Friday, Jul. 10, 2009

Garth Brooks / Chris Gaines

In an ill-fated attempt to parlay his career as a bland, inoffensive country crooner into movie stardom, Garth Brooks decided to become Chris Gaines, an equally bland, inoffensive alt-rock up-and-comer. Gaines was supposed to anchor a film project, but Brooks released an album as Gaines and went as far as to invent a fictional biography for his alter ego (including, bizarrely, a car crash that resulted in Gaines' disfigurement). Brooks' audiences weren't receptive to his transformation, and though the album didn't sell terribly, the movie was never made. Brooks retired the character shortly thereafter.