Can MTV's Rock the Cradle Create Success for Children of Famous Performers?

"Rock the Cradle of Love" was a hit song by Billy Idol back in the spiked hair, skinny tie, new wave punk 80s. It also happens to inspire the name of MTV's latest venture into the talent contest genre, "Rock the Cradle". "Rock the Cradle" is trying to edge its way into the crowded field of reality/contest television like Dancing with the Stars, American Idol, or America's Best Dance Crew. However, "Rock the Cradle" is not planning on using celebrities as contestants or mostly complete unknowns who have hopes of being projected into stardom. "Rock the Cradle" is going somewhere in between- sons and daughters of famous musicians who haven't already signed major record deals.

The list of contestants should bring back a few memories: Jesse Blaze Snider, Dee Snider's (Twisted Sister) son; Olivia Newton-John's daughter Chloe Rose Lattanzi; Crosby Loggins, Kenny Loggins' son; Eddie Money's daughter Jesse Money; Joe Walsh's (The Eagles) daughter Lucy Walsh; Lil B. Sure, Al B. Sure's son; Lara Johnston Tom Johnston's (lead singer of the Doobie Brothers) daughter; MC Hammer's daughter Akeiba Burrell Hammer; and Bobby Brown's son Landon Brown. The judges- Go-Go Belinda Carlisle, choreographer Jamie King, Stylist Julie Ambrose and former Britney manager Larry Rudolph- do give some insight but are rarely on the same page in scoring.

In the history of rock n' roll or pop music, musician offspring have sometimes been successful breaking away from their more famous parents. Jacob Dylan had a few hits with his band The Wallflowers. Ricky Nelson's twin sons, Matthew and Gunnar, found pop success at the end of the 80s with songs like "Love and Affection". But can these latest hatchlings fly far from the nest, or will America tell them to leave the singing to mom and dad?

Taking a look at the first episode, "Rock the Cradle" did show some musicians with a chance of going towards stardom and some that could have been adopted. The cradle kids were asked to perform songs that symbolized their relationship with their parents. Eddie Money's daughter Jesse was able to squeeze some impressive notes with her cover of Three Doors Down song "When I'm Gone". However, Landon Brown was completely unimpressive covering Seal's "Crazy" and had a 1/10^th of the stage presence that dad Bobby had back in his heyday. When asked what he thought of his son's performance, Bobby Brown paused for a minute and said "I'm happy with anything he does". Ahem. And although this show is supposed to be about children breaking away and trying to develop careers on their own merits, Dee Snider had no problem stating that he had to get special permission from Robert Plant so that Jesse could sing "Rock N' Roll". Actually, I'm not sure if he really sang it because he was so full of energy and shows that it was hard to tell if he stayed on key.

The most impressive and highly rated performance came from Lucy Walsh, whose father was the only one not to show up to the contest because he does not agree with reality television. Yet you could see and hear every emotion coming out of her perfect notes when she chose none other than Don Henley's song "Forgiveness" as her performance piece.

There are some interesting background stories floating around that could make "Rock the Cradle" a more intriguing show for younger and older generations to enjoy. For instance, Chloe Lattanzi spoke of being so lonely during her formative years that she developed an anorexia problem. Landon talked openly about his dad's wild days and mentioned that he only saw him three or four times a year, yet they maintain a strong bond. Hammer's daughter is actually majoring in Theatre and Music. And there was a lot of talk about drugs. If this show turns out to be a success, it would be fun to see what next crop of performers would dare turn up and face the music in front of their peers AND parents. Catch "Rock the Cradle" live on Thursday nights on MTV.