Kelly Osbourne: Papa Don’t Help
Published in Culture Bully, The Blog. Tags: Music.
Drowned in Sound begins the day with an interesting note of news surrounding a family of oft-tainted musical royalty, The Osbournes. What was eye-catching about the blurb was not simply the fact that Ms. Kelly Osbourne announced recently that the lack of commercial success surrounding her solo career can be attributed to her father (or more importantly being her father’s daughter); but mostly a fact that was quietly pointed out in the article’s comments section, “the STARTING of your music career can also be attributed to the fact that your father is Ozzy Osbourne.” Indeed.
When first moving to the US I was introduced to the entire family, as most were, through their widely successful ‘reality’ show The Osbournes. Week to week the show kept the attention of millions as it lured the audience in with act after act of such shenanigan and tomfoolery as “The Ozz Man and the Sea,” “Mama, I’m Stayin’ Home,” “Beauty and the Bert” (anyone remember The Used?) and “The Kids’re on the Drugs” (though not an episode title, the last was a key feature of the show, as was the entire family’s drug use).
All in all though, the dirt helped the show lure a fan base, with the show actually winning an Emmy in 2002 for “Outstanding Non-Fiction Program,” it was indeed a good time for the family Ozz.
However, despite the show helping elevate every family member’s celebrity and net worth (each member reportedly receiving $5 million for the second season, a monstrous jump from the $5k per show they were to have received for the first) Osbourne daughter Aimee continued to stayed clear of the scene. Aimee Osbourne, a model, actress and columnist, refused to take part in the show, but rather continued her ventures the way she saw fit; that being with as little help from her parent’s celebrity as possible.
Kelly continues in the article, “I’m really proud of my second album. I still think it’s great. People didn’t give it a chance. If it was released by someone else I think people would have loved it.” Rather than delivering another unshockingly dim rendition of the time’s thinnest trend, it may be time for Kelly to depend on the means of her sister and fall below the surface of celebrity for a while in search for her own style, sound and even her own reputation because as it stands she continues to follow the path of the man who set the stage for her entire career.
And while her bank account may not have discovered the riches that accompanied the oddly contagious television program, Aimee Osbourne has the luxury of not having the public remember her by lyrics such as “Blah blah, blah blah, blah blah, blah blah.” Until Kelly finds her own voice and stops relying on her family’s fame for advancement in the public eye she should continue to thank her father for her money and for a moment follow her own advice, “Shut Up.”
[This post was first published by Culture Bully.]