Nick Jonas Dead:

It's no lie that celebrities have, tragically, been dropping like flies. Just this year we've lost Michael Jackson, Natasha Richardson, Farrah Fawcett, Bea Arthur, Billy Mays, and Brittany Murphy among others. But it seems like more and more celebrities are fake dying nowadays. And I'm not talking about any weird death conspiracies (Tupac, I know you're out there!!).

Every once in a while I'll find the disturbing news on Google that yet another celebrity has succumb to the end of their rope. And every time I fall for it, clicking on articles to find out if this person really did die. The majority of the time, fortunately, it turns out to be nothing but a hoax. Celebrity death hoaxes have become increasingly popular over the years and it really boggles my mind. How do these rumors even start?

Is it someone who is so mad at the world that he decides to start these death rumors in hopes of ruining people's days with such shockingly sad news?

Or is it a new, unconventional marketing technique to get us readers invested in the celebrity who has just "died?"
Take the latest death hoax, for example. Nick Jonas didn't really die, but his new solo album is coming out soon. And I didn't know that until I searched for his death story. I can just imagine the business meeting that must have taken place days earlier:


"Alright Nick, check it out. This is what we've come up with so far. On December 28th you're pretty much gonna die. No, no, not for real. You'll die on Google. Then everyone will freak out, start crying and search online for something to remember you by. In their search they will realize you're not dead after all but, in fact your album is coming out in February. Then overwhelmed with emotion they will vow to buy it because they feel bad that you almost died. Genius, right?!!"

Personally, I believe the latter. We're living in a time where the reach for publicity is blatantly shameless. From a floating balloon possibly carrying a child to crashing a White House party, celebrity deaths really aren't a far fetched publicity stunt.

So nice try Nick, you almost got me. Publicity stunt or not, I'm not buying your album. Besides, I only like my Jonas' in threes.