“The star’s eating issues began in her early teens, when the budding singer was told by a music exec that she had to lose weight if she wanted to succeed,” the article read.

It obviously isn’t fair, but that’s simply the way things were. Luckily, that’s changing for the better, and the Internet is the reason why.

In the past, if you wanted to become a music superstar, you needed a huge record label to sign you. That label had the power to get you on television and radio and put your album in the stores. You couldn’t just do that all by yourself.

But with the Internet, the game has completely changed. Just get your song on the Web, and it can suddenly get loads of attention. No singer embodies this phenomenon quite like 14-year-old Greyson Chance. Someone posted a video of his school talent show performance of Lady Gaga’s song “Paparazzi” to YouTube, and two weeks later he was performing on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

Adele profited in a similar way. She got attention by recording a demo her friend later posted on Myspace. Her first album became hugely popular in the United Kingdom and gained a small American audience with the song “Chasing Pavements.” Then she returned with a song called “Rolling in the Deep” that, while not an ordinary pop hit, was just too good for anyone to ignore.

She wasn’t among Columbia Records’ biggest assets (Beyoncé, Glee, Train), but that song influenced the company to promote “21” very heavily. The music video went viral, and the American people listened and fell in love.

Thus, the musical playing field is leveling. Explore the array of talent online and hear for yourself. If your favorite artists are still Britney Spears and Nickelback, what’s wrong with you?