I’ve Got a Crush on You
A few weeks ago while watching the BET Awards I had an embarrassing revelation. My first celebrity crush was this guy:
Yes, El DeBarge. The guy who showed up at the BET Awards looking like a sleazy extra from the set of Grease. But that man can sing! You know that “All This Love” was your song back in the day. Don’t front. For me, his performance was one of the highlights of this year’s award show. And in the 1980s he stole my heart with the single “Rhythm of the Night.” That was the first piece of music my parents bought for me. It was on a 45 record (if you don’t know what that is you’re probably too young to be reading this blog) and I listened to it at least twice a day.
Reminiscing about the good ol’ days made me want to do a little roundup of my other childhood celebrity crushes. Edd always says that (excluding him, of course) I like guys who either look like goofy nerds or could pass for girls. Let’s see if there’s any truth to that:
Tevin Campbell
Don’t act like I’m the only girl who wanted Tevin to show up at her birthday party like he did for Ashley Banks on “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” I remember screaming to the TV, I have long hair too. Come sing to me!
Leonardo DiCaprio
Perhaps he looks a bit feminine in this photo, but he’s certainly all man now. And what’s wrong with a pretty boy? As a girl, I had Leonardo’s poster above my bed. The day I put it up my dad asked my mom, “Who is that skinny white boy on my baby’s wall?” White, black, or purple, he’s still sexy to me.
Luke Perry
Let’s be honest. Who wasn’t in love with Dylan from 90210? His poster also made the bedroom wall and convinced my dad he’d have mixed grandbabies.
Kel Mitchell
Okay, so I may see where Edd gets the idea that I like goofy dudes, but Kel was so cute and funny to me when I was 14. I even embarked on a mission to meet him after finding out some Nickelodeon stars would be at Six Flags Over Georgia the same day that my science class was going for a field trip. I searched the park for him all day, but he wasn’t there after all. I only met Kenan. Sigh.
And last but not least…
The Coreys!
The 80s wouldn’t have been half as fun without Corey Haim and Corey Feldman and teen classics like License to Drive and The Lost Boys. Fun fact: My first boyfriend was named Corey. A coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not.
I can’t say I had a thing for Leonardo back in the day. He was far too pretty for me but now it is a completely different story. I thought I was the only one that sang the hell out Rthyme of the Night. In fact, thanks to you, I will probably be singing it all day remembering the good ole days.
And yes I was a Perry fan as well. I think that it was his raspy voice that did it.
I think we had the same posters plastering our walls and the same reactions from our fathers! I also liked “21 Jump Street” Johnny Depp and Joe McIntyre, although I wasn’t much of a New Kids on the Block fan.
OMG! Karri, I loved NKOTB and I wanted to marry Jordan Knight. I can’t believe I left him off the list. I had his poster too.