From Face to Mask: Introduction -- The Double Persona: Pop Subject and Mask -- The Immobile Face: Coolness -- The Backside of the Mask: Anonymity -- The Mask as Logo: Style Community and Series -- Me and No Mask: Unmaskings -- The Immobile Face II: Mask and Death -- Femininity Instead of Masquerade: Countergendered Masks -- Conclusion: From Face to Mask to Avatar?

Pop stars are close to us. In their songs, their pictures, their stories on Instagram. What we are looking for is an authentic impression. Real feelings on real faces. But what happens when they cover their face with a mask? Permanently, as a second face. The phenomenon can be found in the mainstream as well as in the underground. The mask does not break with the ideal of authenticity. Rather, depending on how it is staged, it refers to the most diverse discourses, can appear cool or grotesque, become a logo or create anonymity. The essay uses mainly two examples (Sido, Slipknot) to show how the mask constructs the persona of pop stars - and thus reveals structures of pop music. The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence. A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content.