Pop Star in the Yard

Valedictorians, All-American athletes, the occasional best-selling author...Harvard’s freshman class demographics are downright intimidating. Yet only one special frosh can boast having his own reality TV show, self-produced music videos, wedding filming service, and popstar-like fame on campus.

Peter C. Shields Jr.’s ’09 latest music video, “Aphroditi,” which he produced, directed, and starred in, features the crooner in a number of suggestive scenes singing Greek and English lyrics that he penned himself. In the video, the often bare-chested and gyrating Shields performs for adoring crowds and serves as a human stripper pole for a horny handful of tank-topped girls.

The steamy video received as many as 1,500 hits a day when it was “released” over the internet last spring, according to Shields. Not bad for an kid from Belmont.

His ‘net celebrity didn’t provide insta-friends though.

“When I first saw ‘Aphroditi,’ I was like ‘That kid’s a tool,’” says fan and friend Rafael A. Miranda ’09. “But he’s not. He’s a really cool kid.”

Shields, known to his Greek fans as “Petros,” admits that he receives much of his inspiration from Britney Spears. “She’s not exactly my role model, but she is the greatest thing pop culture has in our generation,” he says. “She’s great at capturing attention and controlling people.” As for himself, he says, “I wouldn’t mind being a washed up popstar, working behind the camera, controlling the next generation of the music industry.”

Up next for Shields is a Making The Band-esque reality show called Fourplay in which he will weed out hopeful Harvard auditioners seeking to join him in a dance pop “Abba-style” band. “Harvard needs a little more bubblegum-pop fun,” he says.

Shields says his celebrity didn’t affect his transition to college life, but he admits he suspects some of his “friends” have ulterior motives. Still, he offers advice to aspiring popstars looking for their big break: “Come to me! I will make you famous.”