Teen idol

A teen idol is a famous person who generates attention from large numbers of teenagers, who follow their every move. The term means idol for teens; a teen idol is often young, but in many cases no longer a teen. However, some performers are very young, e.g. a child actor. They may be popular especially among teens, or among all age groups.

These are usually actors or pop singers. The category includes some of the greatest performers of all time and some of the most inconsequential.

Although hot performers have been attracting young people since the serpent caught Eve's attention, the teen idol is primarily a phenomenon of mass communications.

The earliest manifestation of the teen idol may have been Rudolph Valentino with his slick good looks and winning way with women in such silent movies as The Sheik, but it was probably Frank Sinatra's appeal to the bobby soxers[?] that made the category a permanent part of show business. Eddie Fisher[?] also had a huge following of screaming and swooning teen-aged fans, but many of them turned against him when he divorced Debbie Reynolds in 1959 to marry Elizabeth Taylor. Brenda Lee was the first female teen idol to achieve widespread popularity.

The great success of Elvis Presley in the 1950s led clever promoters to the deliberate creation of teen idols such as Frankie Avalon[?] and Fabian. His debut in a television movie about the phenomenon, The Idol, made a teen idol out of Tommy Sands[?]. Ricky Nelson, a performer of rockabilly music also became a teen idol via televison.

It is the essence of the teen idol to appeal to the burgeoning sexuality of the young without in any way threatening it. The difference is graphically illustrated by the early career of Presley, who started out playing hard rhythm and blues and jazzed-up country music until he was retrofitted as a teen idol by his management. The lyrics of his "Teddy Bear" explicitly document the change:

Don't wanna be your tiger, 'cause tigers play too rough,

Don't wanna be your lion, 'cause lions aren't the kind you love enough;

I just wanna be your teddy bear.

Likewise, the Beatles were teen idols; the Rolling Stones, despite millions of young fans, were too rowdy and threatening to gain idol status.

The manufacture of idols has been greatly improved over the years since, with The Monkees another notable success in the art. The rise of MTV in the 1980s and the success of the boy bands of the 1990s are part of the same cavalcade. Besides the obvious combination of good looks and a slick marketing campaign, one of the key selling points of the manufactured band is the "something for everyone" approach. Each band member can be promoted separately for a unique look and one-note personality: the "shy one", the "intelligent one", "the rebel", and so on.

People who have become teen idols, either through natural appeal or deliberate exploitation, or both, in rough chronological order:

• Rudolph Valentino -- late 1910s - late 1920s
• Frank Sinatra -- 1942 - mid-1950s
• Frankie Lymon -- 1955 - late 1950s
• Fabian -- late 1950s - early 1960s (peak in 1959)
• Ricky Nelson -- mid-1950s - 1964
• Elvis Presley -- mid-1950s - mid-1960s
• Frankie Avalon[?] -- 1958 - mid-1960s
• Brenda Lee -- 1959 - late 1960s
• The Beatles -- early 1960s - 1971
• Tommy James -- mid- - late 1960s
• The Monkees -- mid- to late 1960s
• Barry Williams -- late 1960s - early 1970s
• David Cassidy -- early to mid-1970s
• Shaun Cassidy[?] -- early to mid-1970s
• Donny Osmond[?] -- 1970s
• Leif Garrett -- late 1970s (peak in 1977)
• Andy Gibb -- late 1970s
• Rick Springfield -- late 1970s - early 1980s
• Duran Duran -- 1980s (peak was 1981-1985)
• Tom Cruise -- early 1980s - mid 1990s
• Patrick Swayze[?] -- mid 1980s - mid 1990s
• Keanu Reeves -- late 1980s - present (2003)
• Vanilla Ice -- 1990
• Marky Mark -- 1991 - 1992
• Ricky Martin -- 1990s - present
• Leonardo DiCaprio -- 1990s - present
• Justin Timberlake -- 1996 - present
• Freddy Prinze Jr.[?] -- late 1990s - present
• Britney Spears - late 1990s - present
• Prince William of Wales -- late 1990s - present
• Christina Aguilera -- 1999 - present
• Jamai[?] and Jim Bakkum[?] -- 2003 - the winner and the other final contestant of the TV song contest Idols in the Netherlands

See also: American Idol