Make room for Aaron

Many years ago, in fact, many more than I care to imagine, the teen-age idol was known as the cardboard crush. This was in reference to the cardboard boxes used to house long-playing records. Measuring 12" square, these were just the ideal size to display the handsome, toothy faces of the teen-age idols. Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, Cliff Richard, Paul Anka, Frankie Avalon, Fabian and many others.

Of course the LP has already faded from sight. The singing heartthrobs of recent vintage like Jesse McCartney or Aaron Carter now do their smiling from the CD box. It is smaller but I must say more effective than the cassette tape which truly reduced cover art to the miniscule. Just the same, these covers are not made of cardboard and progress has also killed the cardboard crush.

But tradition says that there will always be teen idols as long as there are teen-aged girls. Sad to say, there are very few on display at the moment. McCartney and Carter. I cannot think of other names to add to the list. Justine Timberlake, whose looks and selling power fit the bill is now canoodling with Cameron Diaz and lost to the realm of the teen-age crushes. Singing idols of the old mold are now a rarity, more so in local music circles where market demand is divided among rock bands, bossa nova divas and singing champions.

These came to mind while I was listening to Right Next to Me by Aaron. Only 17 years old, a stunning looker and a popular model, Aaron easily fits the bill of the teen-age idol. He is of mixed parentage with a Filipino mother and American father of Arabian descent. He grew up in the US and now studies in a local school affiliated with the UK system. He is the younger brother of rapper Carlos Agassi but wants nothing to do with hip-hop. The music he likes is light R ’n B which is popular with younger, mostly female buyers.

Aaron’s sound is actually that of a one-man boy band. It suits him to a T. It is also not really surprising because the producer of his debut album is Ito Rapadas who once upon a time was a member of the boy band Neocolors. This group was one of the most successful attempts by Filipinos to create boy bands and it is this light mix of pop and R ’n B that permeates Aaron’s album.

Leading the line-up is Calculate It, a dance tune composed by Rapadas and which is featured in two mixes in the CD. Also by the Neocolors is Kasalanan Ko Ba? which Aaron covered. Hewing to the same rhythm but of different beats are the title song Right Next To Me, When You’re in Love with Someone, Paano, Right by Your Side, I’ll Be Your Hero, Take It Easy, Hanggang Matapos, One in a Million and Another Sad Goodbye.

Aaron has entered the territory at a time when teen pop idols have become a rarity. He comes across like the proverbial breath of fresh air. Given the dearth situation for crushes though and the fact that he is so young and charming, he might just be what the music business needs at the moment. Change is good for anybody, more so when you have been buried under the load of sameness for a long time.

So will Aaron make the grade? Hopefully he does as we can all use some new sounds in the airlanes.

As for Jesse McCartney, not much is also being heard about him lately but he already has a great catalogue of teen pop sounds that kids like Aaron should give a listen to. Check out his new album, a special two-CD edition of his Right Where You Want Me album that contains his hits, some videos and karaoke tracks.

Take a look at the contents. From Right Where You Want Me comes Right Back in the Water, Tell Her, Can’t Let You Go, Feelin’ You, Daddy’s Little Girl and the title cut. Then as a bonus, there is an audio-video CD with his hits in music videos, Because You Live, Beautiful Soul, some karaoke tracks Because You Live Best Day of My Life, Good Life and That Was Then, live performance footage of Beautiful Soul, One Way or Another, I’ll Try and even a Christmas song Winter Wonderland.

Now for those of you, who once upon a time thought that McCartney was the Prince Charming of Your Dreams, Right Where You Want Me might be the recap you need to end the era and move on to Timberlake.