Yesterday a video appeared on Lady Gaga’s Instagram, markedly different from the rest of a feed which depicts the songstress smiling with family and friends. The video shows the pospstar floating fully-clothed in a swimming pool, a clip of her voice playing over the top. ‘I’m alone, Brandon,’ she says to stylist and friend Brandon Mawell. ‘Every night. I go from everyone touching me all day and talking at me all day to total silence.’ Bewildered fans watched as more videos and images appeared on her Instagram, and it unfolded that the video was a clip from a new Lady Gaga documentary, ‘Five Foot Two’, which will arrive on Netflix on September 22nd. Seemingly, the documentary will give us an insight into the challenging, exhilarating, and troubling life of a pop sensation on the road. While we wait for this release, we look back on some other recent popstar documentaries.
Katy Perry: Part of Me
Back in 2012 Katy Perry released ‘Part of Me’, a documentary which chronicled her colourful California Dreams Tour which ran from 2011-2012. We get an intimate view of the production of the vibrant tour – from suspended clouds to cupcake skirts and candy-floss coloured wigs, as well as what she gets up to when she’s off the stage. A lot of the footage is light-hearted or sentimental, with clips of the singer and her sister winding down at a theme-park, and of her grandma making unguarded remarks about what Katy was like as a child. But the documentary is perhaps more famous for its insight into the singer’s high-profile divorce from Russell Brand, an ordeal that sees the popstar struggling to smile through her energetic on-stage performances.
Beyoncé: Life Is But A Dream
Fans were thrilled when the news arrived that famously private celebrity Beyoncé would be releasing a documentary about her life in 2013. Mixing personal footage and professionally filmed pieces, Beyoncé wrote that she wanted the film to ‘express what I believe to be true about life, that everything has a reason and that we need to be conscious of life’s little clues and how the dots all connect.’ The intimate documentary depicts significant events in the icon’s life – from her marriage to Jay Z to her miscarriage and the birth of her daughter Blue Ivy. It also shows the singer struggling with the question of how much she reveals about herself to the world, and how she can stay relevant after previous commercial success. The doc wowed Oprah Winfrey with its inspirational words about following your aspirations: ‘power isn’t given to you,’ Beyoncé states at one point, ‘you have to take it.’
Demi Lovato: Stay Strong
In 2010, Disney actress and recording artist Demi Lovato made headlines by dropping out of the Jonas Brothers tour and entering rehab due to ‘physical and emotional issues’. Later, it emerged that she had been battling depression, anorexia, and bulimia, and had been self-medicating with drugs and alcohol. Stay Strong is the 2012 documentary which addresses this period of the popstar’s life, following her recovery after rehab and allowing the singer to reflect on-camera about how she ended up there in the first place. Demi recounts being made a role model after joining the Disney franchise and the impact this pressure had on her life as a teenager, stating that: ‘it literally drove me insane.’
Justin Bieber: Never Say Never
2011 was perhaps a simpler time for Justin Bieber (remember that floppy hair?), and this documentary gives us a glimpse into a small-town boy’s path to becoming an international celebrity. Peppered with clips of screaming fans, zany backstage moments and grainy footage from the popstar’s childhood, the film follows Justin 10 days before his monumental performance in Madison Square Garden. The doc may have had bad reviews, but it had good intentions – designed to inspire fans to follow their dreams despite getting knocked down.
One Direction: This Is Us
The tone of this documentary is distinctly up-beat, following the lives of One Direction’s teenage heartthrobs as they bring their ‘Take Me Home’ tour around the world. At its most poignant, the film perhaps makes a subtle nod to the title of the band’s tour, showing its members (and their teary mums) struggle with the long stretches of time they spend away from home. However, the majority of the film shows quirky off-stage antics, and the boys’ amusing attempts to get to grips with different cultural customs around the world. ‘I think you drink it,’ ex-member Zayn Malik tells Niall Horan in Japan, who looks at his miso soup and shrugs in bemusement. Some inevitable childhood footage is included, followed by the popstars’ expressions of disbelief that their long-held dreams have come true, and by some due gushing over fans’ dedication and support.
Have you seen any of these popstar documentaries? Will you be watching Lady Gaga’s come September 22nd? Whether you love music biopics or loathe them, get your fix of more live music here at Entertainment Nation – the only place to find the best pop and rock bands for hire all over the UK!
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