August 26, 2005 @ 6:58 pm

Sex and the Single Teenager

Lynne d. Johnson

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A throng of lassies descended upon Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night for the Scream IV Tour, much like a swarm of flies hover around doggy poo. Though B2K was not headlining this year, as had been signature of previous Tours, the lineup featuring 3 of 3, B5, Pretty Ricky, Bobby Valentino, Marques Houston, Omarion, Bow Wow, and many surprise guests, was just the right mix of pubescent testosterone to cause massive female teenage swooning. In its fourth year, the Scream Tour, a black male teen pop/R&B/hip-hop revue of sorts, has often been just as risqué as any grown and sexy tour (perhaps even more so). This year was no different, as the crowd volume heightened with each pelvic thrust, hip gyration, mock strip performance, flash of six-pack abs, or leer into the camera. In case you hadn’t noticed, sex sells, even in the 'tween and teen markets. Almost every performer announced that he was searching for the right girl to take back to the hotel. And nearly every young lady in the audience was willing to offer herself. "Where all 'da single ladies at?" Guest performers included Juelz Santana, Lil Wayne, Miri Ben-Ari, Mike Jones, Ciara, and Jermaine Dupri with JD, Da Brat, and Bow Wow. But the show’s highlight was the dynamic duo of Bow Wow and Omarion. Beggining with a cover of R. Kelly and Jay-Z's "Best Of Both Worlds," they broke into a back-and-forth tag team effort fueled with youthful energy and vibrancy spending most of the night leading up to their collaborative summer hit, "Let Me Hold You" — with tribute to Luther Vandross, who is sampled in the song. As entertainers these young men are awesome, though they have yet to prove that they can live up to the artistry of grown men like R. Kelly and Jay-Z. Fortunately, they’re still journeying from boys to men and able to ride on the coattails of their childhood successes—and of course, a little boyish sex appeal.

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