Described as “cultural rocket fuel” by Vanity Fair, Vivek Shraya is a multi-media artist whose art, music, novels, and poetry and children’s books explore the beauty and the power of personal and cultural transformation. How to Fail as a Popstar is Vivek’s debut theatrical work, a one-person show that chronicles her journey from singing in shopping malls to “not quite” pop music superstardom with beguiling humor and insight. A reflection on the power of pop culture, dreams, disappointments, and self-determination, this astonishing work is a raw, honest, and hopeful depiction of the search to find one’s authentic voice. The book includes color photographs from the show’s 2020 production in Toronto, and a foreword by its director Brendan Healy. This publication meets the EPUB Accessibility requirements and it also meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG-AA). It is screen-reader friendly and is accessible to persons with disabilities. A Simple book with few images, which is defined with accessible structural markup. This book contains various accessibility features such as alternative text for images, table of contents, page-list, landmark, reading order and semantic structure.

An energetic, interactive YA novel about five solo pop artists navigating drama, finding their sound, and discovering what it truly takes to chase their dreams of music stardom after being forced into a pop group together. Everly Brooks knows she has what it takes to be the next big singer-songwriter. At least, that's if she could get her onstage presence to stop feeling so wooden and blossom like her rich, moving lyrics. The reality signing competition, SO YOU WANNA BE A POP STAR? is her chance at proving to the world—and herself—that her talent and artistry can mean something more than just live streams and online videos. Vinny Vecchi thought he was heading toward a life full of makeup, wigs, and werking it on the drag stages of NYC. But a powerful diva voice is a precious thing to waste and, in need of money to make his drag dreams come true, SO YOU WANNA BE A POP STAR? is the next best thing. However, surrounded by competitors with clear brands and sharpened musical identities, he wonders if he can break through while still discovering himself. When a group performance on the show goes viral overnight, Everly and Vinny find their careers unexpectedly tied together. Along with their competitors—influencer Dea Seo, pop-punk CeCe Winnifred, and heartthrob Stern Green—these five artists are forced to become the newest pop super group: Jeweltones. You, the reader, get to make choices that will make or break Everly, Vinny, and the group’s meteoric rise in this interactive novel. Will you mend the cracks to help Jeweltones shine bright, or will they burn out under pressure? The choices are yours to make!

I was only sixteen when I bought an electric guitar and joined a band. A year later, I formed an all-girl band called the Marine Girls and played gigs, and signed to an indie label, and started releasing records. Then, for eighteen years, between 1982 and 2000, I was one half of the group Everything But the Girl. In that time, we released nine albums and sold nine million records. We went on countless tours, had hit singles and flop singles, were reviewed and interviewed to within an inch of our lives. I've been in the charts, out of them, back in. I've seen myself described as an indie darling, a middle-of-the-road nobody and a disco diva. I haven't always fitted in, you see, and that's made me face up to the realities of a pop career - there are thrills and wonders to be experienced, yes, but also moments of doubt, mistakes, violent lifestyle changes from luxury to squalor and back again, sometimes within minutes.

Gender, Branding, and the Modern Music Industry combines interview data with music industry professionals with theoretical frameworks from sociology, mass communication, and marketing to explain and explore the gender differences female artists experience. This book provides a rare lens on the rigid packaging process that transforms female artists of various genres into female pop stars. Stars—and the industry power brokers who make their fortunes—have learned to prioritize sexual attractiveness over talent as they fight a crowded field for movie deals, magazine covers, and fashion lines, let alone record deals. This focus on the female pop star’s body as her core asset has resigned many women to being "short term brands," positioned to earn as much money as possible before burning out or aging ungracefully. This book, which includes interview data from music industry insiders, explores the sociological forces that drive women into these tired representations, and the ramifications for the greater social world.

A "collection of personal essays exploring the intersection of queerness, relationships, pop culture, the Internet, and identity, introducing one of the most undeniably original new voices today. Jill Gutowitz's life--for better and worse--has always been on a collision course with pop culture, [including] ... the pivotal day when Orange Is the New Black hit the airwaves and broke down the door to Jill's own sexuality. In these honest examinations of identity, desire, and self-worth, Jill explores perhaps the most monumental cultural shift of our lifetimes: the mainstreaming of lesbian culture"--

