See, the wording of this thread differenciates the response I have to give.
Examples of Hard Work surpassing Talent to lead to success....
French Montana
Katie Perry(who isn't bad, but not as TALENTED as others she surpassed with hard work)
Rihanna
Future
Dream
Jennifer Lopez(singing/acting dept, she's a talented dancer)
Gucci Mane
Beyonce(very talented, but way more successful than others who can outperform her because of her grind)
Alicia Keys(only people who can't play any piano or hold a note think she's that good at it)
I'm not saying any of these people aren't talented at all, I'm saying they worked harder than more talented counterparts who they left in the dust.
Take away names and fame(which you have to work hard to establish)and put Alicia Keys on a stage behind Emilie Sande.
Hell, Rihanna's in the same bracet as Beyonce, she doesn't dance in stelletos(dance at all for that matter) and hit notes Beyonce can.
How hard is it to name rappers better than Gucci or French Montana who are nowhere because they didn't have the work ethic....Saigon? Papoose? Cannibus?
T-Pain was ridiculed for being a poor singer while not being that bad even without autotune and being a great producer/
songwriter. He managed to be phased out by Dream who was Phased out by Future.
I could do this all day.
Hard work is what brings success. Hard work/practice does not however lead to talent. All these years and stage performances later, Rianna still can't hold a note, still can't dance, but always had a talent for creating herself a fanbase.
Talent cannot be gained through hardwork. It can be controlled and lead to sucessful results when accompanied by hard work, but hard work alone can lead to success with no talent whatsoever. Talent alone will never do that, because without any work ethic, the most you'll be is the most talented musician no one has ever heard. There will be no trace of your talent whatsoever nomatter how remarkable it is until you work to get yourself out there.