Laura Pausini: The biggest star the world has never heard of
Not that this is a book review, but I didn’t much care for The Subtle Art Of Not Giving a Fuck. Don’t get me wrong, I agree with the broad sentiment, but I think it gives the human psyche a little bit too much credit. We certainly do worry too much, but for the solution to merely be to stop worrying too much seems slightly… blasé. That being said, I found the comparisons to fame and stories about the likes of Metallica and The Beatles quite interesting.
It’s been a while since I’ve read it, but if I remember correctly, there is a section in the book that talks about Pete Best and what he was like following his dismissal from The Beatles. While he was frustrated at the time, watching Beatlemania unfurl and the band he was in reach astronomical levels of fame without him, he eventually found a life for himself, still made plenty of money from music and didn’t have the unrelenting pressure or stress that followed the rest of The Beatles around.
The idea is that while it would be great to be famous and successful, if it doesn’t bring you happiness, what’s the point? As The Beatles struggled to find their place in the world and constantly found themselves under a microscope, Best, after struggling initially, found a much more comfortable place for himself.
It begs the question: Does anybody really want to be super famous? It’s a silly question, isn’t it? Of course they do. There are people out there who adore being in the public eye and would do anything to take centre stage within it. I say fair enough, if that’s how you want to live your life, then go for it. However, there are a lot of other famous people who merely perfected a craft and became famous as a result. These people have fame but don’t necessarily want it.
As such, when we consider people who are superstars in their own right but may not have the same presence as some other celebrities, we have to question whether or not they may have gotten the better end of the deal. One such superstar is Laura Pausini. Make no mistake, Pausini is a big deal, and if you were to mention her name in a few different countries across Europe, most people would know who she is, but that fame doesn’t manifest as notoriety around the world that forbids her from a private life.
Pausini initially found fame in 1993 when she won the Sanremo Music Festival, a notorious song competition at the time that saw her skyrocket to fame. She won with a track called ‘Loneliness’, and the victory meant she had enough of a presence to record and release her first album. The public loved it, but critics at the time wrote her off as a teen star.
She proved those critics wrong as she has progressed to have a successful career making albums in three different languages, Italian, Spanish and English. In countries around Europe, she can sell out arenas, but when you ask about her music in England and America, her name becomes obscure. She enjoys success in one of the best possible ways, as she is able to pursue what she is passionate about as a career while also maintaining some level of a private life.
