Is Klay Thompson an NBA superstar? A star? What about Susan Boyle: A singing star? Is country music songstress Miranda Lambert a superstar or just a star?
It's time to settle these disputes. There has to be a way to measure this. We have to know what makes someone a star or a superstar.
For instance, does being on a prime-time TV show (or now, on a streaming TV show that many people watch) automatically make you a TV star? Do you need to have a lead role to be a star?
What about superstar? To be a superstar singer, do you need to have multiple No. 1 songs or multiple sold-out international concert series? Can you be a rock star if you're the bassist for a reasonably popular band?
Today, I define the terms: I propose that "star" means you're in the top 10 percent of your field.
Let's face it, playing major league baseball, getting a recording contract, landing a role in a TV show or a movie is impressive. Few of us get that far.
But doing so just makes you a major league player, a recording artist or a working actor. It doesn't make you a star at any of them. To be a star, you have to be better than 90 percent of your cohorts.
This obviously raises the bar in many fields, but what's wrong with that? As John F. Kennedy, star president, said: "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things not because they are easy, but because they are hard." Same thing with calling someone a star: You don't get to be a star because it's easy. You become a star because it's hard.
Some stars: Alicia Keys, James Taylor, John Legend, Johnny Mathis, Aerosmith in music; Clint Eastwood, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Emma Stone, Bette Davis in movies; Buster Posey, Troy Aikman, Venus Williams and Lennox Lewis in sports.
They're all great. They all are memorable and famous and beloved by their fans. But they're not 1 percenters.
That's the definition of superstar: The top 1 percent of a field.
If you're a "super" version of a star, you are extremely elite. That doesn't mean above average, it means better than 99 percent of people in the field.
In the NBA, where there are 450 players on rosters at any time, there are four or five superstars. In pop music, where there are (he makes a guess) 1,000 legitimate active recording artists at any time, there are 10 superstars.
In movies, where there are roughly (he's guessing again) 2,500 actors, there are 25 superstars. Half are men, half are women.
This is an exclusive club, get it?
Some superstars: The Beatles, Jay-Z, Whitney Houston, Wham! in music; Meryl Streep, Al Pacino, Leonardo DiCaprio, Katheryn Hepburn in movies; Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, LeBron James, Manny Pacquiao in sports.
I hope this makes it simpler.
Roseanne Barr isn't a superstar (she's a star). Brandon Belt isn't a star (he's a major league starter). Taylor Swift is a borderline superstar and Draymond Green is just a star.
Oh, to wrap things up: Aaron Paul is a TV star because his role was so great. Klay Thompson is a star. Susan Boyle isn't a music star. Miranda Lambert is on the fringe of superstardom, but I don't follow country music enough to know.
Feel free to debate me, but remember the rule: Top 10 percent makes you a star, top 1 percent makes you a superstar.
And to further wrap things up: Yes, Wham!
Reach Brad Stanhope at bradstanhope@hotmail.com.
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