing with rape and incest--again, according to the imaginations of some way older guys---all while a silent chorus (!) of actual, NYC-area teens sit at the sides of the stage, taking the spectacle in.

And again with the mind boggling.

My own top ten 2007 singles so far are not very teenpop, and possibly not very singles (though the ones that aren't are at least you tube clips, cuts selected for legitimate compilations, cuts on demo EPs, or first-songs-on-myspace pages, all of which fit some definition of singledom, I would think); also, the top ten is ridiculously in flux, and I'm not even sure if I've heard the "single" versions (assuming single versions exactly exist) of the top two both of which I am probably overrating no matter how you slice it otherwise, and there are hundreds of other singles I haven't heard yet, but here goes:

1. Cupid – “Cupid Shuffle”
2. Verka Seduchka – “Danzing”
3. D.B.’z featuring E-40 – “Stewy”
4. Da Muzicianz featuring the Federation – “Go Dumb”
5. The Rich and Famous – “The Rich and Famous”
6. Fabienne Shine featuring Albert Bouchard and Ross the Boss – “Dancing For Eternity”
7. Trigger Renegade – “Destroy Your Mind”
8. Miranda Lambert - “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”
9. Avril Lavigne – “Girlfriend”
10. Christina Aguilera – “Candyman”

The original play Spring Awakenings was written in the 1890s.

you guys should definitely check out Jon Savage's new book Teenage it comes out next month.

Yeah, I saw a review of the Savage book; looked intriguing.

Bubbling under my top 10 (#s 11 and 12 are Kogan top-of-myspace-page recommendations that could grow on me, especially "I Get Around", which is not a Beach Boys cover but is definitely about getting around and being a girl who can't say no though she knows she should; I've got a certain aversion to synthdance-oriented-rockpop these days, for some reason, though, which applies to both of these songs and may or may not eventually be overcome.) (Since I'd likely vote for albums by Lambert and Trigger Renegade and maybe the Rich and Famous if I were to vote at the moment, and I'd try to therefore avoid voting for singles off those albums for reasons of redundancy, that could give Little Birdy and Dragonette a better shot):

11. Dragonette – “I Get Around”
12. Little Birdy – “Bodies”
13. Toby Keith – “High Maintenance Woman”
14. Lloyd featuring Lil Wayne – “You”

Haven't heard the Drop The Lime remix that Frank lists; I've got their album from last year, and "Wake Up Call" sounds okay on it, but not notably more fun or insteresting than lots of what they've done. What's the remix like?

Also, is Rich Boy a teen? Actually, I think he's about 25, but teens are loving him, so this (by me, from the country thread!?) belongs on here too, I think:

So. Does Rich Boy's album (which I'm increasingly loving a lot of) count as country if he comes from Mobile, Alabama, and raps with an audible drawl? Probably not; I'm not hearing anything countrified on a Sparxxx/Banner/ Field Mob level in the instrumentation anywhwere. But I'm still pretty sure I like "Role Models" and "On The Regular" (and maybe "Lost Girls" and "Ghetto Rich") (and obviously "Get To Poppin,'," duh) at least as much if not more than "Thow Some D's," which is a pretty darn good hit single.

xhuxk on Saturday, March 17, 2007 8:34 AM (Yesterday)
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Rich Boy's "Touch That A**" would be more fun with less retarded words.

xhuxk on Saturday, March 17, 2007 11:14 AM (Yesterday)
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"Boy Looka Here" (cool marching band beat) also fun on the Rich Boy album. And "Hustla Balla Gangsta Mack" has New Orleans (more era than one probably -- the Meters one and the Cash Money one) in its rhythm and some lively gurl responses from Divinity, and "Let's Get This Paper" does ominousness pretty well. But "Role Models," featuring David Banner and Attitude, totally kicks like party-in-the-background frat rock as far as I'm concerned. Least enertaining tracks: "Madness" (which does ominousness shittily), "Touch That A**" (though its spare sound is okay), "What It Do".

Frank tells me Rich Boy's album has been hated on on the Rolling Snap Thread, but I haven't checked out what's said there, so I have no idea why.

