Music & Alter Egos: Natalia Chai as Natalia Chai..for now!
Music as we all know is one of many art forms for self expression. But what if we want to explore a different "side" or a different "self" or we feel constrained by societal rules that we can't be ourselves? Alter egos can function as such! But let me get one thing straight; alter ego does NOT equate to schizophrenia. For artists, alter egos can serve many different functions. For some it can be used as protection and separate the artist from their artwork. or it can be used as a means to experiment momentarily a different self to propel creativity and art in a different direction. Although an alter ego suggests someone who you're not, it can ironically be used by celebrities - who as we know are under such big public magnifying glasses that they have to be "perfect" and put on a front every second of the day - to give the public a glimpse of who they really are off the cameras apart from their celebrity status. Here are some common alter egos in the music industry we've seen throughout the years - let me know who are your favourites and maybe....not so favourites!
1) David Bowie = Ziggy Stardust
I don't think any artist has had as many alter egos as David Bowie had in his music career! As Arnold Corns, Major Tom, Aladdin Sane, and the White Duke, David Bowie's invention of glam rock and his corresponding alter ego Ziggy Stardust became most well known and successful!
So who was the inspiration for Ziggy Stardust? A British rock'n roller by the name Vince Taylor was a well known 1950s Elvis impersonator who claimed he was a messiah that appealed to the then David Bowie. Japanese theatre and science fiction also influenced this intergalactic aliene rock star! Through this alter ego, Bowie felt he could more easily assume the role of a rock-and-roll icon while simultaneously expressing his deepest anxieties about the possibility that he and Ziggy could meet a similar fate. On his 1972 concept album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars tells the story of Ziggy Stardust and a year later, Ziggy Stardust retired, and 2016 saw this music icon pass away.
2) Garth Brooks = Chris Gaines
The country singer phenom (who completed a record breaking 9 shows here at #YEG and currently 7 shows in #YYC) who dominated the 90's sold more records than any solo artist. His sold out shows worldwide appealed to the masses with his country and stadium rock style. Like many artists, Garth Brooks adopted a different medium and wanted to introduce his alter ego to his audience first through his album Garth Brooks in..the Life of Chris Gaines to prepare himself as the character he planned to play in a movie that was never released, The Lamb. Unfortunately audiences were more shocked than amused at his adoption of a dark-haired, soul-patch-wearing pop star from a down to earth, country crooner. The album was considered a relative disappointment compared to his previous album sales officially labeling his alter ego as an alter flop.
3) The Beatles = Sgt's Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt's Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is claimed to be one of the most important album in rock history. 1966 was the end of their American tour and soft music and saw the end of the sound that made Beatles the Beatles during the "constraints" of Beatlemania which John Lennon called "soft music". As a result, in 1967 Sgt's Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band symbolized anti-Beatles movement by the band themselves and an uninhibited counterculture prone to boundless experimentation and was the fresh start for the band apart from the stigma of being the Beatles. McCartney deemed that this album allowed the band to create something original instead of what their fans wanted! AMEN!
4) Lady Gaga = Jo Calderone
Stefani Germanotta or popularly known as Lady Gaga was known from her debut in 2008 for her over the top fashion statements and performances and in 2011 at the MTV Music Awards, she performed and conducted interviews as her male alter ego Jo Calderone, who also left fans so perplexed and confused when this alter ego made an appearance in the Vogue Hommes Japan fashion editorial. Calderone also made an appearance in Gaga;s "You and I" music video and a VMA appearance. Not surprising to me - I always thought that Lady Gaga was an artist and and used the freedom of expression through music and visual arts to its full potential. What do you think? 5) Queen B = Sasha Fierce
2008's "I Am...Sasha Fierce" album marked Queen B's debut of her alter ego Sasha Fierce that saw a bolder, brasher, sexier, crazier and more outspoken side that Beyonce adopted exclusively on the stage to channel a more vibrant persona to exhilarate a live audience. I saw an interview where Beyonce confessed that in real life she is "not like {Sasha Fierce} at all..not flirtatious and super confident and fearless like her". Sasha was her stage persona to "protect [herself] so that when she goes home she doesn't have to think about what it is [she] does." Sasha Fierce served as a stepping stone for the the feminist champion and artist that she is known today apart from her initial inhibited ladylike integrity that she was known for at the beginning. In 2010 she told Allure Magazine: "Sasha Fierce is done. I killed her."
ANNNDD nowww you're all probably thinking, "Natalia do you have an alter ego?" Right now, no I don't officially have an alter ego but I have had a couple people tell me that I sort of have one. I have exhausted telling you guys my love for Alicia Keys (I will never stop talking about Alicia Keys!!), a huge part of my gushing admiration is her ability to literally stay true to herself (although she does have an alter ego "DJ AK-47" when she DJs props to her husband Swizz Beatz) througout her whole musical career. The entertainment industry is in some ways a trap for artists to conform to what the industry deems as requirements in order to be successful. But Alicia Keys has never budged from who she really is as a person and as an artist through her songs. That my friends is extremely rare and commendable!!
I don't find myself inventing an alter ego that makes me unrecognizable to my family and closest friends but perhaps give a side of me the opportunity to grow that may surprise people in a good way! I am known to be extremely timid, quiet, stubborn, honest, too kind and selfless and humble. With life experiences and notably my position as a pharmacist manager, I am still the same Natalia but learned to be more vocal for myself and others who don't have a voice, I've learned to know when to be assertive and more confident! Maybe in the next couple of months I will introduce you guys to my alter ego as it could be a very cool artistic concept and fun project but for now, I am content and plan to remain me, NATALIA CHAI!
