Star Debuts

Don't know what else to call it - but when you first see a performer on screen, or hear a song, or watch them play and KNOW you will be hearing about them for a while. A couple off the top of my head.

Snipes in Major League.

Ed Norton in Primal Fear

 

Catherine Zeta-Jones in Zorro. While not her debut by any means, it was the first time I had seen her. Her beauty was just so breathtaking, it made an otherwise forgettable movie memorable. And yes, I bought Entrapment years ago from the Walmart $5 dvd bin.

 

Paul Giamatti in “Private Parts,” Margot Robbie in “Wolf of Wall Street” and Scarlett Johansson in “Lost in Translation“ come to mind.

In music, Dua Lipa is a recent example. You hear a snippet of a song and see her and you go, “Oh, this person is going to be part of the culture for 30 years.” Janelle Monae is in that category, too.

The first time I heard Sturgill Simpson and Jason Isbell sing, I thought about how they’re going to be a part of my life for 40 years and album upon album like Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash were my parents’ generation.

 

The best one of the last 25 years, easily, Christoph Waltz.

 

Kind of on the flip-side, I've never understood what made Garth Brooks so much bigger than other similar country performers. I do think some of it is he "hit" right when they went to Soundscan to tabulate record sales instead of relying on company numbers (which were widely fraudulent) and people realized how many people were actually listening and buying country music - led to a surge in interest in the genre and Brooks' album was hot at the time and he became the poster boy for country music. A lot of stations switched formats to capitalize on it.

25 Years Ago: The SoundScan Era Rocks the Music Industry

 

Brad Pitt in "Thelma and Louise." You could see this guy had a look that women moviegoers would die for.

Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson in the WWF: Not the first time I had seen him, but I thought he had a good look, but he wasn't getting emphasized enough as a good guy. Then I saw him do an interview before a match, and thought that he should be an excellent heel, as he had such a strong voice. Turned out, I was right, although I had no idea he would turn out to be such a huge moviestar.

 

I’m also mystified by the level of his popularity. It’s gotta be right place at the right time, as you said. His voice and songs aren’t good enough to warrant the number of record sales.

 

Can an actor on a commercial count?

My 20-month old son is absolutely obsessed with Lilly on the AT&T commercials. He’ll run from another room if he hears her voice.

 

Brooks came out of the gate with the perfect song for that era. I doubt it would have happened with a different song choice.

 

Garth hit it low-key while Billy Ray Cyrus went for crossover stardom big-time. Somebody should've told Billy Ray that Urban Cowboy was just a movie.

 

At some point, she is going to get really famous.