History Main / RockStarSong

* Creator/CheechAndChong's comedy sketch "Earache My Eye" started with a satirical song about a stereotypically camp singer who didn't care about anything else because he was "a big rock star and makin' lots of money."

* The Music/BeastieBoys' "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" is about the stress and exhilaration of touring.

* Indie rock band Cheekface has [[ParodiedTrope a sillier spin on this]] with "Featured Singer", where frontman Greg Katz -- rather than being an independent musician looking for a big break on his own terms -- expresses his desire to be "the featured singer on an [[ElectronicDanceMusic EDM]] song", in which he half-sarcastically highlights all the fringe benefits of being in such a position: heard everywhere to the point of annoying everyone, yet being completely faceless, and ultimately disposable following his 15 minutes of fame.

->''Back in the studio, to make our latest Number One''\\
''Take two hundred and seventy-six -- you know, this used to be fun''

* "Rockstar" by Everclear. And Music/{{Nickelback}}. And [[Music/CourtneyLove Hole]]. And Music/JimmyEatWorld. And Music/RKelly. [[LongList And...]]well, just about ''any'' [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_star#Music song called "Rockstar"]]. ([[NamesTheSame There are 12 songs on that list]], for the record)

->''Back in the studio, to make our latest Number One''
->''Take two hundred and seventy-six -- you know, this used to be fun''

* [[DefiedTrope Defied]] in Music/LemonDemon's [[http://wiki.illemonati.com/Being_a_Rock_Star Being a Rock Star]], a song about not wanting to make a Rock Star Song.

* "Limelight" by Music/{{Rush}}, which puts Rush's usual spin on the theme. (In other words, it's somewhat bittersweet and disillusioned, although not anywhere near as openly pessimistic as some of the songs on here.)

* Pretty much the entirety of ''Music/WishYouWereHere'', Music/PinkFloyd's album about Music/SydBarrett.

* "Fences" by {{Music/Paramore}} is a deconstructed version of this type of song.

* Music/TheRollingStones "It's Only Rock 'n'Roll'" ("but I like it.") from ''It's Only Rock and Roll''.

* Music/{{Foreigner}} - "Jukebox Hero"

* Music/{{Eminem}} has written numerous songs about the misery (and perks) of fame. ''Music/TheMarshallMathersLP'' is a ConceptAlbum specifically about being a TeenIdol, with numerous references to the TeenPop scene of the era and his [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids child-aged audience]], and ''Music/TheEminemShow'' is a RapRock ConceptAlbum about being a ''rock'' star, with ArenaRock samples, wealth-boasting and {{Groupie}} {{Misogyny Song}}s. He's done some on other albums, like the extremely sarcastic "So Far..." on ''The Marshall Mathers LP 2''. Subverted by "We Made You", which has a hook about being a rock star, but is actually about Em reflecting on his attempts to [[CareerResurrection revive his career]] by analogising it to a {{Loony Fan}} obsessed with [[TabloidMelodrama doomed media starlets]]. ([[WordSaladLyrics Probably.]])

* Music/DireStraits' classic "MoneyForNothing" from ''Music/{{Brothers in Arms|Album}}'' is a song about being a rock star, from the point of view of someone who is not a rock star - a furniture hauler who imagines musical stardom as the easy life.
** and "Heavy Fuel" - sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll from the eyes of a rocker.
*** The group's first hit, "Sultans of Swing", is an inversion of this genre - it's a song about a band that is never going to hit it big, but they're okay with that.

* Folk metal band Music/{{Skyclad}} has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOGvNLH47Q8 "Penny Dreadful"]], a song against rock stars and selling out.

* Music/{{Eminem}} has written numerous songs about the misery (and perks) of fame. ''Music/TheMarshallMathersLP'' is a ConceptAlbum specifically about being a TeenIdol, with numerous references to the TeenPop scene of the era and his [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids child-aged audience]], and ''Music/TheEminemShow'' is a RapRock ConceptAlbum about being a ''rock'' star, with ArenaRock samples, wealth-boasting and {{Groupies}}-themed {{Misogyny Song}}s. He's done some on other albums, like the extremely sarcastic "So Far..." on ''The Marshall Mathers LP 2''. Subverted by "We Made You", which has a hook about being a rock star, but is actually about Em reflecting on his attempts to [[CareerResurrection revive his career]] by analogising it to a {{Loony Fan}} obsessed with [[TabloidMelodrama doomed media starlets]].

* "Shining Star" by Music/{{INXS}} is a cynical deconstruction about what becoming a rock star does to you. Complete with FunnyAneurysmMoment when you realize what happened to Michael Hutchence six years after this song was released...

