The Downward Spiral of Fame and Fortune.

Has anyone noticed a disturbing trend in the popular pop culture lately? You haven't? Well then, let's take for example the highly successful Spice Girls. They dominated the music channels ever since their debut single, 'Wannabe'. Going from strength to strength producing hits and proved themselves as a force to be reckoned with. After Geri Halliwell left the famous group however, things took a turn for the worse as the remaining members struggled to recreate their golden period but failed and slowly drifted apart to embark on solo projects with varying degrees of success, none measuring up to the hype that their group effort had made.

What happened?

Now, we've seen this situation play out time and time again as young rookie singers armed with hot dance moves and catchy tunes try but fail to make a dent in the cutthroat world of the music industry. I wonder if this situation is due to us humans' fickle natures as we continually expect nothing but the best efforts from our idols or perhaps it's the singers' faults for not being able to keep our interest in them.

A singer who has however defied this ever growing trend and reemerged to make herself a household name once more is none other than Mariah Carey. Her 10th studio album album, 'The Emancipation of Mimi' which was released last year was a wild success with her songs, 'We Belong Together', 'Shake It Off' and many more making hits on the Billboard charts. The album was dubbed "The Return of The Voice". Now, that is undoubtedly a remarkable comeback for the blonde bombshell who many thought was already past the peak of her career.

(Ed. Note - Ironically however, she failed to bag the major award at the Grammies. Anybody noticed that?)

The same cannot be said however of the following singers such as A1, Britney Spears, Savage Garden, Ronan Keating, Westlife and many more. For some unexplainable reason, they have dropped off the music scene after experiencing a brief period of fame, glory and chart topping hits. Granted, they have tried to revive their faltering careers but sadly their efforts are met with lukewarm response.

So once again we wonder and speculate, as the gossip magazines run themselves dry fuelling all sorts of rumours and gossip about the singers who have fallen out of favour with the crowd of adoring fans. Then the hype dies down and the singer is left just that, a fallen star as the public moves on to newer and younger artistes with the run of the mill reproduced pop tunes.

As it appears, Mariah has escaped the clutches of every pop diva's worst nightmare, the fading star. Although she has managed to reclaim her rightful popularity, one just can't help but be skeptical and wonder if perhaps this is only the final encore before the curtain closes down on her.