Teen idol


A teen idol is a celebrity with a large teenage fan-base. Teen idols are generally young but not necessarily teenaged. Often teen idols are actors or musicians. Some teen idols began their careers as child actors, like Miley Cyrus.
The idol's popularity may be limited to teens, or may extend to all age groups. Many teen idols are targeted for adults for nostalgia purposes.
There were teen idols before there were teen magazines, but idols have always been a permanent feature in magazines such as Seventeen, 16, Tiger Beat and Right On! in the United States, and in similar magazines elsewhere. With the advent of television, teen idols were also promoted through programs such as American Bandstand, The Ed Sullivan Show, Soul Train, and in the UK, Top of the Pops. Today's teen idols have spawned an entire industry of gossip magazines, television shows, YouTube, social media, and whole television channels such as E!.
Many American teen idols achieve "cross-over" success internationally; however, this list is not limited to American artists alone with some people such as German popstar Bill Kaulitz of the pop-rock band Tokio Hotel. In Asia, idols range from Japanese pop megastars Ayumi Hamasaki and Namie Amuro as well as Kana Nishino and Japanese music groups such as Momoiro Clover Z, Morning Musume, AKB48, and Perfume and Johnny & Associates boy bands Arashi, NEWS, KAT-TUN, and Hey! Say! JUMP among others while Chinese pop icon Jay Chou, music groups F4 and Lollipop F, and South Korean singers BoA and Rain and music groups Exo, TVXQ, 2PM, 2AM, Beast, Shinee, Super Junior, 2NE1, Big Bang, Wonder Girls, T-ara, Kara, and Girls' Generation are examples.
In Latin America, idols ranges from Mexican pop stars Timbiriche, Lynda Thomas, Magneto, Puerto Rican born Mexican Luis Miguel and the popular Puerto Rican boy band Menudo in the 1980s and 1990s, and Paty Cantú, Anahí, Belinda, and RBD in the 2000s and 2010s. Besides, former Menudo member Ricky Martin, their chief rivals Los Chicos and former member Chayanne, Venezuelan actor and singer Guillermo Davila and more, to Argentina, where telenovela, Chiquititas, ushered in a new era of teen-idols for that country, including actors Benjamin Rojas, Felipe Colombo, Luisana Lopilato, and Camila Bordonaba, who went on to form teen band Erreway, precursors to Mexican band RBD. In Spain, La Oreja de Van Gogh, Miguel Bose, Mecano, and Hombres G all enjoyed teen-idol status. In the Balkans, the late Macedonian singer Toše Proeski was considered a teen idol. Even in the Middle East, idols range from Lebanese-born singer Nancy Ajram and Egyptian-born Tamer Hosny.
In the past, young sports icons and Olympic athletes during their competitive times were considered teen idols such as Jean-Claude Killy, Peggy Fleming, Caitlyn Jenner, Joe Namath, Dorothy Hamill, Mark Spitz, Jim Craig, Nancy Lieberman, Nadia Comăneci, Mary Lou Retton, Ronaldo, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Dominique Moceanu, Michelle Kwan, Carly Patterson, Shawn Johnson, Simone Biles, Nastia Liukin, Michelle Wie, Mia Hamm, Ryan Lochte, Michael Phelps, Missy Franklin, Katie Ledecky, Shaun White, Apolo Ohno, Tom Daley, McKayla Maroney, Gabby Douglas, Red Gerard, and Chloe Kim.
In the 1990s and the 2000s, Vitamin C, known for her songs "Graduation " and "As Long as You're Loving Me", became a teen idol. In the late 2000s, bands like Lillix, KSM, Everlife, and Clique Girlz became teen pop idols and have a teenage fanbase.

Early teen idols

The first known person to have been treated as a teen idol was Franz Liszt, the Hungarian pianist who, in the 1840s, drew such a following among young women that the term "Lisztomania" soon came to describe the phenomenon. The kind of idolizing following Liszt drew in Europe would not be followed for several decades. Geraldine Farrar, American opera singer, had a large following of young women nicknamed "Gerry-flappers" in the early 20th century. Rudy Vallée, who became a major success in 1929 with hits like "Honey" and "Deep Night", may have been the first American popular singer to have been idolised by hundreds of teen-aged girls at sold-out concerts. He was also possibly the first popular singer to have a star vehicle created for him: The Vagabond Lover. Frank Sinatra, whose early career in the 1940s is often linked to his appeal to bobby soxers, is also regarded as having been amongst the first teen idols.