* Music/DireStraits' classic "MoneyForNothing" from ''Music/BrothersInArms'' is a song about being a rock star, from the point of view of someone who is not a rock star - a furniture hauler who imagines musical stardom as the easy life.

** The Music/{{Nickelback}} song is a subversion, as the narrator is someone who ''aspires'' to be a rock star, and for [[SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll all the wrong reasons]]. They played this straight in "See You At The Show."
** Music/{{Hole}}'s example is more complicated: the song in question was originally named "Olympia", and it was written to mock the RiotGrrrl movement, but it wasn't meant to be on ''Music/LiveThroughThis''. The last song on ''Live Through This'' was originally named "Rockstar", but it featured lines like "Barrel of laughs to be Music/{{Nirvana}}/I'd rather die", so it was thrown off the album because Kurt Cobain's suicide happened shortly before the release date, and it was replaced with "Olympia". However, there wasn't enough time to print new sleeves, so "Olympia" got stuck with the title "Rockstar" instead.
*** Hole has a straighter example in "Playing Your Song," which is about losing artistic control of your work.

* Music/{{Rainbow}}'s ''Spotlight Kid''

* Music/BenFolds' "Rockin' The Suburbs" is another parody of the type.

* Music/TheHoldSteady's "Rock Problems"

* Music/JohnCale's "The Biggest, Loudest, Hairiest Group Of All"

* Hannah Montana's [[Music/MileyCyrus real world counterpart]] has "Fly On The Wall" and "Robot".
* "La La Land" by Music/DemiLovato.
* The Music/JonasBrothers have "Hollywood".
* "Country Star" by Pat Green is another rare country music example.

* "Famous" by Music/PuddleOfMudd.
* A song from the Creator/DiC english dub of ''Anime/SailorMoon'' is one of these. It's surprisingly catchy, too! But [[SpokenWordInMusic the]] [[{{Narm}} bridge]]...
* "Celebrity" by *Music/{{NSYNC}}

* "Garden Grove" by Music/{{Sublime}}.

* Atlanta Rhythm Section: "Georgia Rhythm"

-->--'''Music/TheWho,''' "Success Story" - ''The Who by Numbers.''

* Rick Wakeman - "Ghost of a Rock and Roll Star" (about becoming out of date and irrelevant - perilously self-referential, some might claim)

* Music/NickLowe's "They Called It Rock" which is odd, in that we get both the lead-up (''They went and cut a record/the record hit the charts/and someone in the newspaper/said that it was art'') ...the happy high days and money of a one-hit-wonder (''Hey long distance, it's a rock and roll romance/[[Creator/ColumbiaRecords CBS]] is gonna pay a great big advance/Hey Atlantic, come on take a chance/[[Creator/AristaRecords Arista]] say they love it but the kids can't dance to it'') ...and the eventual fall and moving on with life (''They cut another record, it never was a hit/Someone in the newspaper said it was shit/The drummer is a bookie, the singer is a whore/The bass player's selling clothes he never would have wore'') All within a quick, fast, marketable song, interspersed with the two-line chorus of "''They called it rock, hey, they called it rock.''"

* Music/{{Boston}} - "Rock & Roll Band", which is presented as the story of the band's rise to fame, but is actually a fabrication: Boston's debut album was assembled by bandleader Tom Scholz, who recruited lead vocalist Brad Delp to sing on the recordings and ''then'' put together a band to tour it; they never went "playing all the bars, sleeping in our cars" as the song describes and were famously the first American band whose debut performance in New York City was at ''Madison Square Garden''.

* Music/GrandFunkRailroad - "We're an American Band". Originally written as a reprisal to a member of Herman's Hermits (a British band) making fun of them in a bar.

* "Love Song" by Music/SaraBareilles, is kind of a {{subversion}} of this trope, about refusing to be a sellout.

** Music/TheMonkees themselves took a shot at manufactured rock stardom in ''Film/{{Head}}'' entitled "Ditty Diego." It makes ""So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star" look like a kid's valentine.

** "Superstar II" however, plays more it optimistic about someone on the rise, who did their best "[[CallBack make it to 27]]".

* "I Took a Pill in Ibiza" by Mike Posner. The song opens with an attempt to show a different artist that the singer is "cool" (taking the titular pill), and goes on a downward spiral from there, mentioning things like spending money on meaningless things and being unable to maintain a relationship. The music video also sells the idea: it alternate between footage of people dancing, and the singer helping a friend vomit, having bathroom sex, and other rock bottom activities.