Tagged As: Concert, General, Jessica Simpson, Kid Rock, Gnarls Barkley

In a world that seems to be obsessed with fusion-with the mix of rock and rap, of business and pleasure, of banking and –it is fun to play around with the world of fiction and the mass produced images of entertainment.

Imagine a world where the music stars of today are the main characters of a world set on the edge of destruction, a world whose very survival depends on the talents and careers of these celebrity magazines that only focus so much more on their celebrity.

In this world, the Pop Heroes reality, the world as we know is hinged on the ambitions and unique talents of these personalities. The Petrelli family, known for their ambition and Shakespearean backstabbing, is played by the Simpson family. Not the animated kind, but the real life kind whose antics are almost as unbelievable.

Joe Simpson is Angela Petrelli. He wished nothing more than the success of his children, but believes they have no clue how to attain it for themselves. He is involved in every aspect of their career. His main project is Jessica, who takes the role of Nathan. She may not be running for public office, but she is desperately trying to say in the public eye. Joe intervenes, moving her from pop princess to country class act.

Driven from the family be Joe’s ever tightening grip, Ashlee is Peter. She avoided the world of pop, with its promise of an innocent image and went for angst-driven rock. Everything in her life has been a counter to Jessica. Jessica marries a pop singer, she marries an emo guitar player. Jessica gets divorced, she has a baby.

While the Simpsons pay the first family of pop, the duo trying to be heroes is the group Gnarls Barkley. While Cee-Lo may get most of the recognition, like Hiro, Danger Mouse is as necessary for their quest, like Ando. That quest is to bring great music to a world suffering from bands without any soul. Gnarls Barkley ability to sample from every era of modern music and excite every crowd with truly good tunes, whether reminiscent of doo wop, funk, rock, alternative, or hip hop. Gnarls Barkley can jump effortlessly from era to era.

Along the way they meet the rest of the characters. Billy Ray Cyrus is the father, Noah Bennet, trying to make the world safe for his daughter, Miley Cyrus as Claire. He may not always do good, “My Achy Breaky Heart” and that creepy Vanity Fair photo, but his heart is in the right place. Miley does not realize her power and is struggling to deal with its consequences. While Claire deals with her ability to feel pain, Miley struggles with a career in between Disney and a more adult pop world with more consequences.

Gnarls Barkley also come across charcters with deep emotional pain and immense powers, like the electrolyte happy Elle Bishop on the show, or Amy Winehouse. Winehouse has a voice and presence that can dominate the stage, but her pain is obvious and gets in the way of her pursuit of happiness. She is perhaps the easiest and most direct comparison of all the characters.

A character with similar problems is the crazy split personality group of characters played by Ali Larter. The hot blonde can be warm and caring, super strong and sinister, and simply ice cold. Britney Spears own ride on the crazy train that has left her private life is jus t as broken and unpredictable as her professional career. Nobody knows what to except from Britney and it is not beyond comprehension for another personality to arise.

The main villain is Sylar and the main villain in the music industry is Kanye West. People love his music, but his popularity is derived from the great songs and beats of others. His sampling has made him a king, an egomaniac king with little thought for his audience or the effect of his work.

Some work to understand his ability and no hero show would be complete without a scientist. Mohinder Suresh is this scientist on the show and Pharrell Williams is his equivalent. Both mean well and both are brilliant behind the scenes, but any attempt to join the fight in the forefront end s badly. Dr. Suresh becomes a monster and Williams becomes a failed solo artist who ends up joining forces with Kanye.

Of course all these characters cannot survive without their powers and abilities. The Haitian is the great equalizer on the show, stripping away every advantage these characters have and making them painfully average. The talent drain on the music industry is Kid Rock.

The scraggily haired, white trash looking rocker/rapper single-handedly killed the rock-rap movement of the late ‘90s and has done his part in taking Sheryl Crow out of the mainstream. He even somehow ruined the sexiness that was Pamela Anderson. Nobody, not even Kanye dares work with the artist for fear ending their career and fading away to normalcy in a world where greatness and popularity is king.