"When you're that successful, things have a momentum, and at a certain point you can't really tell whether you have created the momentum or it's creating you"
About this Quote
The line works because it refuses the neat narrative that culture loves to sell about fame: that “you did this” and therefore you fully own it. Lennox inserts a destabilizing doubt right at the peak. The question isn’t whether you earned your success, but whether the machinery that rewards you is now steering your life: schedules, expectations, brand maintenance, the churn of tours and interviews, the pressure to replicate the last win. “It’s creating you” is the chilling part. Identity becomes a byproduct of demand. You’re not only making music; you’re being made into “Annie Lennox,” a public product with consistent angles and deliverables.
There’s also a gendered edge in how she frames it. For women in pop, success often comes bundled with tighter scripts about image, likability, and reinvention. Momentum can be a cage that looks like opportunity from the outside.
Contextually, Lennox’s career spans the shift from mystique-driven stardom to relentless visibility, where the market doesn’t just amplify you; it edits you in real time. Her sentence lands as both confession and warning: the higher you rise, the less certain you are who’s piloting.
Quote Details
| Topic | Success |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Lennox, Annie. (2026, January 17). When you're that successful, things have a momentum, and at a certain point you can't really tell whether you have created the momentum or it's creating you. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-youre-that-successful-things-have-a-momentum-38322/
Chicago Style
Lennox, Annie. "When you're that successful, things have a momentum, and at a certain point you can't really tell whether you have created the momentum or it's creating you." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-youre-that-successful-things-have-a-momentum-38322/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"When you're that successful, things have a momentum, and at a certain point you can't really tell whether you have created the momentum or it's creating you." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-youre-that-successful-things-have-a-momentum-38322/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.












