Ok, stupid topic I know but -
I’ve seen posters on bus-stops and ads on buses advertising a new movie (whose name actually escapes me at the moment) but it is billed as starring “Cher” and “Christina.” My first thought was “Christina who?” and then I saw the fine print that stated it was “Christina Aguilera.” My second thought was “You can’t pull off the one-name moniker, Ms. Aguilera.”
I understand the reasoning behind the one-name moniker: it’s a bold statement about just how successful you are, you’re so famous that nobody needs to say or ask your last name - it’s always understood who you’re talking about. It’s also convenient for “branding” & marketing purposes - a single word title just has a better ring to it.
Of course, some celebs get away with one-name monikers because their names are off-beat or unusual enough that there’s no mistaking them for anybody else - Prince, Madonna, Aretha or Cher. None of them are unique names, but they are rare enough that you can make a safe bet who a person is talking about.(There’s not a whole lot of other pop singers named “Beyonce” for example.)
Then there are nicknames - Sting, Bono, P-Diddy (or Diddy) - that are truly unique, so there simply is nobody else to confuse them with.
And of course, there are celebs who have been wildly famous for a long, long time that they are just part of the collective pop consciousness - Michael, Frank, Tina. Elvis. (Conversely, there are some celebs who have been so overexposed that you can’t escape mention of them - Britney, Lindsey.)
But then there’s someone like Christina Aguilera. Sorry, but she has always struck me as being strictly second-tier. She has a fairly common name. And while she is famous, I don’t think’s she ever ascended to the level of ubiquity that justifies a one-name title. She is not a trailblazer like Frank or Michael, and has only been around for about a decade (unlike Tina, who’s been singing since the 50s) and her name doesn’t get bandied about in tabloids nearly as Britney or Lindsey. I just don’t think she measures up.
Anyway, your thoughts?