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Hsu's response was to form Superchic[k], a band aimed at helping teens graduate from high school with their self-esteem and individual identities intact.

The name Superchic[k] comes from a fan's AOL screen name, but for band members it is a lifestyle. When you become the person God wants you to be and you are secure about who that person is, you are a Superchic[k].

Or, as bassist Daly says, you achieve "Superchic[k]ness." "The issues that are dealt with are not just a girl thing, but a lifestyle," he says. "Superchic[k] is about being who God wants you to be, not about being a girl."

The band appeals to teens with fun, high-energy rock (the band calls it "pop-punk, hip-hop, disco-funk") and slips serious messages about self-worth into clever and humorous lyrics. Hsu describes it as a Twinkie with vitamins.

"We make it safe to be ordinary," says lead singer Tricia Brock. "I don't have to pretend to be anything to be a Christian. I am okay in God's eyes."

Though dressed up with a fun name and peppy tunes, the message of loving one's self is serious business in a culture of Britney Spears midriffs and Seventeen magazine sex quizzes. Karaoke Superstars applies the theme to such issues as sacrificing beliefs for popularity, setting unrealistic standards, persevering in adversity, and overcoming fears.

"When you first record, you don't know if somebody will really get fully what you are trying to say," guitarist Melissa Brock says. "But they really do understand it. Girls come up and tell us all the time, 'I didn't think anyone understood how I wanted to live.' "

The band's song most embraced by fans, "Barlow Girls," is based on real-life sisters the band met three years ago at Wisconsin's Life Fest. Members were impressed with the Barlows' outlook on themselves, purity, and dating.

It can be tempting for teenagers to look for self-worth in the attention of the opposite sex, the song says, but the Barlows concentrate on discovering who God wants them to be. The girls don't date because they want to see who they will become.

"Girls are clinging to the term 'Barlow Girls,' " Tricia Brock says. "They want that standard to live by. They wanted someone to say it was cool to be pure. And now they have a name for it. Those girls are proud of living this way."

But Superchic[k] fans are not limited to girls or Christians. Regardless of their sex or faith, teenagers need to know—as hard as it is to accept at 15—that they aren't worth less because they have acne or don't look like a character on Dawson's Creek.

And such identity issues don't always end when you graduate from high school. "So many people ask me how I can write about teen issues," the 32-year-old Hsu says. "But you know, these are my struggles too."

Todd Hertz is CT's online assistant editor.

Copyright © 2002 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

The official website for Superchic[k] was designed and is maintained by band members themselves. It is not just a promotional tool but also a means to allow musicians to audition and inspire and teach kids.

ChristianityToday.com reviewed Karaoke Superstar when it debuted last year. For more reviews and interviews see out Music channel.

Christianity Today sister publication Campus Lifeprofiled Superchic[k] last fall. The magazine's readers also voted Superchic[k] the best new band of 2001.

Interviews with band members include:

Superchic[k] is Super Sonic — Breakaway

The Making Of A Gen-X Hero — FamilyChristian.org

Interview with Superchic[k] Tricia Brock — Youthwalk.org

Superchic[k] and Superchic[k] Bonus — Brio

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May 21 2002, Vol. 46, No. 6