Har Mar Superstar
To put it bluntly, Har Mar Superstar (aka Sean Tillmann) is a balding, out-of-shape white man with a pencil-thin moustache who croons sex-laden R&B tunes while breakdancing. His live shows, sung to the backing of a small boombox, usually culminate in Har Mar stripping down to his underwear (often of the tighty whitey variety). That's only part of the story, though, for he also happens to sing well and write some fine tunes. In fact, he has penned songs for Jennifer Lopez and Kelly Osbourne; the latter was also his date for the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards. He was also picked up by the major label Warner Bros. for his sophomore effort, You Can Feel Me, and tapped to open shows for the Strokes and Incubus in sizable venues.
In another incarnation, the St. Paul, MN, native is known as the cult indie rocker Sean Na-Na. He first emerged as a recording artist in the St. Paul band Calvin Krime in the late '90s; his self-titled debut as Har Mar Superstar emerged in 2000, launching his libidinous, sometimes b-boy prone R&B persona. The 2002 follow-up, while still dabbling in irony, turned out to be a more fully realized, well-produced, and downright funky release. The project forced many to recognize that trapped inside this chubby white man (who looks like a cross between porn legend Ron Jeremy and comic actor Jack Black) is a first-class soul crooner. In fact, Rolling Stone magazine featured Har Mar Superstar as one of its "new faces" of 2002. Though Warner Bros. dropped Har Mar Superstar from their main roster in 2003, Tillmann was back the following year with a new album, Handler, on Record Collection, one of the label's boutique imprints. After a five year gap, Har Mar returned in 2009 with the more disco-oriented, Dark Touches, before eventually transitioning to a more classic soul/R&B sound in 2013 with his fifth album, Bye Bye 17.
