And going from Timothy Olyphant (I'd do anything to help promote his career) to Justin Bieber (who I don't know much about and don't really care to learn). Yet I ran across this little tidbit and couldn't resist sharing. Justin is being taught how to pimp his roll! Sounds like a Justin of another kind that we know and don't love. Do we have a Timberlake in the making? Details, via E!'s Answer Bitch: You speak of Ryan Good, a self-described "cool white boy" hired by Justin Bieber's mentor, Usher, to travel about with the singer and teach him the wisdom of wardrobe layering and other ways of the world. The title apparently originated from Bieber himself, when he called Good his "swagger coach" in an interview.
Technically, though, Good's official title is "road manager," but that may not be the real story... given Good's job description.
From the Toronto Star:
In a business that's as much about image as sound, Bieber's
co-manager, R&B star Usher, 31, hand-picked a wardrobe consultant/Man
Friday for the youth.
"He has helped me with my style and just putting
different pieces together and being able to layer and stuff like that,"
said Bieber of the ministrations of Ryan Good, 24, whose official title is road
manager.
The Star also quotes Bieber as crediting Good for teaching
him "different swaggerific things to do."
As for other up-and-coming young singers--yeah, no. They don't have swagger coaches. "I've never heard of such a thing," one label source tells me. And the source doubts Good serves as a hard-core road manager.
"If your job qualifications are 'Usher called me and
said he thought Justin would benefit from being around a cool white boy,' then,
no, I don't think you're doing anything real. Then again, it could be that the
swagger coach is really just Bieber's assistant."
Yes, singers do often have stylists with them, particularly while touring. But they're not typically hanging around with the talent day and night--unless they have a certain personality reminiscent of another high-maintenance singer. "Well, if you're Mariah or something, yeah," my label source says. "That's a diva move."
Lastly, this whole phenomenon begs the question: Is there money in swagger coaching? Kind of. "Generally hangers-on--security, assistants, etc.--make around $1,000 a week," my source says. "Though, of course, a proper stylist would cost much more." Well, yeah, but can a proper stylist teach a young man the art of the swagger? Hell to the no.]
An insightful reader at Answer Bitch had this to say:
[Years ago I met someone working for a P.R. firm who confided to me that Justin Timberlake, who'd just left N*Sync and was embarking on a solo career, had hired their agency to create an "image" for himself that would help him move past the 'boy band'-thing * in essence: a swagger coach. So it's certainly not unique. As the article mentions, image IS everything.]
Heh, heh. "Cool white boy" is a phrase that's going to be very tough to shake from my lexicon. I take this to mean we've got years of Bieber being shoved down our throats, whether we want it or not. Hint: I don't want it.
[Photo Credit: Wow, that is one cool white boy! So cool, that Justin gets the Speidi ban.]
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