Richard Dyer's Star Theory

The term "pop performer" and "pop star" have become interchangeable and many pop performers are called "pop stars' purely through the amount of advertisement they receive from their management. This is easily done thanks to newspaper stories, a famous boyfriend/girlfriend, attendance at premieres and other events that famous people go to.
Richard Dyer said that 'A star is an image not a real person that is constructed out of a range of materials.'

Stars are made to look in a particular way that will appeal to their audience more, whether it be through their looks or the clothes they wear, accent or body language. They are changed in order to bring in more interest to a particular media product so that the audience enjoy it more. A true pop star does have a lasting significance and also has something called "brand awareness" amongst a wider market over a period of time.

Stars are constructed, artificial images even if they're being represented as real people with real emotions, stars seem to be more successful if they have a unique selling point that represents them and makes them stand out. Music artists are manufactured by their music and the company they work for because the record companies nurture the stars in order to make them as successful as possible, TV talent shows are a good example of this sort of nurture because they tend to manufacture what they think the audience want.

Stars provide audiences with a focus for ideas of what people are meant to look like, for example women might think that they're meant to be thin and beautiful due to the amount of female singers in the music industry that appear to look perfect. Other stars construct characters or alter egos which helps them to create an identity that appeals to their target audeince. The characters may be outspoken and end up becoming an icon to their fans who feel they can relate to them in one way or another.
An example of this would be Lady Gaga, she has become an iconic character who dresses in a unique way which draws attention to her as an artist, she works for her fans and interacts with them through social networking sites like most pop stars. However, she has made a sociological impact on the public due to the unique selling point she has which would be her dress sense.

This theory applies to our band because we go against it, the band are not constructed in a way to appeal to the audience more because they're a natural indie band that dress well and look good in what they do. This will attract a niche audience that are particularly interested in the way the band sound and look compared to what they do to make people like them more.