1950s–1960s

The great success of young rock stars like Elvis Presley and Pat Boone, film stars like Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, James Dean, Tab Hunter, and Sal Mineo in the 1950s, as well as the wider emergence of youth subcultures, led promoters to the deliberate creation of teen idols such as singers Frankie Avalon, Fabian Forte, Frankie Lymon, and Connie Stevens. Even crooners like Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra were still considered idols and rather handsome. Actors Edd Byrnes and Troy Donahue and other artists deliberately cultivated a idol image, like Paul Anka.
Post-war teens were able to buy relatively inexpensive phonographs — including portable models that could be carried to friends' houses — and the new 45-rpm singles. Rock music played on 45s became the soundtrack to the 1960s as people bought what they heard on the radio. The great majority of the music being marketed to 1950s teens was being written by adults, but 1960s teens were increasingly appreciating and emulating artists closer to their own age, to teen fashion, and to lyrics which addressed their own concerns. Their parents worried about their attraction to artists who were edgy and rebellious. Faces on magazines fed fans; fans buy records, see films, watch TV and buy fashions.
, Fabian Forte, Tommy Sands, and Ricky Nelson, as pictured
Some marketers turned to film and TV for fresh, attractive, 'safe' faces. Tommy Sands's debut in a television film about the phenomenon, The Idol, made a teen idol out of Sands himself. Ricky Nelson, a performer of rockabilly music, also became a teen idol through his parents' television series, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Some young TV stars were being hustled into studios to make recordings; for example, ex-Mousketeer Annette Funicello became one of the first big female idols as well as The Lennon Sisters whom had cut out dolls and were always on the covers of the gossip magazines; another, Johnny Crawford of The Rifleman, had five Top-40 hits. In 1963, Luke Halpin made a big splash as a teen idol in the television program Flipper. After Bye Bye Birdie was released in 1963, Bobby Rydell became an instant teen idol.
In the 1960s as situation comedies and dramas on television using child actors became more popular, actors Paul Petersen, Patty Petersen, and Shelley Fabares from The Donna Reed Show, Dwayne Hickman from The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Sally Field of Gidget, Jon Provost of Lassie, Jay North from Dennis the Menace, Billy Mumy of Lost in Space, Sajid Khan of Maya, and Keith and Kevin Schultz known as the "Schultz Twins" on The Monroes all became younger preteen idols and grew into being teen idols.
Likewise, Tommy Steele, the Beatles with Beatlemania, the Rolling Stones, and The Beach Boys were teen idols, especially during the earlier part of their careers, although they quickly grew out of that status. The Rolling Stones did it through a more rebellious image, the Beatles did it through their more developed music. Similarly, Neil Sedaka had two distinct eras of his career, with about a decade in between: one as a teen idol in the 1960s, and a later career in adult contemporary music. Roy Orbison was known for his songs Oh, Pretty Woman, Only The Lonely, Crying, and In Dreams. From the family band the Cowsills, Susan Cowsill, John Cowsill and Barry Cowsill became teen idols and were on teen magazine covers for many years; the TV show The Partridge Family was written in their likeness. Many of the teen idols of the era were the sons of older, established stars; Dino, Desi & Billy were active as teen idols during the mid-sixties. The group included Desi Arnaz Jr, Dean Paul Martin, and Billy Hinsche. Gary Lewis, son of comedian Jerry Lewis, fronted The Playboys during this era.
All of The Monkees became instant teen idols in the late 1960s after their TV show became an overnight success, especially for Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones. The British born member of the Monkees Davy Jones was regularly featured in all time teen idol lists. In 2008, Yahoo Music named Jones the number one teen idol of all time, and in 2009 he was ranked second in a list compiled by Fox News. Davy Jones still to this day tends to win many number one's and the top of the list in best teen idol contests.
1965 saw Tiger Beat magazine, an influential teen idols' news magazine, get published for the first time.

