Unprecedented Popularity Quotes

God didn't design anyone to be recognized by 2 billion people.

I am just a normal guy, and suddenly I am really, really famous. It's definitely got its perks; I never have to wait in line at a restaurant.

To be 23 and riding the crest of a song sweeping the world country by country is to live an altered and wholly rarefied existence.

Obama has made America cool again - and more than that, he's made his own brand arguably the most powerful the world has ever known.

From a nobody, I seem to have become a celebrity of sorts overnight. I am dumbstruck and overwhelmed.

When Elvis was performing, you just tried to figure out a way to get there. I think he set all the records and anyone that has ever had the good fortune to see him, you know what it's like to try to get in to see Elvis. It was impossible, practically.

We became somewhat household names really quickly, within a matter of - what? - three, four months. So it's hard to get used to, and it's really sometimes hard to understand.

Nothing could prepare you for being instantly famous.

It is ridiculous - like a mad whirlwind... it's mad that I'm so famous.

Imagine a singer with the virtuosity of Joan Sutherland or Ella Fitzgerald, the public persona of Eleanor Roosevelt, and the audience of Elvis, and you have Umm Kulthum.

I think it's really strange for somebody that's probably never been in the public eye. All of a sudden I was 'big time' - boom, it all just happened.

No one was more surprised than me by the success of the first series of 'Line of Duty.'

I've been in a room with Britney Spears and she's lovely. I remember thinking, 'You're just this vulnerable girl who got a lot of fame very fast.'

The real kiss of death - particularly with my father - is the extraordinary popularity of his work.

I went from living my life anonymously for 58 years to being a public figure known globally in a matter of minutes.

When you become a mega-icon overnight, there's no way to keep that intensity continually going.

A best-seller is the golden touch of mediocre talent.

You can get awful famous in this country in seven days.

Dealing with the fame and going from nothing and becoming something where everyone wants a piece of you, your life changes in a day.

Wannabe was so huge. So big. So unexpected.