Har Mar Superstar both praised, panned

Sean Tillmann Har Mar Superstar is coming to Toledo.

Har Mar Superstar is probably the only person on the face of the Earth who can boast of giving supermodel Kate Moss a good hard kiss and dating Kelly Osbourne, the epithet-spewing, decidedly nonwaifish daughter of Ozzy.

Sean Tillmann, aka Har Mar Superstar, is the quintessential 21st century "superstar," achieving fame as much for acting and hobnobbing with other famous people as his music, which has received both critical acclaim and pans.

He'll bring his act to Toledo tomorrow at Headliners for an all-ages show.

He cites Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson as influences, although neither ever recorded anything as sexually explicit and raunchy as the rhythm and blues-based rap music on his self-titled first disc, "Har Mar Superstar."

And neither ever provoked the kind of critical lambasting that Tillmann suffered at the hands of All Music Guide's online review, which included the following description of his new disc, "The Handler":

"While his randy send-up of urban music doesn't quite reach code-red, Weird Al levels of jokiness, Tillmann's music and shtick (wow, a chubby white guy singing about sex!) always come closer to novelty music than sultry R&B."

Tillmann, a native of Owatonna, Minn., who is in his mid-20s, started six years ago, touring behind his first disc and spending several years in Europe where he was voted "Rock and Roll Man of the Year" in the NME music awards in London.

Tours with hot new bands like the Strokes raised his profile even more. He also was featured in a scene in the remake of Starsky and Hutch, as a disco dancer who competes with actor Ben Stiller in a "dance-off."

Known for undressing as he performs and break dances, Har Mar Superstar also received notice in a New York Times gossip column last May with this entry regarding his encounter with Moss:

"Har Mar Superstar, a short, furry little man who stripped down to his tighty-whities to rock the house at photographer Mick Rock's party Tuesday night at Hiro, grabbed the scantily clad supermodel and gave her a lip-sucking kiss. Every man in the room froze in jealousy."

Opening bands Alaska, which features members of Folk Implosion, and Downtown Brown will perform tomorrow at Headliners, 4500 North Detroit Ave., along with Har Mar Superstar. Doors open at 9 p.m. Tickets are available at all Ticketmaster outlets, Allied Records, and Culture Clash. They are $10 in advance and $12 the day of the show. Information: 419-269-4500.