1970s

After Davy Jones came Bobby Sherman and David Cassidy, who held the title of Teen Idols from the late 1960s until the mid-1970s. Both Sherman and Cassidy were actors on television and chart topping musicians in the pop-rock category at the time; with David Cassidy in particular enjoying immense international fame and success. Sherman was on hit TV shows Shindig! and Here Come the Brides among many others. Musical series such as Cassidy's The Partridge Family, the animated series The Archie Show, and The Brady Bunch integrated television and teen-pop music to significant success during this time frame. The Brady Bunch's Barry Williams and Christopher Knight, as was tennis pro/actor Vincent Van Patten all were constantly in the fan magazines at the time. Actors Richard Thomas, Robby Benson, Peter Barton, Leif Garrett, Mark Hamill, Mark Lester, Jan-Michael Vincent, William Katt, and Jack Wild were the talk of the teenagers in the 1970s as well. Musicians The Hudson Brothers were on many teen magazine covers for a number of years as teen idols. They had two shows on TV during the 1970s and recorded many albums.
One of the features of many teen idols is that their fans tended to develop a distaste for the music once they became adults, and it is not much listened to by adults, except for nostalgia: the legacy of bubblegum pop. Teen idol performers in this category would include Shaun Cassidy, Leif Garrett,
The Osmond Brothers, Andy Gibb, Tony DeFranco of The DeFranco Family, and The Bay City Rollers. Even modern classic hits and oldies outlets, which cover this time period, rarely play cuts from the teen idols of the era. A notable exception is Michael Jackson of The Jackson Five, who began his career as a teen idol along with his brothers, but whose individual career eventually evolved far beyond the limitations of that description and into superstardom.
The Jackson Five were the first African-American music group to become national teen idols, appearing alongside white idols in magazines such as 16 and Tiger Beat. In addition, the charismatic appeal, showmanship and flurry of fans towards lead Michael Jackson made him a teen idol and heartthrob amongst teens, his success as a soloist continued into the 1980s.
Occasionally, musical outfits attain teen idol status in particular markets while enjoying a different appeal in others. An example would be hard rock/power pop band Cheap Trick, whose early spectacular success in Japan preceded their breakthrough in their native USA and elsewhere, with the so-called "American Beatles" inciting "scenes reminiscent of Beatlemania" in that country in the late 1970s, as is evident on their subsequent international hit live album Cheap Trick at Budokan.

1980s

In 1985, Actress Alyssa Milano from Who's The Boss became a major teen idol and was dubbed "The Teen Queen Of The 1980s".
In the mid-1980s there was a group of young actors called The Brat Pack; the whole group collectively and separately became teen idols. They were Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy. They starred in many coming of age films together in some fashion and became very popular without being musicians.
Actors Corey Feldman and Corey Haim also became teen idols during the later part of the 1980s with films The Goonies and together The Lost Boys, Dream a Little dream and License to Drive among other films. They were dubbed "the two Coreys". Before Corey Haim's death in 2010, they did a reality TV show for two seasons on A&E named The Two Coreys after their 1980s moniker.
Actor River Phoenix during his teen years became a teen idol during the later part of the 1980s, as did Christian Slater.
Australian-American singer-actor Rick Springfield was regarded as the teen idol in the 1980s with such hits as "Jessie's Girl" and "Don't Talk to Strangers". The Grammy Award-winning musician Springfield was known for playing Dr. Noah Drake on the daytime drama General Hospital. He originated the character from 1981 to 1983. He left acting after his music career took off.
During this decade, Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, caused a sensation in Latin America, nicknamed Menudomania that became compared to The Beatles' Beatlemania.
Also painted with the Beatlemania brush was British pop group Duran Duran. Dubbed "The Fab Five", this group is recognized as pioneers in the then relatively new area of music video, that started with the Monkees in the 1960s. Their exotic videos, such as Hungry Like the Wolf, being fixtures on cable channel MTV coupled with their exposure in teen magazines instilled them as teen idols in America and around the world though the majority of the 1980s. Another British pop band Culture Club were dubbed teen idols, with Boy George's androgynous outfits that were copied by his teen fans and young adults alike.
At the end of the 1980s, actor Kirk Cameron became a major teen idol teenage heartthrob. Cameron was best known for his role as Mike Seaver on the television situation comedy Growing Pains from 1985 to 1992. Also Scott Baio and Willie Aames of Charles in Charge fame found themselves regulars in teen magazines.
In popular music, the late 1980s was the boom of teenagers dominating the music charts. Debbie Gibson became the youngest person to write, perform and produce a number-one single, "Foolish Beat", and also had many hits from her first two albums. Tiffany, another teen icon, became a pop sensation at 15 years old thanks to an aggressive marketing strategy. She promoted her debut album in shopping malls of the US. She is also the youngest person to have a debut album hit number one and have multiple number one singles from that album. Having become a household name, she had then-unknown band New Kids on the Block as an opening act for her shows. However, the sudden popularity of the New Kids caused their roles to be reversed. Gibson and Tiffany's careers had stalled by the early 1990s; so had NKOTB by the mid-nineties. The other boy band from Boston, New Edition, was popular with the teen set by the end of the 1980s.
The most popular singer of the 1980s was Madonna. With songs "Like a Prayer", "Who's That Girl" and "Like a Virgin" in the '80s toplists throughout the decade. She became a teen idol through her acclaimed music, groundbreaking videos, celebrity tabloid image, feminist punk spirit, public acceptance of the marginalised LGBTQ+ community, unique fashion at the time and her very loyal fanbase.

