FROM THE MOST BORING TO THE MOST TALENTED AND LUCKIEST CELEBRITIES

By Maximillien de Lafayette

THEY ARE FAMOUS, BUT, THEY ARE NOT BETTER THAN YOU!

There are 4 kinds of stars-entertainers in the world: 1-The talented; 2-The talented and the lucky; 3- The lucky; 4- The lucky and the boring. All, except the "unlucky" make money. Big time money. Millions and millions. Sometimes, the most boring ones are the luckiest and among the wealthiest. And this tragic reality has nothing to do with talent or lack of it. Many extremely talented artists will never see their names in light. They don't lack creativity or talent. They lack luck, a good agent, an effective publicist, a shrewd manager, good contacts, business and promotion strategy, and above all, they desperately need an "OPPORTUNITY", or a break. Results: They will remain for ever "talented struggling artists." Almost 89% of us believe that fame is a sign of success. And success is a fat bank account and public recognition. Name recognition, that is! And this is a catastrophe. This is a bleeding, bloody awful way to recognize talents. How many of you ever heard of Evangelos Petraki? None! I am absolutely sure, for Evangelos has never left Crete. He is a peasant, illiterate, poor, he pinches women in the derriere, constantly drinks Ouzo, dances the Sirtaki and...here is la piece de resistance: Probably, he is the best Bouzouki player in the world! But, Evangelos has no CDs, no agent in New York or California, he has never been written-up in the papers, he has never been interviewed by Joan Rivers or walked on a red carpet. But he is still the best damned Bouzouki player in the world. Nobody knows about him except his neighbors, the small village priest and a couple of bill collectors who are constantly chasing him. To all the glitters of the world, to all the marbles, to all the big stars shining on Broadway, to all the entertainment arrogant and heartless writers and critics and to all the makers and bakers, Evangelos and myself have five words to say: "We don't give a damn!". But, how many artists can afford to say this? Probably none. For, bills must be paid, a roof over your head is an utmost necessity and surviving is a priority.

So what would you say about my friend Evangelos?

A failure or a third rate musician because he is unknown or simply an outstanding musician without luck? Would you consider him "nobody" because he is not a celebrity? Some would, especially those who book a show and those who invest in it. But, one thing is almost certain about Evangelos: He is not boring! So, for God's sake, do not tell me if this or that singer or this or that  cabaret performer is not as famous as Britney Spears or Anna Nicole Smith, this super talented and obscure artist is "nobody" and not worthy of being invested in! Or writing about!!

LAKY LUCK WILL KNOCK ON YOUR DOOR!

Adnan Kachukji, the Arab billionaire was driving very slowly his Silver Shadow Rolls Royce,  in Southern of France. He stopped his car for a few minutes. Walked out of the Rolls to have a glance at the breathtaking beauty of the French countryside. Four men, badly dressed, strange looking with long black hair passed by him and singing an unknown Basque tune (Half French-Half Spanish). And one of  them was playing the guitar like crazy! They caught the attention of the Arab wizard. He approached them and asked them if they were professional entertainers. "Mais Oui, Bien Sur, of course" said one them.  Kachukji asked the tallest of them :"Do you sing somewhere? ", and the gypsy replied "Not quite often. We need a job, a gig, anything." Those 4 gypsies were starving. They tried everything.

They had remarkable talents as singers and guitarists, but could not make it. Kachukji saw the potentials in those 4 kids. He knew, investing in them could turn into a gold mine. Even though, they were completely and totally unknown, Kachukji took them under his wings,  brought them to Paris, rented an apartment for them, gave them an advance and "start working on them".  He called some big shots, some big time stage producers in Paris and Madrid  and asked them to begin working  on an  unparallel stage production extravaganza for those kids. Against all the advice and recommendations he received from records producers, studios owners, stage managers and his own financial advisor, NOT to invest a penny in those filthy gypsies, Kachukji, went ahead with his show production backed by an aggressive global marketing and public relation campaign. Did you guess who those gypsies were? Those unknown, hungry and filthy gypsies? Guess again!  They were, they still are -today- the same  talented gypsies who played so well the guitar and sang formidable Spanish Fast Tempo Flamenco! They are the GYPSY KING! Nothing has changed with them or for them, except fame and fortune. They still play and sing the same way, they sang and played, before they became famous. Now, the whole world knows who they are. Now, they are the best of the best in their genre. They are living legends to billions of people around the world. They have name recognition. And they are highly respected, even adored by millions of fans. WHY? Because they are talented and KNOWN! Because, they are "CELEBRITY". They are famous! While unknown, nobody noticed them, despite their great talent. Lesson one: You need to be discovered. Lesson two: Be patient and wait as long as it takes. Lesson three: Never give up. Lesson four: Make noise! Talent without noise is a mute and a deaf talent.

ABOUT THIS ARTICLE:

It is a very long article. I did not say, a wonderful piece, just extensive. With the help of many contributors, writers, input from artists' agents, publicists, PR firms, venues, artistic managers, information and biographies directly obtained from artists and stars, my personal interviews with many of them,  archives, news, reports, articles and  data from various sites such as WACJ, a-y celebrities, all celebrities network,  and of course gossips queens and writers, I was able to complete this extensive coverage. I tried to remain as objective as possible. One final major note: Just one day before this article was en route to print, I decided to "delete" the section on the most boring stars, for hurting people or ridiculing them is against my nature. Continues on P.96