"An utterly satisfying examination of the business of popular music." —Nathaniel Rich, The Atlantic There’s a reason today’s ubiquitous pop hits are so hard to ignore—they’re designed that way. The Song Machine goes behind the scenes to offer an insider’s look at the global hit factories manufacturing the songs that have everyone hooked. Full of vivid, unexpected characters—alongside industry heavy-hitters like Katy Perry, Rihanna, Max Martin, and Ester Dean—this fascinating journey into the strange world of pop music reveals how a new approach to crafting smash hits is transforming marketing, technology, and even listeners’ brains. You’ll never think about music the same way again. A Wall Street Journal Best Business Book

Packed with insider tips, tricks and secrets of the music industry and laced with trendy references to the biggest Pop Stars in the world like Beyonce and Justin Bieber, Becoming a Pop Star: Artist Development makes achieving fame and fortune an attainable reality. BECOMING A POP STAR: ARTIST DEVELOPMENT includes beauty tips, fashion advice, workout programs, and an entire section devoted to properly branding and marketing yourself. You will get social media training and a host of strict rehearsal schedules including vocal technique and instrumentation that successfully produce all of the greatest Pop Stars on the planet."

A Cosmopolitan Best Young Adult Book of 2019 A BuzzFeed Pick for "YA Books You Absolutely Must Read This Spring" "[Goo's] most charming to date. . .A delightful romp." —The New York Times 10:00 p.m.: Lucky is the biggest K-pop star on the scene, and she’s just performed her hit song “Heartbeat” in Hong Kong to thousands of adoring fans. She’s about to debut on The Tonight Show in America, hopefully a breakout performance for her career. But right now? She’s in her fancy hotel, trying to fall asleep but dying for a hamburger. 11:00 p.m.: Jack is sneaking into a fancy hotel, on assignment for his tabloid job that he keeps secret from his parents. On his way out of the hotel, he runs into a girl wearing slippers, a girl who is single-mindedly determined to find a hamburger. She looks kind of familiar. She’s very cute. He’s maybe curious. 12:00 a.m.: Nothing will ever be the same. With her trademark humor and voice, Maurene Goo delivers a sparkling story of taking a chance on love—and finding yourself along the way—in Somewhere Only We Know.

Guess what? My sister Danni is THE number-one, superstar pop princess--and my life's totally crazy! I can't wait for Danni's world tour to end so that we can be a family again.

A compendium of thirty-five incredible female pop stars whose energies, virtues, and vices make them the ideal role models for our age—powerful women who can teach us all how to discover our own inner goddess. We are living in the age of the music goddess: Beyoncé. Lady Gaga. Taylor Swift. Katy Perry. Britney. Nicki Minaj. Cardi B. Pink. Madonna. Rihanna. Gwen Stefani. Alicia Keys. Kelly Clarkson. Never before have so many women dominated their industry and pop culture itself with such creativity, passion, and force. Visionary and ferociously talented, these women are reshaping our society and our lives. In this stunningly designed compendium, Jennifer Armstrong offers an intimate, up-close look at thirty-five of pop music’s most revered goddesses, analyzing their performances, songs, videos, interviews, social media, activism, and personal lives to illuminate their significance for both critics and fans. These divas post astounding album sales, enjoy millions of radio plays, YouTube views, and social media followings, and sell out stadiums. While we are awed and inspired by their success, we worship them for so much more. Beyoncé’s work ethic. Nicki Minaj’s no-bullshit attitude. Taylor Swift’s relatability. Pink’s sense of social justice. Jennifer Lopez’s transformation from “Jenny from the block” to fashion icon. Each of these goddesses speaks to us in her own unique way. Beyoncé is our superhuman alter ego; Britney is our survival instinct. Armstrong pairs each pop star goddess with a corresponding goddess from ancient cultures, and offers advice on how to invoke the pop star goddess’s energy in your own life, providing journal prompts and a Power Song List that allows you harness the power of a particular pop goddess’s energy when you need it. Filled with information, advice, insights, playlists, and forty gorgeous color illustrations, Pop Star Goddess will help you tune in and turn on your own divine energy. The Pop Star Goddesses are: Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Taylor Swift, M.I.A., Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Lady Gaga, Carla Bruni, Pink, JLo, Kesha, Rihanna, Janelle Monae, Gwen Stephani, Alicia Keys, Katy Perry, Demi Lovato, Jennifer Hudson, Mariah Carey, Adele, Missy Elliott, Shakira, Solange, Miranda Lambert, Celine Dion, Sia, Queen Latifah, SZA, Kacey Musgraves, Mary J. Blige, Christina Aguilera, Laura Jane Grace, Ariana Grande, Carly Rae Jepsen.