1990s

The manufacturing of teen idols has been marketed more aggressively and with greater sophistication since the 1980s. The rise of MTV in the 1980s and the success of the boy bands of the 1990s and 2000s has continued to fuel the phenomenon. Besides a combination of good, clean-cut looks and a ubiquitous marketing campaign, such bands typically include a variety of personality types Classic examples of boy bands include Menudo, New Kids on the Block, Take That, Backstreet Boys, and 'NSYNC, all becoming the best selling pop groups of the decade. Hanson was initially marketed as such a band, but eventually outgrew this label to become a successful indie band. Female pop star Mariah Carey, was very popular with teens in the 1990s. Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez, Mandy Moore, Jessica Simpson, and Britney Spears, along with mega girl groups the Spice Girls, TLC, and Destiny's Child, also became very popular at the end of the decade.
Other notable examples from the 1990s are female R&B singers Aaliyah, Monica, Mýa, and Brandy. After Brandy's television show Moesha went on the air, it brought her many teen fans and she was always on the cover or in the teen magazines for many years. Also on Moesha is where teen R&B singer Usher would make his television acting debut one month after the release of his breakthrough album My Way. Brothers Nick Carter from Backstreet Boys and pop star Aaron Carter were both teen idols in their heyday, as was, to a much lesser extent, sister Leslie. Robbie Williams of boy band Take That had teen idol status as did Ricky Martin during the Latin music explosion of the late 1990s. Alternative rock artists of various subgenres such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Korn, Tool, Everclear, Green Day, Blink 182, Sum 41, Rage Against the Machine, Third Eye Blind, The Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer, the Goo Goo Dolls, Matchbox Twenty, Bush, Oasis, Blur, Radiohead, Phish, 311, The Bloodhound Gang, The Cranberries, Alanis Morissette and many others were also popular among teenagers, changing the image for "clean cut" idols. Rappers such as Tupac Shakur, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Snoop Dogg, The Notorious B.I.G also had large teenage fan bases, many of whom were following the East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry.
Many of the major teen idols in the 1990s were from boy bands and musical acts. One major exception was the situation comedy Home Improvement 's Jonathan Taylor Thomas, who played Randy Taylor from 1991–1998; "JTT", uncomfortable with his teen idol status, left the show one year shy of the show's last year on the air. Another major teen idol was Freddie Prinze, Jr. who skyrocketed to teen heartthrob status after starring in successful teen horror films. A third teen idol from a movie was Edward Furlong, who became famous for his performance as John Connor in.
The 1997 film Titanic made Leonardo DiCaprio a teen idol; during "Leo-Mania" his face appeared on many teen magazines. Other teen idols from TV were most of the cast of Saved by the Bell, Joshua Jackson and James Van Der Beek of Dawson's Creek, Ben Savage, Will Friedle and Rider Strong of Boy Meets World, Joseph Gordon-Levitt of 3rd Rock From the Sun, Jonathan Brandis of seaQuest DSV, Jared Leto of My So-Called Life, Joey Lawrence of Blossom, Jason Priestley and Luke Perry of Beverly Hills, 90210 fame, and Erik Von Detten of various TGIF shows. These actors were often found on the covers and pages of teen magazines during the 1990s as teen idols as well. Sarah Michelle Gellar was a major teen idol in the late 90s, as a result of her lead role in the popular television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Fraternal twin sisters and TV actresses Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen were major tween idols and as they grew up they later became teen idols during the 1990s. After the movie Clueless, Alicia Silverstone found herself a teen idol. The comedy duo of Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell were major teen idols in the 1990s, due to their fame on Nickelodeon they were known for starring in the sketch comedy series All That, their own comedy sitcom Kenan & Kel and their movie Good Burger. Nickelodeon also produced The Amanda Show which featured Amanda Bynes as well.
In sport, Ronaldo was an idol for teens around the world, such as a teenage Zlatan Ibrahimović, with Jacob Steinberg of The Guardian writing, "In 1998, no one was as ferociously talented as Ronaldo, whose supernatural mixture of power, pace and skill had made him the player every child in the playground wanted to be.

