History Main / TheRockStar

* Ibuki Mioda from ''VisualNovel/SuperDanganRonpa2'' as the Ultimate Musician.

* Music/FreddieMercury, of the group Music/{{Queen}}, provides this page's image.

* Imp y Celyn ("Buddy") in ''Discworld/SoulMusic'' is the Literature/{{Discworld}}'s first (and, despite the attempts of people like [[DreadfulMusician Crash]] to follow in his footsteps, only) Music with Rocks in star.

** Longshot had all of the qualities of this trope without actually being a musician, though he did upstage Dazzler the one time he did sing on-panel. Longshot [[InvokedTrope deliberately produced]] as Estrogen Brigade Bait by Mojo for [[ShowWithinAShow shows in his dimension]].

* ''VideoGame/TotalDistortion'' features three rock stars in the [[EldritchLocation Distortion Dimension]]. Two of them, Johnny Fang and [[Main/PunkRock Betty Pink]], appear in a stage you have to pay to watch, while the third, [[Main/EmoMusic Edgar Death]], shows up in a [[CreepyCemetery cemetery]]. Finding recorded footage of these characters in the game is the most valuable item you can get, since your main objective is to make [[SurrealMusicVideo music videos]] based in this dimension.

* One episode of the ''Series/WonderWoman'' series centered around a rock star, played by that crazy wildman [[WTHCasting Martin Mull]].

* The UrExample would be 19th-century violinist Niccolò Paganini. He reputedly sold his soul to the devil for his abilities and learned his signature move of playing on one string in prison, where he was only allowed one string. He had long fiery-red hair (at the time a sure sign of demonic influence) and at a time when bright colours were the height of fashion dressed only in black. He was almost as well known for drinking, gambling and womanising as he was for playing the violin.

* Freddie Mercury, of the group Music/{{Queen}}, provides this page's image.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}''. The supplement ''Shadowbeat'' had rules for {{PC}}s to be musicians, including rock stars.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Cyberpunk}} 2020''. {{PC}}s could be Rockerboys, with "Charismatic Leadership" that allowed control of other people by playing music.

!! Examples:

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* Creator/MarvelComics' ''ComicBook/{{Dazzler}}'' was originally a mutant who can change sound waves into light waves, and uses this as part of her disco stage show, making her one of the few not nigh-universally hated mutants in the 'verse.

[[folder: Film ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* Zal of the ''Literature/QuantumGravity'' series is an [[ElvishPresley elf rock star]], though one of the points he likes to make is that he does not limit himself to rock music, because every genre can be good. Incidentally, [[spoiler: becoming a rock star is all part of his plan to make "a lot of people free," as Malachi puts it. It's weird, but it works.]]

* Imp y Celyn ("Buddy") in ''Discworld/SoulMusic'' is the Literature/{{Discworld}}'s first (and, despite the attempts of people like [[DreadfulMusician Crash]] to follow in his footsteps, only) Music With Rocks In star.

[[folder: Live Action Television ]]

* One episode of the ''WonderWoman'' series centered around a rock star, played by that crazy wildman [[WTHCasting Martin Mull]].

[[folder: Music ]]

[[folder: Tabletop RPG ]]

[[folder: Theater ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* Klavier Gavin in ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'' is one of these in addition to being a prosecutor.

* Ibuki Mioda from ''VisualNovel/SuperDanganRonpa2'' as the Ultimate Musician.

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* For Creator/WolfgangAmadeusMozart, this was an UnbuiltTrope. He lived in relative luxury on a generous royal commission, but his lavish lifestyle and alcohol and drug use kept him in poverty, and he died young. While his music was well-known in his own time, much of it was considered incomprehensible by his benefactors and audiences alike.

* The comic ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greatest_Hits_(comics) Greatest Hits]]'' is about a Music/{{Beatles}} {{Expy}} rock group called The Mates who also have superpowers, but those powers are unrelated to their rockstarness.

TheRockStar is often found around SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll, but on occasion this is subverted and they are found to actually be the character with their heads screwed on the best. If this character is an adventurer they tend to use ThePowerOfRock as their weapon, or failing that they will be a MusicalAssassin.

