You can always Google your favorite artists and check up on them in the trashy celeb magazines from the checkout stand, but without VH1’s “Behind the Music,” how well do you really know these musicians? Thank goodness the cable network’s signature show is coming back soon to a TV set near you.
VH1 has ordered 10 new episodes of the show and Lil Wayne and Scott Weiland are two artists that have already jumped on board, according to the Hollywood Reporter.com.
After the iconic documentary program kicked off in 1997, the network stopped airing regular episodes of “Behind the Music” in 2002. VH1 aired a few episodes a year until 2006 and then featured a 90-minute live New Kids on the Block “Behind the Music” special last fall to coincide with NKOTB’s comeback. The episode featured the guys’ first public performance in more than a decade.
There was also a spinoff titled BTM2 that focused on younger artists.
"It felt like the time is right," Jeff Olde, VH1 executive VP original programming, said, according to the Hollywood Reporter. “There’s all sorts of new artists on the scene who have emerged and have these great stories. And there's other artists that we always wanted to do the first time around."
Oh, and don’t worry, host Jim Forbes will once again be brining his distinct voice as the show’s narrator.
So, which artists do you think deserve the “Behind the Music” treatment? What about Led Zeppelin, Elliott Smith, Prince, Tupac Shakur, Bruce Springsteen or one of the biggest drama-mamas of all, Amy Winehouse?
My editor had a suggestion of his own – "Or how about the late, great Milwaukee punk rocker GG Allin? That would definitely put the 'behind' back in 'Behind The Music.'" Um, Eww!
Read the Hollywood Reporter story here.
Click here for Wikipedia’s link to artists previously featured on “Behind the Music.”