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 teen girls 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. American-born
Roger Wolfe Kahn became, arguably, America's first modern-day teen idol, when, in 1924 at the age of sixteen he launched his first jazz band. Throughout his teens, he became dubbed the 'Millionaire Maestro.'
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, File:Franz-liszt-in-hungarian-costume-watercolour-by-josef-friehuber-1838.jpg|Watercolour of
Franz Liszt in 1838, the first known teen idol File:Roger Wolfe Kahn on the cover of Time magazine (September 19, 1927).jpg|
Roger Wolfe Kahn on the cover of
TIME magazine (September 19, 1927, America's first teen idol) File:Rudy Vallée - Photoplay, June 1930.jpg|1930 caricature of
Rudy Vallée 1950s–1960s ,
Tommy Sands, and
Ricky Nelson, as pictured. Although he had only three major movie roles,
James Dean earned two Oscar nominations. He also had the image of a rebellious youth, something that was popular among girls and young women. His performance in
Rebel Without A Cause (1955) and his untimely death in a road collision in 1955 cemented his status as an icon. Contemporary teenagers still wear white T-shirts and jeans in his style. Selected by
Walt Disney in 1955 for his new show
The Mickey Mouse Club,
Annette Funicello became popular among viewers by the end of the first season.
Elvis Presley made his debut in the mid-1950s and became a sensation. Deemed too dangerous to be filmed except from the waist up because of his sexually suggestive dance moves, he became popular among teenagers. Even crooners like
Frank Sinatra were still considered idols and rather handsome. Actors
Edd Byrnes and
Troy Donahue and other artists deliberately cultivated a (safer) idol image, like Canadian musician
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 (and DJs) who were edgy and rebellious. Faces on magazines fed fans; fans buy records, see films, watch TV and buy fashions. Some marketers turned to film and TV for fresh, 'safe' faces.
Tommy Sands's debut in a
television film about the phenomenon,
The Idol, made a teen idol out of Sands himself. Teen idol
Ricky Nelson rose to stardom on the hit show
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and the show was successfully used to promote his songs, making him one of the biggest stars in music. His wholesome image was a stark contrast to the uproar caused by Elvis Presley, with parents often approving of Nelson. Rick's popularity continued to grow as Elvis and the
Everly Brothers were in the military,
Chuck Berry was imprisoned, and
Buddy Holly and
Ritchie Valens died. However his popularity declined as the
British Invasion hit the United States when
the Beatles arrived in 1964. The level of stardom they achieved in the U.S.—dubbed
Beatlemania—was never before seen in that country, not even during the heyday of Elvis Presley. It is believed that a part of their success in the U.S. was because they brought hope and joy to a nation that was still recovering from the shock of the assassination of President
John F. Kennedy. Another possible reason was that the Beatles were young, energetic, good-looking, and witty, which made it easy for them to become famous in the age of television. 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.
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 (or "grown up") 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," and "
Crying." From the family band
the Cowsills,
Susan Cowsill,
John Cowsill and
Barry Cowsill became teen idols. 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
Dean Paul Martin (son of singer
Dean Martin), and
Billy Hinsche (a mutual friend whose parents were not famous).
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 Monkee
Davy Jones was regularly featured in
teen fan magazines. 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. Teen fan magazine
TeenSet began publishing in 1964, focusing on youthful bands and musicians.
Tiger Beat magazine began competing for the same audience in 1965.
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 (to a lesser extent)
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. Popular actors such as
John Moulder Brown,
Leonard Whiting,
Ray Lovelock (Raymond Lovelock),
Leif Garrett,
Mark Hamill,
Mark Lester,
Jan-Michael Vincent and
Jack Wild were the talk of the teenagers in the 1970s as well. Musical group 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 (and, in some cases, the musicians themselves) tended to develop a hate 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 (particularly
Donny Osmond and their teen idol sister
Marie Osmond), appearing along with famous 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 and early 1990s.
1980s In 1985, actress
Alyssa Milano from ''
Who's the Boss? became a major teen idol. 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. Molly Ringwald entered the limelight with the films Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club''. 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 (2007–08) 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 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 compared to Beatles'
Beatlemania. At the end of the 1980s, actor
Kirk Cameron became a major teen idol. 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. One of the most popular female singers of the 1980s, with teen idol status was
Madonna, especially among youth female audience which was later named
Madonna wannabes. 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 ("
I Think We're Alone Now" and "
Could've Been"). 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.
1990s The manufacturing of teen idols has been marketed more aggressively and with greater sophistication since the 1980s. Many of the major teen idols in the 1990s were bands and musical acts. The rise of
MTV in the 1980s and the success of the
boy bands and
girl groups during the 1990s and 2000s 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 (e.g. "the shy one", "the smart one", etc.) These idols were often found on the covers and pages of teen magazines during the 1990s as teen idols as well. 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.