2000s

and its numerous outlets have successfully developed a new generation of teen idols. In the early 2000s, the company developed the careers of actresses and singers Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan, initially targeting youth and female teen audiences. While still teenagers, Duff became famous for her starring titular character in the Disney Channel teen sitcom Lizzie McGuire, and Lohan became famous for her starring roles in many successful teen movies, including Freaky Friday, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, Mean Girls and . The success of this marketing led to further development of the genre, including new teen idols such as Raven-Symoné, Dylan and Cole Sprouse, Zac Efron, Jesse McCartney, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, and the Jonas Brothers.
Disney has also used the acquisition of ABC Family to develop shows and stars popular among teen girls. Another similar corporation, Nickelodeon, began developing its own slate of stars for its television shows in 2004, including Drake Bell, Josh Peck, Emma Roberts, Miranda Cosgrove, Jennette McCurdy, Nathan Kress, Jamie Lynn Spears, Ariana Grande, Victoria Justice, Elizabeth Gillies, and groups The Naked Brothers Band and Big Time Rush, many of whom have not only starred in TV shows, but recorded songs as well. Many of the modern-day teen idols are females marketed as "role-models" to teen and tween girls, a departure from the traditional role of the male teen idol marketed as the idolized teen "heart-throb". Actress Mischa Barton became a teen idol through playing Marissa Cooper in the Fox teen drama television series The O.C., and Entertainment Weekly named her the "It Girl" of 2003. The O.C. also inspired the MTV reality television series which spawned the careers of reality TV stars such as Kristin Cavallari, Lauren Conrad and actor Stephen Colletti. The 2000s also saw many new teen idols emerge from popular feature films such as the casts of Harry Potter and The Twilight Saga.
In 2002, Canadian singer Avril Lavigne dominated the music scene and eventually became a worldwide teen idol. Listed at #4 on Yahoo!'s Top 25 Teen Idols of all-time. During the popularity of her sister Jessica Simpson's MTV reality television series, 7th Heaven actress Ashlee Simpson developed a music career through her own MTV spin-off reality series The Ashlee Simpson Show in 2004, and soon became a teen idol. Teen idols were also dominant in the R&B and Hip Hop realm such as Chris Brown, JoJo, Bow Wow, Ciara, B2K, Mario, Lil' Romeo, 3LW and Rihanna. Alternative rock bands such as Arctic Monkeys, Audioslave, Coldplay, Fall Out Boy, The Strokes, The White Stripes, Jimmy Eat World, Limp Bizkit, 30 Seconds to Mars, Muse, Staind, Seether, Three Days Grace, Papa Roach, Chevelle, Gorillaz, Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Blink-182, Green Day, Nickelback, Paramore, Slipknot, System of a Down and others were popular among teenagers in the "emo" phase.

2010s

In Japan, more and more Japanese idol groups have appeared. In Japanese culture, persons called "idols" are media personalities in their teens and early twenties who are considered particularly attractive or cute and who will, for a period ranging from several months to a few years, regularly appear in the mass media, e.g. as singers for pop groups, bit-part actors, TV personalities, models in photo spreads published in magazines, advertisements, etc. One of the most successful groups is Momoiro Clover Z. Their performances incorporate elements of ballet, gymnastics, and action movies. During 2014, about 486,000 people attended their live concerts, which was the highest record of all female musicians in Japan. Momoiro Clover Z has been ranked as the most popular female idol group from 2013 to 2017.
In the late 2010s, many young men developed large following amongst teenagers and millennials after portraying famous literary characters. The most notable among these were Noah Centineo, Timothée Chalamet, Tom Holland and Nick Robinson. These young men were referred to by the media and general public as "White Boys of the Month," with the term since becoming a popular meme. In particular, Centineo became popular extremely among teenagers and young adults following the release of To All the Boys I've Loved Before, having gained over 15 million Instagram followers within 8 weeks of the film's premiere. He has been dubbed an "internet boyfriend" by the media.