Robbie Williams has been in the spotlight for almost 30 years and during that time he has been dividing the public into every possible direction. This guy from Stoke-on-Trent has vocal fans and haters. Williams sprung from a boy band into super solo stardom and along the line, he went on a wild rollercoaster ride. And however many moments of glory have decorated his career, Robbie Williams is truly a cautionary tale about ego, drugs and mental health. Williams is a prime example in the field of classic tragic celebrity stories. But at the same time he is very different from the others, because he got out. Robbie’s story could’ve ended very differently. But gladly it hasn’t done so. So, how is his ongoing story actually developing? And what does Robbie Williams tell us about being a superstar?
After years of messing around with drugs and disappointing the people around him, Robbie seeked help and found peace within sobriety. He has been sober since around 2006 and after that he has gone on a journey of self-reflection and stabilization. He changed as a person but at the same time he did not lose himself. Robbie is still that dry-humored, savage mouthed, fake narcissist. He is still self-deprecating and self-conscious, perhaps to a lesser extent but nonetheless. The reason I called him a fake narcissist is because he uses egoism to his advantage, to boost his own self-respect. He glorifies his artist persona with grand statements and dandy behavior, but it’s more of a shield rather than a reflection of who he truly is. Once you look a little bit deeper into who Robbie Williams is, you can quite quickly understand that he is a chronically self-critical person. He often hides behind a mask of humor and irony. And that doesn’t necessarily come off well with a lot of people. They tend to take his words and performances at self-value without any kind of critical lens. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions of course but there seems to be a trend in which a lot of people refuse to accept the possibility that Robbie Williams might be putting on a persona when he is in the public eye. There is no world for them where Robbie Williams could possibly be a nice person.
Insecurity
Williams uses exaggeration, glamour and fame as tools of self-irony. He shows up on stage in fluffy pink costumes and wears golden wings while sparkles fly behind him. At the same time he isn’t afraid of showcasing himself in the bad light either. Whether it is old scruffy photos of himself and stories about how he was an asshole or a muddy cgi monkey, he recognizes those images and moments as part of himself and his past. There is no denying his very public story. It is hard to talk about honesty or realness with celebrities but to Robbie Williams those words might be more applicable than to many other stars. That vulnerability and grubby realness is what makes him charming to a lot of people. To many he isn’t only a good musician or a world-class performer. To them Robbie Williams is a character that evokes feeling. He is a human. He has made his mistakes and he doesn’t try to deny them. And this sort of self-awareness is what many other celebrities lack. Uprightness and introspectiveness seem to be a form of lost art these days.
In relation to other popular British musicians Robbie stands out in the area of trans-atlanticism. He is wildly famous in Britain and basically everywhere else except for the United States. In the USA people just don’t know who Robbie Williams is. He tried to break through there too, but it never really happened. Robbie has lived off of attention through his entire career and he did not receive that in the States. I’ll come back to that need for attention soon but first let’s look at the possible reasons as to why Robbie never rose to mainstream fame in the US.
Robbie vs the USA
Robbie’s music is mostly radio-friendly, he fits into the pop-rock format easily and there shouldn’t really be a reason as to why Americans do not recognize the songs Angels or Feel. But sometimes, for some people the stars just do not align. Alongside luck and coincidence, Robbie is perhaps just too British. His humor just does not align with the American idea of comedy. On top of that, Robbie is quite a lot. He is eccentric. Like I previously stated, he has that element of crass realness that perhaps just doesn’t fly well with the American society where everything has to be at least a little bit plastic. Robbie’s use of language is not neat, he speaks very directly and doesn’t hide his opinions. You never know what you’re gonna get with Robbie Williams. That un-predictability is what sets him apart from other British artists. Adele, Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa are safe bets. But you still get that bit of British edge with them. Funny accent and an occasional swear word, oh my! Robbie Williams doesn’t fit into that mold. And after years of trying to break through, he had to come to terms with his failure. He accepted that the USA is just not the market for him. He has the entire rest of the world, and maybe in this lifetime, that’s enough. If the yanks aren’t ready to digest Robbie Williams, because he isn’t ultra-processed , then that’s fine.
Attention
Like I mentioned, Williams has lived off of attention and love. He waited and wanted the entire world to love him for years. If he couldn’t get people to love him then any kind of attention was welcome, even negative attention. That’s where the provocation, bold statements and trolling came in. Many of his low points have been fueled by the need for attention. However, the past few years have been a turning point. He realized that most people will never care about Robbie Williams. So why bother trying? It gets tiring and unhealthy. It is an impossible goal to make everyone care about you, let alone love you. According to Robbie’s own words; he doesn’t have the need to try to be cool anymore. Williams puts on a mask because he is still a work in progress. He doesn’t necessarily do theatrics because he needs everyone to give a shit about him. He does it to protect something within himself. And sure for fun and for a good show as well.
Robbie is slowly tearing down decades of pain and trying. It will take time, yes, but he is on his way. Not only is Robbie Williams a cautionary tale about drug use and bad behavior, his story is also a prime example in healing. Williams has been able to fight against substance abuse and eventually find peace. This has allowed him to get married and have children. This has allowed him to seek true happiness. He has repaired relationships with people. And most importantly, he is on the journey of healing himself and his relationship to Robert Peter Williams.
Conclusion
Robbie Williams is ambitious and he wants those number one albums. There is nothing wrong with that. He always knew that he wanted to entertain and make people happy. Sometimes those goals simply require you to polish your ego a bit. Robbie has had many reasons to apologize throughout his life but one thing he doesn’t need to apologize for is his success. And that is a note to all of you as well. Be humble and apologize when you need to. Be genuinely sorry for mistakes that you have made and learn from them. But never bring yourself down when it comes to your own accomplishments.
Alongside that you just really need to be yourself. This is a message that Robbie has been preaching for a while now and I just want to forward that. You can’t make everyone love you so why would you need to try to appeal to everyone’s pallets. The best and most authentic way you can get someone to like you is by being your true self. You might not be there yet, but look at Robbie Williams. He is still on his way as well.
<3 Noora
Audio-visual version of this text:
https://youtu.be/0Ra2SY0bn4E?si=bkOP-7-wAL06feGb: Robbie Williams: A different kind of a star
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