Christina Aguilera,
Jennifer Lopez,
Mandy Moore,
Jessica Simpson, and Britney Spears, along with female bands such as the
Spice Girls, The
Backstreet Boys' popularity grew in 1997 with "
Everybody (Backstreet's Back)," a song produced by
Max Martin. and became the world's best-selling album by a teenage solo artist. Before she turned 20 years, Spears was also recognized by the
Guinness World Records as the best-selling teenage artist. Spears and
Billie Piper also became the youngest artists to have accumulated more number-one songs in the UK singles chart. After the movie
Clueless (1995),
Alicia Silverstone became a teen idol. The 1997 film
Titanic made
Leonardo DiCaprio a teen idol; during "Leo-Mania" his face appeared on many teen magazines. Fraternal twin sisters and actresses
Ashley Olsen and
Mary-Kate Olsen were major tween idols and as they grew up they later became teen idols during the 1990s.
2000s Beginning with the careers of actresses and singers
Hilary Duff and
Raven-Symoné,
the Walt Disney Company cultivated many
Disney Channel favorites into becoming teen idols of the time.
Mean Girls (2004), a well-known comedy written by
Tina Fey, featured the performances of
Rachel McAdams and
Amanda Seyfried (in her first role). Her 2009 singles "
The Climb" and "
Party in the U.S.A" were both mega crossover hits. However, as she began metamorphosizing into something more mature, her popularity fell as parents considered her new materials inappropriate for their children.
Demi Lovato made her Disney Channel debut in short show
As the Bell Rings (2007-2008) and later in the musical film
Camp Rock. She released her first album, ''
Don't Forget, in 2008, before starring in the series Sonny with a Chance'' (2009–2011). She became an icon for teenagers by addressing issues related to mental health. 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. American musician
Taylor Swift entered the scene at age 16 by co-writing the song "
Tim McGraw" with
Liz Rose in 2005, after which she became a well-known and successful artist as well as a teen idol. Before reaching the age of 20,
Ariana Grande had already been popular among secondary schoolchildren by starring in the teen comedy show
Victorious (2010–2013) on
Nickelodeon. She left acting for singing, and although her singing career had a difficult start, she did capture the attention of producer and songwriter Max Martin, who had worked with many successful artists before. Numerous other stars made also their debut on Nickelodeon, then a popular children's television channel. Discovered on YouTube by media entrepreneur
Scooter Braun at the age of 13,
Justin Bieber was ushered into fame with his 2009 album
My World. 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 one of the most popular female idol groups from 2013 to 2017. In the late 2010s, many young actors developed large followings amongst teenagers after portraying famous contemporary literary characters. The most notable among these were
Ansel Elgort (
Augustus Waters),
Timothée Chalamet (
Elio Perlman), and
Nick Robinson (
Simon Spier). These actors were referred to by the media and general public as "White Boys of the Month", with the term becoming a popular
meme since.
Noah Centineo became popular among teenagers and young adults following the release of ''
To All the Boys I've Loved Before'', having amassed over 15 million
Instagram followers within eight weeks of the film's release; he was dubbed an "internet boyfriend" by the media. Although the future members of the boy band
One Direction got elimated as solo acts on the third season of
The X Factor, guest judge
Nicole Scherzinger suggested that they form a group together. The result was much fame and fortune for the band, who burst onto the scene in 2012. and since 2017, its members have been pursuing solo projects. Similarly, in 2016, the Cuban-born American singer
Camila Cabello left the girl group
Fifth Harmony, which went on indefinite hiatus in 2018, in order to pursue a solo career. She makes use of her Latin American heritage in her rhythms. Kylie's influence in the beauty industry with her lip kits and cosmetics brand
Kylie Cosmetics also contributed to her teen idol status. At age 18, American musician
Billie Eilish won four Grammy Awards in 2020, and was commissioned to perform the
theme song for the James Bond movie
No Time to Die (2021). She wrote it with her brother,
Finneas, becoming the youngest artist to do so. She has hundreds of millions of followers on social media, and is well known for her lyrics concerning mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.
Millie Bobby Brown rose to fame from her role as
Eleven in the
Netflix series
Stranger Things. Her series co-stars
Finn Wolfhard,
Gaten Matarazzo,
Caleb McLaughlin,
Noah Schnapp, and
Sadie Sink have also achieved fame from their roles.
2020s American artist
Olivia Rodrigo had previously worked as a child actress on the Disney comedy series
Bizaardvark (2016–19) and starred in the first three seasons of
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (2019–22). In January 2021, she released her debut single, "
Drivers License", which went on to become one of the most streamed songs on
Spotify at the time and spent eight weeks on top of the
Billboard Hot 100 chart. She sings with profanities in an emotionally charged manner of the struggles of an adolescent and commands a large following on social media networks, including
TikTok, where she has many teen-aged supporters. Some sources consider Rodrigo to be a representative of
Generation Z. Prior to their Eurovision win, the band finished as runner-up in the
eleventh season of the Italian
X Factor in 2017. Måneskin are credited as one of the first rock bands to heavily appeal to Generation Z. == Impact and influence ==