Denim Jackets and Pretend Microphones

My friends and I would pretend to be part of their group, imagining ourselves on episodes of the show just like we were playing school or house.

In our minds, our hair was longer, more permed, and much bigger than our own locks when we looked in the mirror.

Our imaginary clothes were fashion-perfect, slouchy socks and oversized tunics and colored Reebok high-tops, perfectly styled by someone other than our mothers.

We would chat casually about the boys in our group, though none of the boys we knew in real life would have been caught dead playing our game, nor would we have ever had the nerve to ask them.

Finally, but crucially, we could all sing and dance better than anyone but Madonna herself. 

We, of course, were the girls from Kids Incorporated.

Like so many kids' shows in the eighties, Kids Incorporated addressed serious issues, like bullying and child abuse, but the hook was the "incorporation" of pop music into each episode.  The music was our focus.  The music and the effortless cool that the group members exuded as they burst into song in the middle of an after school hangout/entertainment mecca.

Playing our game didn't involve much preparation.  Most of it took place in our imaginations, requiring only some item that could stand in for a microphone during our painful performances.  I might not been able to pull my short hair into much of a ponytail, but I could pretend to fling it around while singing and swaying to the music.

We would take turns playing the different parts, switching back and forth between Stacy and Renee, sisters who looked nothing alike. 

We would push up the sleeves of our denim jackets and morph into older, more worldly versions of ourselves, dreaming that our dance lessons were preparation for what was surely a destiny of stardom and success.

Slowly, the game lost its charm.  The cast changed, the actresses outgrowing the parts, the seed planted for the eventual explosion of Stacy Ferguson into Fergie, other stars from the show reaching lesser heights.

As innocent as it seemed at the time, I wonder a little about the show's hesitation to follow its characters past their preteen days.  If the producers were willing to tackle seemingly tough issues head-on, why not tackle the toughest obstacle of all for so many kids - growing up?

Still, I remember my time as an imaginary child singing sensation fondly.

Even if the closest I can get to that reality is turning up the Black Eyed Peas just a little louder on my runs.

the Kids Incorporated girls would have rocked the tutu pajamas

I just know it

This is a response to the RemembeRED prompt:

This week, we want you to think about tv show from your past.

What feelings does the show evoke? What memories does it trigger?