Dear Craig Balsam and Cliff Chenfield,
As the executive producers of the musical gold mine Kidz Bop, you are people of influence. I am picking my fight with you because I believe you have the power to stop a very serious problem. In fact, there are TWO serious problems. Both problems surround the issue of Kidz Bop.
Please watch the music video showcased on your very own Kidz Bop channel on YouTube.com.
This brings up issue number one: Why are you sugar coating songs that are clearly not for your target audience (5-12-year olds)? The song, originally chanted by pop singer Pink, has a catchy beat. It's a fun sing-a-long for the typical angsty female. But the formula doesn't add up. A song that's catchy or on the top 20 hits doesn't make it okay for kids. I'm not saying we should censor the music the children of America listen to. I just believe that we shouldn't cover up songs that are contextually or lyrically inappropriate for 5-year-olds with lulling voices of their classmates. Is Kidz Bop doing parents a favor by offering good, clean fun for their children? I know that some songs are edited so there isn't any swearing, but you can't change the overall original message of a song.
This brings me to issue number two: Kidz Bop is ruining some great songs by placing a safety net over powerful contexts, suffocating any emotions created by the original artist and sucking out the juice that made it a hit to begin with. Granted, a lot of the Billboard hits are trash to begin with, but some of them really touch their audience. By overlaying children's choirs to a song about gang violence or really emotionally straining break-ups defeats the purpose of music for the soul.
My passion isn't derived from hatred, although I'm not particularly fond of children's choirs (especially around Christmastime). I'm not trying to be a grinch of any kind. I just really feel like they have ruined songs that I have enjoyed. Going back to Pink's song, "So What" was about her messy relationship with her on-again off-again husband. Yes, she turned emotional pain into a money-making top 20 hit, but there's still meaning behind the song. What do children know about the heartache of divorce, separation or just bad relationships? Maybe a 5-year-old can tell me off someday, but until then, I am very much against Kidz Bop.
So what can you do? You can stop the production of Kidz Bop. Leave songs alone. Stop placing safety nets over the ears of children. It's just wrong.
In the meantime,
I will plead to the vendors of your sales:
Dear Walmart, Target, Amazon.com, and iTunes,
I beg of you, stop selling these CDs.
I will plead to your customers:
Dear parents,
I beg of you, stop buying these CDs.
For the love of children and music, stop Kidz Bop.
Sincerely,
Open Ears
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