Fame

Recently I have become fascinated with the Jonas Brothers.

Fascinated.

Notice the choice of words there. Not infatuated, not in love with, not a fan of.

But fascinated. Intrigued, really. Because they're at the top, pretty much. Set for life, almost as famous as it gets. Maybe not universally respected, but almost universally recognized.

How do they do it?

And I know that the real answer is Walt Disney is pulling most of the strings. But that's what gets me interested. Just which strings, and how many of them are they pulling?

There are some people who believe that these people are completely legitimate: they write all of their own songs, they write all of their lyrics by choice, and the image that they give isn't manipulated - it's just who they are.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, people such as my younger brother Andy, believe it all to be a total scam. Disney buys songs for the group, writes their lyrics to be clean, and set up their distinctive image so that nobody can say they're a bad influence.

Musicians? Or Frauds?

Now I'm pretty sure that neither of these two sides are completely right; I'm pretty certain the truth lies somewhere in the middle. I've listened to some of their songs. It's alright. Nothing special, but they're alright. They're no fantastic musicians, but I'm pretty sure they at least qualify. But at the same time, I can't help but wonder how much of it was written by them, or bought by Disney.

And then there's the whole image thing. It's a big deal because it's perfect. The image. It's too... goody two-shoes, especially when you expect musicians to be involved with parties and alcohol and drugs and whatnot. These guys wear 'purity rings', basically the same concept as a chastity belt. They have a minister, who, if I'm not mistaken, is also their father, come to all of their concerts and say a prayer beforehand. And after hearing about all of this and then listening to their lyrics... it's just hard to take them seriously.

Another facet of the possibility of them being a sham is that they are actually trapped more than we know. For all we know, Disney's got them on a restrictive, long-term contract that restrains both their musical and personal freedom. It's hard to believe that they don't sometimes, after reading about how pure their music and lifestyles are. Parents and preteens are lapping it up, throwing money at these guys.

I just want to meet these guys and have an honest conversation with them. Are they frauds with no musical integrity? Are they trapped artists? Are they self-righteous, goody-two shows pricks, or just abnormally good influences for musicians?

Who are these guys?

What makes them tick?