Too Much Too Soon?

If a girl from your school got into a car accident and was sent to rehab, you'd probably feel bad for her. When it happened to Lindsay Lohan, the gossip rags - and America in general - loved it. It seems that more and more celebrities are "messing up" these days, particularly young girls who have skyrocketed to fame.

Many of these overnight sensations are musicians, who, thanks to free mp3s on the internet, become famous much faster than your run-of-the-mill wannabe actress. These young people have to deal with newfound attention from the media and the public, all while developing a career and learning the ropes of the music business. It's not surprising, then, that nervous breakdowns and bad behavior have recently become more and more common.


British chanteuse Lily Allen has sold over 523,000 copies of her debut album, Alright, Still, in the UK alone (it was released last summer). In America, she's sold over 300,000 copies - and it wasn't released here until this past January. She is the best example of an instant celebrity, someone who became famous in about 0.1 seconds. Keep in mind, this girl is only 22. If she weren't famous, she'd still be in college. However, she's been thrust into a world of glitz and glamour, and unsurprisingly, has fallen prey to many of its traps.

Allen recently canceled the remainder of her US tour because she "felt like it"; later, she said that she's tired, homesick, and drinking too much. This comment came after several performances at which she took shots onstage and, at one show, forgot the lyrics to one of her songs.

However, this past weekend, she performed at Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival (one of her last US dates) and drank repeatedly from a bottle of Jagermeister during her set. Clearly, she's not too worried about her drinking - hopefully it won't be an issue as she starts to write her second album.