By Sterling Martinez

Throughout the nation, there are certain people who definitely stand out, especially among the young, wild and free.

Some of these people include Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Drake, Lorde, the Kardashians, Taylor Swift, and Rihanna. These people are taking the world by storm, some in better ways than others.

Many celebrities use sex appeal and negative buzz to get noticed instead of using talent. It seems easier for a celebrity to make a headline once they have had an affair, gotten divorced or done something really unorthodox. For example, people like the Kardashians and Miley Cyrus are without a doubt entertaining but aren’t really being noticed for the most flattering things.

This has been the way some people have made it in Hollywood for a long time. Jayne Mansfield was a very attractive woman who made a lot of headlines as well as money and stated “A 41-inch bust and a lot of perseverance will get you more than a cup of coffee –a lot more.” And she also said, “You gotta have a body.” I feel that she was implying that having a nice rack would get you further than talent. This was in the 1950s, and the mentality that it is okay to be sexy and not have talent while still be famous started all the way back then.

Cyrus’ appearance at the MTV VMAs this year was not very appreciated or accepted by the viewers and even more so by

the parents of young viewers. The performance included Cyrus grinding on co-performer Robin Thicke and using a foam finger in many provocative ways including pretending it was a her penis. Cyrus received a lot of publicity for her performance. I personally think that she should have thought twice about the things that she was going to do. I understand that the performance was an attempt to have fun in front of a camera, but that’s why there is the app Snapchat. She didn’t have to use a camera that has a live feed to a majority of the continent. Her video for her song Wrecking Ball took her negative publicity a few degrees further, as it featured her swinging naked on a wrecking ball. She claimed that this was an attempt to seem vulnerable. That would have been the case had she not been rubbing, grinding, biting her lips and licking a sledge hammer.

The Kardashians only get on the news when they have sex tapes released, marriages that last seventy-two days, or argue over how to raise each other’s daughters (who happen to have ridiculous names). They are only famous due to their last name and their ridiculously annoying reality show which doesn’t even need to exist.

Rihanna started out very innocent, and then after the big abuse scandal with Chris Brown, she really gained her edge. She does have talent, but I think that she is using sexuality to get noticed when she wouldn’t have done that earlier in her career. She has since picked up the pipe and used Instagram to show her stoner pride.

On the other hand, there are people in Hollywood who do have talent. Britney Spears, although she has had her drama blasted on the news, does have a natural talent for performing. Lady Gaga is very artistic and creative and makes very good music that all end up with very uniquely creative videos and outfits that I do think are very unique in a good way. Taylor Swift can also make very catchy music that I don’t mind singing along to, and once you figure out which boy, it becomes very informational about her love life. Katy Perry can most definitely perform and make music; she has a great stage presence that I love viewing and is very good at singing her great songs. Lorde, despite being only sixteen years old, can sing and song write terrifically. She is a true prodigy of this time, and she never thinks of shaking her derriere for attention, which, I completely appreciate and admire.

The only thing that is for certain is that this is how Hollywood has existed for so long. The difference is, instead of posing sensually with your 41 inch bust like Mansfield did, people nowadays are flipping their hair and grinding while mostly naked. Some celebrities have talent and others have sexuality but either way they get headlines, features on ET and Facebook pages with over two million likes. Sometimes even the most pointless things trend, and it is very upsetting when dumb things like “What does the fox say?” and Cyrus’ butt on Thicke’s crotch get more attention than the actual achievements made by actresses and artists who have real talent. Before you retweet or like something think about it; why do you like it?