TEEN MUSIC Ushering in new stars

Young, black male artists are experiencing an upsurge in popularity.
By JIM FARBER
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
They're back -- the screaming girls, their earplug-wearing parents and the endless fan magazines eager to gush over the singing stars' favorite colors.
A new crop of teen pop is seizing the lunch money of a generation. Yet this swelling wave breaks from previous ones in that it comprises black male stars, such as new sensation Chris Brown, as opposed to earlier trends that showcased white teen boys and girls.
"Now it's time for black teens like never before," says Craig Kallman, CEO of Atlantic Records, which is pushing several key acts in this movement.
Back in the stone ages of the late '90s, the dominant teen stars were white "boy bands" who sang rhythm and blues (Backstreet Boys, *NSync), or solo females with much the same sound (Britney, Christina).
The subsequent trend, which crested over the past two years, saw a surge in white, teen solo artists performing pop-rock (see Hilary Duff, Ryan Cabrera and Ashlee Simpson).
Making their mark
Now, this latest class of black males perform R & amp;B and sometimes rap. Among the most prominent are:
UChris Brown, a 16-year-old who has the No. 1 hit in the country with "Run It." His self-titled debut CD just hit stores.
UB5, a P. Diddy-sponsored quintet from Atlanta, ages 10 to 17, who last week made national headlines when its appearance at a mall touched off a riot.
UPretty Ricky, four young rappers who, in the past few months, have sold more than 600,000 copies of their debut CD, "Blue Stars."
UBobby Valentino, an R & amp;B singer inked to Ludacris' label who moved nearly 700,000 copies of his debut earlier this year.
UTrey Songz, whose first album, "I Gotta Make It," has hung on the charts for 17 weeks now.
UA rash of more seasoned teen-oriented stars -- including Omarion, Marques Houston and Bow Wow -- have headlined the Scream Tour, the top teen roadshow of 2005.
Who's responsible?
According to observers, one man bears key responsibility for this trend: Usher.
Last year, the star sold 8 million records, making him 2005's biggest seller, while proving the escalating power of R & amp;B. Yet Usher's success also gave the former teen star a more adult audience, leaving a void for the kids.
"Usher's success proved there was room for many more to come up," says Atlantic's Kallman, whose company signed Trey Songz and Pretty Ricky.
"Usher is the yardstick all these guys measure themselves by," adds Erik Parker, music editor of Vibe Magazine.
Yet for all of Usher's appeal, there's a deeper reason that American kids, and record companies, have invested more in young, black pop idols.
"We're at a point now where it's OK for the Elvis figure to be black," says Stephen Hill, programming V.P. for BET's hot teen program "106th & amp; Park." "Throughout American history, African-Americans were creating a sound, but you had to find a white face to put on it. Now it's palatable, if not preferable, to put an African-American face on it."
The change came about through the ever-growing influence, and mainstreaming, of hip hop and R & amp;B over the last decade. But the hip-hop portion of that equation had an inadvertent role in advancing the kid's trend. "A lot of rap is too hard for the younger crowd," says Kallman. "[And] there's a reaction at radio against too much hip-hop. Now they want more R & amp;B to balance it out."
Show is a force
It's not just radio that has goosed the trend. "106th & amp; Park" has proven a powerful force, as well. "Careers are made and broken by an appearance on that show," says Matthew Rettenmund, editor of Pop Star! Magazine, which features Brown on its next cover.
Obviously, teen pop is hardly a new phenomenon for black artists. Witness stars ranging from the Jackson 5 to New Edition to Dru Hill. But the past few years have seen a void in this area. The industry's first hint that now might be the time to fill it came from the success of four black teens named B2K, who had hits starting in 2002. The group even had its own Hollywood movie, "You Got Served." Just as the flick was about to be released, however, they broke up. Their most popular member, Omarion, went on to a solo career, which set the mold for this latest wave.
"B2K broke the door open for all these acts," says Parker.
Def Jam Records has been particularly attuned to this ever since Jay-Z took the helm of the company earlier this year. His first two signings were teen females (Rihanna and Teiarra Mari). His label has since signed male artists Ne-yo (22 years old), Lil' Mike (11) and Young Leek (15). "If you come in and you're 16, or 17, with music that speaks for itself -- how can you deny that?" asks Def Jam Executive A & amp;R man Jay Brown.