Carlton, Branch & Lavigne Are Doing Something Different

Randy Lewis of the Los Angeles Times profiled Avril Lavigne, Vanessa Carlton, and Michelle Branch, who profiled the young women who write most of their own song, and how it is showing teens have outgrown teen pop. “What happened in the teen pop wave is that a small group of producers and writers wrote the majority of the hits for *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, [Britney Spears] and 98 Degrees, and there was a sameness to it,” A&M Records President Ron Fair says. “With radio, once they feel a certain sound is working with listeners, they’ll really pound it. It’s a vicious circle. That sound becomes saturated, then one day, it is no more. Along come Vanessa Carlton and Michelle Branch, who are doing something different, something that’s coming from more of a rock place.”