How do I explain why I like pop music while so many other people do not? Musical tastes differ from person to person just like their tastes in food. Take brownies for example. You may love the way the chocolate-goodness melts in your mouth, the way the smell of freshly baked brownies fills the kitchen, or simply the way they can somehow make any bad day seem better.

But while some people relish having a plate of brownies to themselves, other people abhor these culinary delights. They hate the taste, the smell, or even the moist texture of brownies. There's no ryhme or reason why some people like brownies and other do not. The people who like eating brownies eat brownies, and the people who do not…eat cake.

Pop music is like brownies.

Some people thoroughly enjoy the bouncy beats of artists such as BB Mak, *NSYNC, Christina Aguilara, or Ricky Martin. While other people enjoy other musicians such as Creed, Eminem, or Destiny's Child which represent various other genres of music.

Some of these same people seem to believe that pop music goes against the unwritten commandment of teenagers that dictates when teenagers reach a certain age, we have to listen to allegedly subversive music. But then again, have we not always been encouraged to use music as a way of expressing ourselves?

When rock 'n roll first became a reality, it was considered a joke by many in the music industry. In fact, the term "rock 'n roll" refers to the rocking of the car while two people are "rolling" around in the backseat. Artists were once considered the pinnacle of the rock 'n roll industry; now their music is considered to be a part of pop music's history.

They were not given the respect the deserved by the people of their time simply because "teenyboppers" were their largest fan base. People had at one time said that they "would never last", but now, 50 years later, a 7-year-old child can recognize Elvis.

Who's to say that this exact situation will not repeat itself?

Pop artists in today's society probably ask themselves this exact same question. Behind all of the hype their publicity managers generate, these "pop princesses" and "boybands" are just like us. They wake up in the morning and put on their pants one leg at a time.

Bands such as BB Mak, stood outside of music studios in the freezing cold armed with nothing but a couple of guitars and a big dream. Maybe the reason why us "teenyboppers" care so much about these puppets of money is because in them we see some of our own hopes and dreams.

Like BB Mak, the group *NSYNC formed themselves after working together on the Mickey Mouse Club (MMC) and Universal Studios' musical productions of Beetlejuice's Graveyard Review and "It's a Doo wop Thing." Also, much like BB Mak, *NSYNC wrote and produced most of the songs on their album No Strings Attached and their upcoming album due out in May. *NSYNC member JC Chasez wrote the song "You Don't Have To Be Alone" from the movie The Grinch, and has written numerous other songs for several other musicians such as Wild Orchid and Blaque. *NSYNC and BB Mak are only two prime examples of musicians that do not conform to the boyband stereotype, just think of how many more musicians are not receiving the credit that they deserve.

I can remember rushing home everyday after school when I was a little kid just so that I could watch The Mickey Mouse Club (MMC), just to see what new hilarious predicament the character "Wipeout" was going to get himself into and to watch the cast members sing and dance their hearts out. Eleven years later I still love and admire these people who have worked so hard to become the musicians that they are today.

Not many people know that a couple years after the cancellation of the MMC, Christina Aguilara at the age of sixteen sang the national anthem during a Pittsburg Pirate's baseball game at Three Rivers Stadium.

Nor do many people know that before Ricky Martin became a success, he was cast as Marius in the national tour of Les Miserables. If someone out there knows how I can get a lead in a Broadway musical without any vocal talents, then by golly gosh, I'm willing to pay.

Many feel that pop music "corrupts society." However, these exact same "puppets of money" encourage cultural diversity within the music industry through their albums and songs. They have also donated their time and money to such charitable causes as Challenge For The Children, The Justin Timberlake Foundation, The Humane Society, Awareness For A Prejudice Free America, Child Watch, and Habitat For Humanity.

Now don't even begin to think that pop fans are living in some type of happy, fluffy, pink, "Pop artists can do no wrong" bubble. We have seen Behind the Music shows about the Osmands and David Cassidy, and we know that groups such as 98 Degrees are not as goody-goody as their images portray them. Yes we do enjoy looking at the baby faces and listening to the perky music, but there is so much more substance behind what some of the boyband publicity indicates.

I've grown up with *NSYNC (if not matured). I do not ask that you become a teenybopper and worship pop music, but that you at least respect other's musical preferences. Try to remove the blindfold that our society has generated about pop icons and judge them for their talent, not just their "pretty boy" images.