Nick Lachey

The word transformation is defined as “a change in form, appearance, nature or character” (dictionary.com). Usually, a transformation has a positive connotation, signifying a change for the better. In terms of celebrities, a transformation typifies a change in the celebrity text that produces rejuvenated, enhanced, or continued popularity. Most transformations that occur within the same celebrity field are observable, as the media highlights the smallest of image or personal life deviations of celebrities. What is less apparent is how such transformations change the celebrity’s text and ultimately, the celebrity’s career within his/her field. This paper will analyze the transformation of celebrity Nick Lachey and how his transformation affected his career in the field of popular music.

Pop music in the late 1990’s was to some extent characterized by the ‘boy band’. Acts such as ‘NSync and The Backstreet Boys blew up the radio, music television stations and teen magazines. Another band that prospered during this craze was boy band 98º (98 Degrees). With his pretty boy face and soulful, tenor vocals, Nick Lachey enjoyed instant stardom as one of the four members of 98º. In 1998, just two years after signing his first music contract, Nick met Jessica Simpson, who, at that time, was an up and coming pop vocalist. By 2002, 98º had called it quits and Lachey and Simpson had the ultimate celebrity wedding, covered by InStyle magazine. At this time, Simpson had surpassed Lachey on the celebrity popularity meter and Lachey slowed slipped into her shadow.

Just months after the wedding, the couple signed on to do a reality television show, hosted by MTV, appropriately titled Newlyweds. The premise of the show was to follow Nick and Jessica’s everyday lives as celebrity newlyweds. Originally, the couple saw the show as a means to promote their musical endeavors (Glock, 2006). This tactic only paid off for Simpson, however, as Lachey’s 2003 solo album bombed. The show lasted only three seasons before being cancelled, similar to the couple’s nuptials, which lasted only three years. In November of 2005, Lachey and Simpson called it quits on their marriage. Lachey’s divorce was the ultimate catalyst of his celebrity transformation.

A celebrity’s celebrity text is produced and enhanced by various forms of media. Visual forms of media, such as celebrity performances, appearances, advertisements, and images in print and television are the most prominent representations of celebrity texts (Delamoir, 2002). As a marketing strategy, celebrity images are highly effective because the celebrity embodies particular representations of lifestyle, class, gender, age, status, and personality types (Mustafa, 2005). Mustafa further explains,

“Celebrities bring with them narratives that are based on their public performance, their public persona and their public behavior, as well as famous events that take place in their private lives, such as divorces, court appearances, public misconduct, love affairs, and marriage problems.”

(¶ 4)

The audience demands to see the ordinary person hiding within the famous self, who shares the same domestic feelings and life events as the common person (Holmes, 2005). The media’s attention to celebrity break-ups is appropriate, because the media is the primary resource for establishing a celebrity’s text (Delamoir, 2002; Holmes, 2005; Rojek, p. 13). Therefore, because of the plentitude of celebrity images of the couple, a break-up will most ultimately lead to a transformation of the celebrity text. Celebrity break-ups change the celebrity images and narratives that the audience has come to know through visual representations of the celebrity couple. This change in status provokes a re-evaluation of the authenticity of each celebrity involved, as the audience struggles to understand “what really happened” to the perfect couple that was displayed so prominently in the media (Delamoir, 2002). Fortunately for Lachey, Simpson has taken the biggest publicity hits, as he is shed in a favorable light as the good guy who was tossed aside (Glock, 2006).

The audience is not the only entity concerned with validating Lachey’s authenticity, but Lachey himself has made it a priority in redefining his celebrity text. As Lachey watched himself on his reality show Newlyweds, he became more and more disgusted by the producers portrayal of him as a one dimensional “good guy”. Any ambitions, passions, or aversive, non-friendly expressions were wiped clean from the film as if they did not exist (Glock, 2006). His marriage and his life in general ceased to be reality and became a performance, based on what he believed fans wanted (Glock, 2006). His divorce was a wake-up call to him, and the incentive to express to his fans that his personal relationship with Simpson was not a “scripted-for-reality-television romantic tragedy”, but was his real life (Glock, 2006).

Lachey’s pre-transformation celebrity text was characterized by his membership in 98º and his marriage to Jessica Simpson. Being authentic meant being committed to the teen audience of the boy band and the reality show, similar to John Lennon and the Beatles’ early construction of authenticity (Mäkelä, 106-107). He quickly became more famously known as the reality T.V. star married to Jessica Simpson who sang on the side (Glock, 2006). Although this was not the celebrity text he desired, he admits that without the reality show, he would be largely invisible now. But just as Bob Dylan inspired John Lennon, Lachey’s divorce inspired him to be more self-expressive and self-identifying with his music (Mäkelä, 105).

In May, 2006, Lachey’s first album after the divorce was released. The album is chalked full of expressions of inner emotions and personality, lending to the authentic value of Lachey as a pop celebrity (Mäkelä, 96). He is paving the road toward rock auteur by writing his own lyrics, crossing pop music with a bluesy, soulful sound, and becoming increasingly involved in the artistic production of the music and music videos from the album (Mäkelä, 97; Glock, 2006). Lachey is also attempting to get back in touch with his roots as a sports fanatic, appearing as a host for segments of ESPN’s college football broadcasts and playing a professional baseball player for a TV pilot show (Tauber, et al, 2005). This return to his roots can also be seen as a further attempt to authenticate and redefine his celebrity status (Mäkelä, 117).

Overall, Lachey is breaking away from being the heart throb, boy band member who rode around on the coat tails of the sweet, sexy pop star he married. He is transforming his celebrity text to include identification as a serious musical artist, a potential actor, and a positive role model. He is defining himself as an individual, not as part of the Simpson/Lachey couple or as part of 98 Degrees. Time will tell if his new celebrity will last, or if his recent success is attributed to the drama of his public relationship and divorce. One thing is for certain, Nick Lachey is not giving up himself or the power of celebrity.

Bibliography

Delamoir, J. (2002). Eyes wide shut: Tom, Nicole, stardom and visual memory. Transformations, No. 3. http://transformations.cqu.edu.au/journal/issue_03/pdf/delamoir.pdf

Glock, A. (2006, May 4). Nick Lachey: King of pain. Rolling Stone, 999, 38-45. Retrieved October 20, 2006, from Academic Search Premier database.

Holmes, S. (2005). ‘Off guard, unkempt, unready?’: Deconstructing contemporary celebrity in heat magazine. Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, 19, 1, 21-38.

Mustafa, N. (2005). The role of celebrities in marketing: A background paper for the Cass Creatives: Stars in our eyes. City University, London. http://www.interactiveknowhow.co.uk/events/reports/cass_06_backgrounder.pdf

Tauber, M., Sóuter, E., Baker, K.C., Fowler, J., Dagostine, M., McGee, T., et al. (2005, December 12). Inside the split. People, 64, 24, 58-65. Retrieved October 20, 2006 from Academic Search Premier database.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/transformation