I've got their album from last year, and "Wake Up Call" sounds okay on it, but not notably more fun or insteresting than lots of what they've done. What's the remix like?

Noisy. Funny. (Or "funny.") Should be on its way to you by couriers whom neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night will stay from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

What I've heard of Spring Awakenings doesn't sound particularly teenpop or particularly modern-day pop and rock 'n' roll even though it's written by a guy who's had pop hits. Ian's probably right that seeing it might make more sense than just listening, but it's got stage actors over-enunciating when they sing, which is what stage actors tend to do, and I haven't really liked much show music since Man Of La Mancha. And my guess is that it's audience is more adult than teen (not that I have anything against adults, being one myself, and I think that teenpop as of Ashlee a couple of years ago was far more thoughtful than the stuff that's made for actual adults, and anyway she was aiming it at anyone who would listen not just at a particular demograph).

To elaborate on the parenthesis of my previous post: A question not restricted to teenpop is how much difference (or what sort of difference) does it make that I'm listening to music aimed at a prime audience of which I'm not a member. This pertains to almost any music ever made, since I have a wonderful ability to feel alienated from music that someone imagines is made for someone like me. Anyway, at the moment I identify with no audience, ever since the early '80s when I stopped particularly liking or respecting postpunk music, and therefore felt a distance between its audience and me. Anyway, I generally will use music in any way I want or can, but, for instance, if I'm listening to someone speak on the telephone my hearing is enriched if I know something about what's going on at the other end of the line; but that doesn't necessarily mean that the invisible person at the other end hears or understands better than I do. And I think that in 1970-72 I understood the Rolling Stones' and Dylan's output from 1965 (when I wasn't listening to either of them) better than the mass audience those bands garnered at the time. But then, "understanding" means different things. "Understanding" can be my understanding of what the music makers are doing but it also can mean understanding what the audience does with the music - which can vary from audience member to audience member, and the same music can reach a lot of different audiences - and "understanding" can mean understanding what I can do with the music.

All of which is preamble to the fact that without Ashlee Simpson there'd be no teenpop thread, unless someone else got the idea to start it. And I know who Ashlee Simpson is singing to: she sang "So if you're listening/There's so much more to me you haven't seen," and that's a message sent out to anyone who's willing to listen, it's sent out to me, just as Hemingway's In Our Time and Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom! is written for me. Just as my book is written for you, whoever you are.

8. Miranda Lambert - "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend"
+
9. Avril Lavigne - "Girlfriend"
=
"Crazy Next Girlfriend"

The part about 'what you can do with it' seems like the most interesting thing to me. After I finished reading "Real Punks..." I felt like the book operated more like a box of tools than a piece of literature. Which is to say, though it wasn't a writing primer itself - it functioned similar to one. It gave you a place to begin with when discussing music. Much like Frankfurt Criticism does (which is to say: It isn't about the Tiller Girls - it /is/ about the language you use when you discuss the Tiller Girls or Ashley or Dylan, etc.)

Frank, I don't know if you're familiar with the Rent phenomenan (actually, I'm not sure if that phenomenan exists outside of my and my wife's highschool experiences) but despite the fact the play was clearly geared to adults - teens completely owned it. When I was in highschool I knew every single lyric to the play (I probably still know a bunch of it). A number of my now adult friends had the same experience, and a month ago in the Pizza shop a table of highschoolers were singing "La Vie Boheme." I'm not saying it's similar to Spring Awakening, but I wouldn't be shocked if something similar happened. Which means it was written for one group, but spoke so much more clearly to another.

What I meant about "Spring Awakenings" is that it represents a manifestation of teenpop/emo sensibilities to B'way.

And yeah--when you see 17 year olds singing this stuff with a live band, the teenpop-ishness is accentuated. The audience at the performance I attended was the most teen-filled B'way show I ever saw, probably close to a 50/50 split between older people and kids, which led to some serious in-audience tension during the sex scene, which in turn led to lots of giggling at the intermissions.

I think the requirements of theater (narrative-in-lyrics, clarity) and the design of teenpop (the electronics, huge sound, stylized production, etec) are kind of at odds with each other in terms of what can physically be done live. I was really hoping that, when they put out the OST, they'd produce the hell outta the songs, but this is just a live thing.