Not to be confused with RockStarSong which is a song about being one of these. BritishRockstar is a specific subtrope that tends to focus on the less likable and/or glamorous tendencies of rockers.

* Rock Zilla in ''WesternAnimation/MyDadTheRockStar'' prefers to act like a space case, but is actually clasically trained and can keep up with his snooty, orchestrally trained father when he is of a mind to.
* ''WesternAnimation/HiHiPuffyAmiYumi'': The show centers around the escapades of two rock stars, Ami and Yumi, who are in the eponymous band. They perform at stadiums...when the plot doesn't get in the way.

* All five Dethklok members in ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}''

* ''[[ComicBook/TwoThousandAD 2000AD]]'' had ''Comicbook/{{Zenith}}'', an 80s superhero who was also a [[NewWaveMusic New Wave]]/Glam popstar.

* In the film ''{{Rock Star}}'' an average guy suddenly becomes the lead singer of a highly successful HeavyMetal band, and he finds himself unprepared for the debauchery and hedonism of the rock star lifestyle.

* Lestat of AnneRice's VampireChronicles becomes one of these in the nineteen-eighties, and is very pleased with himself about it. He uses it as a platform to try and [[TheUnmasquedWorld reveal vampires to mortals]], but he doesn't deny that he's also just enjoying the fame.

* Rock Zilla in ''MyDadTheRockStar'' prefers to act like a space case, but is actually clasically trained and can keep up with his snooty, orchestrally trained father when he is of a mind to.
* ''HiHiPuffyAmiYumi'': The show centers around the escapades of two rock stars, Ami and Yumi, who are in the eponymous band. They perform at stadiums...when the plot doesn't get in the way.
* Sonic, Sonia, and Manic in ''SonicUnderground''.

[[AC:ComicBooks]]

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]

[[AC:LiveActionTelevision]]

[[AC:{{Music}} (Particularly famous RealLife examples who often inspire fictional ones)]]

* The UrExample would be 19th-century violinist Niccolò Paganini. He reputedly sold his soul to the devil for his abilities and learned his signature move of playing on one string in prison, where he was only allowed one string. He had long fiery-red hair (at the time a sure sign of demonic influence) and at a time when bright colours were the height of fashion dressed only in black. He was almost as well known for drinking, gambling and womanising as he was for playing the violin.

[[AC:TabletopRPG]]

[[AC:{{Theater}}]]

[[AC:{{Video Games}}]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

* AmyWinehouse.

* Mason of ''DeadLikeMe'' is sort of a wannabe version of this. Never really got the fame, but definitely fits the [[SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll promiscuity and extreme substance abuse]].

* Freddie Mercury, of the group {{Queen}}, provides this page's image.

* TheWho are real-life examples of four different garden-variety rock-star stereotypes: the sex symbol (Roger Daltrey), the hotel-wrecking, drug-running madman (Keith Moon), the tortured artist trying to keep his head and his band together (Pete Townshend), and TheQuietOne who's nevertheless NotSoAboveItAll (John Entwistle). It could be argued that any example of this trope will fall under one or more of these categories.
* Music/{{Kiss}}

* [[TheDoors Jim Morrison]] is often said to be the TropeCodifier for this.

* Dewey Cox from ''WalkHard'' is a vicious deconstruction.

* {{Kiss}}

* Zal of the ''QuantumGravity'' series is an [[ElvishPresley elf rock star]], though one of the points he likes to make is that he does not limit himself to rock music, because every genre can be good. Incidentally, [[spoiler: becoming a rock star is all part of his plan to make "a lot of people free," as Malachi puts it. It's weird, but it works.]]

* TheWho are real-life examples of four different garden-variety rock-star stereotypes: the MemeticSexGod (Roger Daltrey), the hotel-wrecking, drug-running madman (Keith Moon), the tortured artist trying to keep his head and his band together (Pete Townshend), and TheQuietOne who's nevertheless NotSoAboveItAll (John Entwistle). It could be argued that any example of this trope will fall under one or more of these categories.