Cruz Beckham, the 11-year-old son of David and Victoria Beckham, has a lovely singing voice. You wouldn’t be at all surprised if he was given a solo in the school play.
And followers of the brand Beckham behemoth are already well aware of Cruz’s vocal skills, thanks to the series of carefully crafted Instagram clips of him singing hits by the likes of Faith Evans and Twista, published by his parents over recent months.
The Daily Beast speculated at the time of those clips being released that these were perhaps more than the simple snapshots of a proud mum and dad—that they were morsels of bait being put out to gauge interest in Cruz, and that Cruz was lining himself up for a job in the entertainment arm of the family business (Victoria was the pop star Posh Spice before she was a fashion designer, lest we forget).
We even questioned whether a Scooter Braun-type impresario would seek to sign up the youngest Beckham boy, after his parents had publicized his talents to their 5 million followers.
And, lo, like a Christmas miracle, it has come to pass that young Cruz this week released what he describes on his Instagram account—managed by none other than Scooter Braun, his new manager—as his ‘first’ single.
It’s a suitably saccharine number entitled If Every Day Was Christmas. It is racing up the charts—bookies make it a 7/1 shot to be the Christmas number one.
All the proceeds, naturally, are going to charity.
Few would contest the fact that without his famous name, young Cruz would not be in with a shot for Christmas number one (the family have a pattern in this regard; Cruz’s brother, Brooklyn, was asked to do a shoot for Burberry and Romeo was the star of the brand’s 2014 campaign).
But the question of whether it is right for his parents to promote him—or allow him to promote himself—at such a tender age has been a topic of hot debate in the UK this week.
The TV host Piers Morgan was among the first to suggest Cruz’s new single was nothing but a cynical exercise in extending the Beckham brand to the next generation of tweens, saying on Twitter: “He’s an 11-yr-old child being cynically pimped out by his famous parents with your collusion. Be proud Scooter!”
Braun responded, “He is an 11 year old who wanted to make a song to help other kids. Once again Piers shows why he is a jackass and why his show was cancelled.”
The truth is perhaps somewhere between the two.
Judith Joseph, MD, a child and adolescent psychiatrist based in New York City and a clinical instructor at New York University Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, told The Daily Beast that Cruz would likely be better equipped to face the challenges of fame than the child of non-famous parents, and that his parents should not be “shamed” for allowing their kid to follow his dreams.
Joseph, who has worked with several high-profile and famous families, said, “Not every famous couple has kids who seek fame. The majority are not seeking fame. However, if a child wants that, and is intrinsically motivated and truly enjoys pursuing their dream in that public way, then why not? Why hold them back?
“Its all about making sure the right foundation is there, that parents are supportive and nurturing, and about reassuring the child that no mater what happens, they will always be loved and always have that safe space to return to.
“I tend to advise parents who have children who are seeking to develop talent, to remind the child that no mater what they are loved and you will be proud of them.”
However, Dr. Jonathan Lauter, a child psychiatrist in New York City, took a contrary view, telling The Daily Beast: “All children grow up by modelling themselves on their parents very closely, so if you had two very famous parents it might well seem normal in that family unit to go about pursuing fame.
“But I would counsel anyone who is famous to recall what it was like to be 11, and if they would have been able to step into the glowing light of fame—and social media—at that age. I can’t imagine anyone really thinking they would be able to step up on that stage, to manage it in a way that was truly coming from their own heart and mind at that age.
“There are Mozarts in history, but not many. And Mozart may have made us all better—but it didn’t turn out so well for him.”