Pink or Avril NEEDS to do "Totally Fucked".

Don't know if this interests anyone but myself, but from American Jewish Life Magazine:

Screaming, young fans applauded Ashley Tisdale as she created handprints at Planet Hollywood at the release party for her debut CD, Headstrong, featuring the singles, “Be Good to Me” and “He Said She Said.” The 21-year-old singer-actress, who stars in the Disney Channel’s wildly popular High School Musical, is known for being the first female to grace the Billboard 100 chart with two songs simultaneously.

I chatted with her proud mom, Los Angelino and former New Jerseyan, Lisa Morris Tisdale. Did Ashley have a bat mitzvah? “No. She was busy working, unfortunately, on the road. She’s not totally Jewish. She’s half — my husband’s not, so she was raised a little bit of both.” Any Passover plans? “I have no idea,” she laughed. “We’re never home. We’re always traveling. So, we try to do good holidays wherever we are. And, if we’re with my mother and my family, we celebrate it with them.”

I don't know if the claim is true about her being the first female to grace the Billboard 100 chart with two songs simultaneously (that doesn't make any sense, does it?). But I like the second paragraph... Jewish teenpop? ;)

OK, now, the fact that adults helped Ashlee write her material: let's say they even helped her shape her persona (though I doubt it). The nearest analogue might be stuff like Rebel Without A Cause and My So-Called Life. Those were aimed at teens, and had teen characters created and scripted by adults. The teens seem both more thoughtful and more idealistic than the adult characters, in fact (especially in Rebel) seem more capable of helping each other and helping the adults than the adults do themselves. (Perhaps if James Dean hadn't had Mr. Magoo for a father, and Natalie Wood hadn't had Paul Drake for a dad, and the only apparently sane representative of maturity hadn't been Chief from Get Smart!, my attitude would have been different.) Anyway, Rebel and Life might well be adults projecting their needs onto The Teenager, but each is touching. And I doubt that Ashlee Simpson and Kelly Clarkson needed to have their desire for reconciliation on the heels of a difficult childhood projected onto them or created for them by older people.

Let's say Kara DioGuardi rather than Ashlee conceived the idea and wrote the line, "So if you're listening, there's so much more to me you haven't seen." I doubt Kara did (why can't she do anything comparable for anyone else?), but let's pretend. I can see why it might be easier to give a line like that to a nineteen-year-old than to herself, though the line might have been just as true of herself. But coming from Ashlee it has a beautiful combined vulnerability and audacity and optimism that it probably wouldn't have coming from a thirty-three-year-old. And in a way it's an answer to the song's earlier line "Somebody listen please, it used to be so hard being me." Again, it's easier to put in the mouth of a teenager the fact both that life was recently hard and that she can put it behind her. Both could be just as true of a thirty-three-year-old, but the hard life doesn't seem so poignant and the resolution to move forward doesn't seem so possible from someone moving into middle age. And "if you're listening" makes sense coming from young Ashlee. She doesn't know what's in store for her (SNL, Orange Bowl, disappearing market), doesn't know how few will be willing to listen. At thirty-three she might well have found her listeners, or not, but either way she won't be able to project the combined uncertainty and confidence. (Or maybe she will. I at age fifty-three can feel very similar to Ashlee, but again it probably takes an eighteen-year-old to sing it.)

My eighteen-year-old nephew is a huge fan of Rent, and my friend Naomi's daughter posted lyrics from it last year on her MySpace (at age eleven). So I think you're right about this (though again, the term teenpop is confusing - and I'm not even sure how much it's in use anymore - since it's been hijacked to mean not teenager pop but teenybopper pop).

Avril has two songs in the Top 50 right now. So does Fergie. So does Carrie Underwood - those being the first three who come to mind. There might be more.

is known for being the first female to grace the Billboard 100 chart with two songs simultaneously

I think what they mean (or what the writer or rewriter misread) was that Ashley had two songs to enter the Hot 100 simultaneously (i.e., in the same week). Those would be the two Sharpay-Ryan songs from High School Musical.

Is that claim true? Tisdale is the first female artist to have two songs to enter simultaneously? That always sounds really unlikely.