No matter that [what?] the media slings at her, she always comes back on top!

Yeah, scum always rises to the top of the pond, eh?

It’s pop music, FFS, one of the most disposable products on the planet. It’s not as if we’re talking about doctors or teachers or farmers or soldiers or anyone else useful here. It’s mindless entertainment.

There’s nothing wrong with mindless entertainment. We all need down-time. But to put pop musicians on pedestals is just… stupid. I’m continually amused by the angry, emotional responses to any criticism of a pop star — as if we’d depicted Mohammed as a pig in drag.

Melissa is hardly “a huge talent” either or she’d have had plenty of work before now.

Think about who will support you the wayh yhou [sic] do to them

What? You’re not seriously suggesting that in my dotage I rely on having the “support” of mindless fans seeking someone to adore? No thanks, I’ll go with a superannuation strategy of some kind.

As Snarky Platypus hints, it’s pretty obvious there’s astroturf for Melissa. Votes were posted from a Surry Hills creative agency that works for several artist management firms just a few days before news reports that Melissa was in that SBS program. Are you part of that?

I’d much prefer honest conversation over a fake persona. Let’s talk about Melissa’s strengths and weaknesses. Let’s talk about the show. Let’s not pretend to be teenagers in MySpace.

[Update: Gosh, the email address blackcatbondi@hotmail.com doesn't exist. What a surprise. And neither does the URL you link to. Is there any truth in what you've written?]

Get a somewhat coherent street team. It might help your profile a little bit.

“guys we have to give credit to any artist who is able to continue release any type of music or film a tv show-
MElissa is a huge talent and she wouldnt of made it before if she wasnt talented.

she has had no botox get over your self she has so much time for her fans and her new music rocks

go write about some one who doesnt care about there fans like madonna or kylie or britney.

Think about who will support you the wayh yhou do to them

x love ur work but cheer melissa up not bring her down, she brought much joy then and now.

: ) peace

i thonk there is a war already going on in iraq, leave that negative crap to them.

love x black cat

Gee, I wonder if it’s anything to do with news that Melissa is about to star in a new SBS comedy The Couriers:

There was a time when acting jobs were so thin on the ground Melissa Tkautz resorted to spruiking erectile dysfunction spray. But a new television role could make her a household name again, which she hasn’t been since she starred in 1990s soap E Street and recorded two hit singles…

The Couriers is guaranteed to help raise the profile of the tiny blonde, who admits the past few years have had “lots of low points”.

What also seems “guaranteed” to lift Melissa’s profile is a fairly obvious series of votes on this poll… should I do a bit of tracking?

Current voting:

artist	votes	%
Amy Winehouse	2	3%
Anthony Callea	9	12%
Björk	3	4%
Britney Spears	2	3%
Dannii Minogue	3	4%
Kylie Minogue	20	26%
Madonna	7	9%
Melissa Tkautz	25	32%
Olivia Newton-John	4	5%
someone else	2	3%

Hat-tip to the Snarky Platypus for privately informing me of this vital Melissa news.

artist	votes	%
Amy Winehouse	1	2%
Anthony Callea	9	16%
Björk	3	5%
Britney Spears	2	3%
Dannii Minogue	2	3%
Kylie Minogue	17	29%
Melissa Tkautz	13	22%
Olivia Newton-John	4	7%
someone else	2	3%

This surge in votes for Melissa is most heartening.

I should probably wrap this up soon and think of something else.

@Snarky Platypus: Anthony Callea may not have done anything quite like Read My Lips, but he did do a version of Young Boys Are My Weakness with Kate Ceberano at the ARIA Awards after-party the other year. Will the good Catholic boy become a Scientologist?

Snarky Platypus – Anthony Callea is a singer and a great performer on his tours, he’s definately no princess, you oviously havent been to any of his concerts to not know this.

Why isn’t Darren Hayes on the the list, who is clearly way over the top in his performance or Jake Shears, Elton John, George Michael, Jamiroquai, Mika, ……………..

artist	votes	%
Amy Winehouse	0	0
Anthony Callea	4	15%
Björk	1	4%
Britney Spears	1	4%
Dannii Minogue	0	0%
Kylie Minogue	8	30%
Melissa Tkautz	4	15%
Olivia Newton-John	4	15%
someone else	2	7%

So how come Kylie Minogue is currently well in the lead, but zero votes for Dannii — while Dannii did so well in the poll for Governor-General? Riddle me that!

• “Hands off my detonator” as a lyric.
• Melissa’s “rap” bit. It’s kind of like Debbie Harry’s rap on “Rapture”, but a whole lot more dubious (and the rap in “Rapture” is dubious enough)
• The “do it do it do it” bridge. I like the intonation of this part — it’s just so… half-arsed (like most of the song really).
• 90s colour scheme in the video
• With dodgy 90s dancing. Yes, that is Simon Baker in the video. He was porking Melissa at the time.

Melissa has other worthy characteristics of a pop princess — too much involvement in soaps, a brief and intense moment of popularity which can never be regained and passably good looks that vanished at the sight of the wrong end of 30 (I see she’s a bit too botoxed now).

As for the others, well I think Kylie is a “pop artiste” now (judging by the pretensions of her last album) and Amy Winehouse and Britney are more like “pop rehab junkies” as opposed to princesses. Madonna is more the “queen mother” of pop (drop the “urban” song please). I’m sure Anthony Callea wants to be the princess of pop, but unfortunately logistics get in the way.