Second Banana: Teen Phenoms

 Greyson Chance recently appeared on Ellen to promote his new music and tour. However, besides Ellen he isn't garnering much attention since his viral cover of Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi." Why is this? He seems to be talented and have a knack for writing his own material. But the real problem lies within the timing. He was second in a new emergence of teen idols. So I present Second Banana Part Two, the Teen Phenom edition.
 Back in the late 1980s Tiffany and Debbie Gibson both emerged as new pop princesses. However, Debbie Gibson is fondly remembered as a multi-talented producer, writer, and singer and still does Broadway. Tiffany was featured on an episode of the VH1 show, Where Are They Now? and had to do Playboy for attention ten years ago (Debbie Gibson did as well, but to less fanfare). While they recently united for a tour, it's obvious that Tiffany still has to compete with Debbie Gibson for the spotlight. Debbie Gibson held a twenty year record for being the youngest artist to have a number one that was self-written and produced. Tiffany was known as a one-hit wonder who did a cover of the Tommy and the Shondells hit to reach the top of the charts. Debbie Gibson was known for her well-produced and choreographed videos. Tiffany's most memorable video was footage from her infamous mall tour. While it seems that they are both fondly remembered, Debbie Gibson's impact is still more highly regarded.
 Britney Spears is still topping the charts and recently won an award for her achievements in music video at the MTV Video Music Awards. Her former Mickey Mouse Club co-star Christina Aguilera is on NBC's The Voice, but her album sales and hits seemed to have stalled. At the time of their debut on the teen scene, Christina was considered to be the better talent with her astounding voice and delivery. Britney seemed to appear as the headline-grabbing sex-kitten with shocking antics. The climax of the media-fueled rivalry culminated at the 2003 MTV VMAs when they both kissed Madonna. The problem was that everyone only remembered Britney's kiss because it was first and afterwards they panned to her ex-boyfriend JT for a reaction instead of seeing the Christina kiss. Christina later fumed about this, but it didn't matter. The pop torch had been officially passed from Madge to Britney. They even collaborated on "Me Against the Music." Christina continued to receive critical acclaim, but Britney continued to dominate the charts. Even in her tumultuous period, she dominated from afar. They both started families and had relationship issues, but still even now Britney is the icon and Christina is a great talent.
 Justin Bieber has been capitalizing on Bieber fever since his meteoric rise nearly three years ago. His YouTube postings featuring covers of Justin Timberlake and Usher hits resulted in the two artists in a battle to sign him. While he ended up with Usher, he meteorically rose to success on hits like "Baby" and "Somebody to Love." He successively embarked on a multimedia takeover with everything from a concert film to nail polish. Greyson Chance had a famous YouTube video that landed him on Ellen and Ellen's newly formed record label. While he's had success online, there's yet to be a result that has been close to the Biebs. However, they're both still young and things could change. But it's hard to overcome the curse of the second banana.