Speaking of stars, there’s a curious talent from Omaha that has been unleashing strange You Tube videos of his work-work that I wasn’t aware of if not for the internet monitoring efforts of a friend.
The link intrigued me to a point where I researched the artist known as Superstar and his wife simply identified as “Star.”
The story, according to an interview on a UPN station in the Omaha area, finds the Trinidad born Superstar finding the love of his life on a train in New York City where he was performing in clubs with the likes of Notorious B.I.G.
After marrying the girl on the train, the two moved back to her native Midwestern roots and settled in Omaha. The couple married, gave birth to a daughter Nikki, and he continued to work on his original material which he identified-according to an ad they purchased on the local network affiliate-as “a blend of pop and soul with a carribean flavor.”
Superstar also reminds would-be fans that his music delivers a “positive message: life is worth living.” It’s quite apparent from his dozens of homemade videos that he’s having a great time with his own life, one that has him residing in a split-level home with a room that’s evidently designated for Superstar’s recording and video studios where he keeps a keyboard with a databank of hundreds of rhythms and synthesizer parts.
You might think of elaborate when I say “recording and video studio,” but Superstar is working on a limited budget. His wardrobe is the same as it was from the Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em era, and his moves are a weird blend of the running man holding out his hand, which are covered by Isotoner gloves.
He uses his wife and daughter as video props, uncomfortably positioning both parties while the video is recording. There’s a definite pattern to what he wants them to do: start on the left, move to the right, and repeat. His daughter seems to have a hard time following this and she seems woefully clueless during the proceedings, her eyes asking “Why do Mommy and Daddy make me do this?” to the camera. Her mother seems intent on making sure the daughter knows her place, making sure that she is standing next to Superstar while her daughter finds her spot in the back, behind the two performers.
Superstar’s music is a weird mix of pre-programmed Casio loops, where he dutifully layers his monotone voice in a bunch of reverb. It’s hard to understand a word he says, and it’s hard for Superstar to find a melody to work with.
It’s obvious that English is Superstar’s second language and quite apparent that he’s clueless about his limited talent. And yet he presses on, loading up the wife, kid and video equipment to the park, the picnic shelter, or just to the front driveway where he seems to be lip-syncing to his songs, even though his lips seldom match the barely audile lyrics of his songs.
What’s most telling are the comments to his videos, where he admits his music has created stife in his life-causing members of his family to deem it as “ungodly.” The comments also encourage us to buy his cd because they are “going like hot cake (sic)” and that if the song makes us cry, “That o.k.”
The only tears I can shed are knowing that I don’t have the balls doing what Superstar is doing. Whenever I see him performing, the first thing I think of is “There’s someone in the background who can see him doing this!” or “I wonder if cars are driving by and then slowing down wanting to get a glimpse of the weirdo in the jumpsuit.”
The only thing you’ll see me doing in my driveway is washing my car.
The only thing you'll see in Superstar's driveway is a white Ford Focus.
But make sure that-if you do decide to buy a Superstar cd or dvd-that it is not a fraud release. There is a huge market of bootlegged Superstar material out there, so be sure to call Superstar before you buy.
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