SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
The biopic "Better Man" opens in theaters across the country this weekend.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "BETTER MAN")
ROBBIE WILLIAMS: I'm Robbie Williams. I'm one of the biggest pop stars in the world.
(SOUNDBITE OF ROBBIE WILLIAMS SONG, "ROCK DJ")
WILLIAMS: This is my story.
SIMON: The film launched here in limited release last month, and critics liked it, but it grossed less than $92,000. Paramount, which acquired "Better Man" for $25 million tells Variety they hope for 2 million from this weekend's wider release. But this might just be a biopic for a bio not so well known.
(SOUNDBITE OF TIKTOK VIDEO)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Y'all, we're not trying to put a wool over your eyes. We really don't know who Robbie Williams is.
(SOUNDBITE OF TIKTOK VIDEO)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: I keep coming across videos about Robbie Williams. Who's Robbie Williams? Why does it matter?
(SOUNDBITE OF ROBBIE WILLIAMS SONG, "ROCK DJ")
SIMON: Now, Robbie Williams is one of the biggest pop stars in the world. He's sold more than 75 million records and holds 40 No.1 albums. But here in the U.S., he may be less well known than B. J. Leiderman, who writes our theme music.
(SOUNDBITE OF TIKTOK VIDEO)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: There's a reason Robbie Williams never made it big in America. It's 'cause we don't like him. The music is not good, and the music, y'all keep playing to tell us that he's good, we don't like it.
(SOUNDBITE OF TIKTOK VIDEO)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: The U.K. is mad at us Americans for not knowing who Robbie Williams is. Am I the only one that thought they were speaking about Robin Williams for a second?
SIMON: When Robin Williams starred in "Awakenings," Robbie Williams just started his career in the boy band Take That when he was 16.
(SOUNDBITE OF TAKE THAT SONG, "COULD IT BE MAGIC")
SIMON: He left the band in the middle of a 1995 world tour, just about the time Robin Williams was filming "The Birdcage."
DAISY JONES: They actually initially became famous for being sort of slightly homoerotic. There was something a bit cheesy about them.
SIMON: That's culture writer Daisy Jones, who's got a piece in this month's British Vogue - "America Doesn't Need To Get Robbie Williams."
JONES: He doesn't hide his Britishisms. I know a lot of U.K. artists appeal to U.S. audience. I feel like Harry Styles is a perfect example of that. He could be American. He doesn't, like, sing with a really strong accent. He doesn't really use, like, British slang and his music, and Robbie Williams definitely does. He says things that just wouldn't make sense in the U.S. In one of his songs, "Kids" - his duet with Kylie Minogue - he says he doesn't want some bird that looks like Billy Connolly. I don't think Americans use the word bird, maybe.
SIMON: Yeah, except to talk about, you know, a bird like a pigeon or an eagle. Even a great mind like Ted Lasso doesn't know about Robbie Williams.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "TED LASSO")
JEREMY SWIFT: (As Leslie Higgins) Good afternoon. We have a huge problem - our musical guest, Robbie Williams, has canceled.
HANNAH WADDINGHAM: (As Rebecca Welton) God.
JASON SUDEIKIS: (As Ted Lasso) Oh, no. Who is that?
JONES: I think there is a feeling that just 'cause someone's not famous in the U.S. doesn't mean he's not famous worldwide.
SIMON: And Robbie Williams is famous worldwide. He's had No. 1 songs in Argentina, Brazil and Australia. His song "Angels" has been compared to "Piano Man" and "Sweet Caroline." People all over the world just know it.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ANGELS")
WILLIAMS: (Singing) There's an angel...
JONES: He's always been everywhere to such a degree that you don't even notice if his song comes on. I can guarantee that if you enter any karaoke night in the U.K. on any given night, someone would be singing "Angels."
SIMON: Robbie Williams has struggled openly with addiction. He's had very public feuds. He's suffered from anxiety onstage, and all of that is captured in "Better Man," and all of that has endeared him to his fans.
JONES: We've grown up with him, and he's grown up with us. He's almost, like, the country's brother or something or, like, the country's son or...
SIMON: But not yet America's son, like, say, Prince Harry has become, which isn't lost on Robbie Williams, who was asked to address his American fans when "Better Man" was shown to the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
WILLIAMS: Yeah, I'll speak to that one fan. Hi, Linda. You all right? Nice to see you. Sorry I haven't been back to America since the last century, but it's nice that you, you know, still check out my stuff online. And how are the family? Are they good?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ANGELS")
WILLIAMS: (Singing) And through it all, she offers me protection. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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