Teen
Idols
A
teen idol is a famous person who generates adulation
from large numbers of teenagers.
Teen
idols are usually actors or pop singers, but some
sports figures have had an appeal to teenagers. The
term encapsulates both some of the greatest performers
of all time and some of the most inconsequential.
The term refers to someone idolised by teens; a teen
idol is often young, but in many cases no longer teenaged.
Some teen idols are child actors. The idol's popularity
may be limited to teens, or extend to all age groups.
The
teen idol is primarily a phenomenon of 20th century
mass communication. Its earliest manifestation (often
referred to as matinee idol) may have been Rudolph
Valentino whose good looks and winning way with women
featured heavily in such silent movies as The Sheik.
But it was probably Frank Sinatra, whose early career
is often linked to his appeal to bobby soxers, who
is generally regarded as being the first true 'teen
idol'.
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 and Mousketeer Annette
Funicello were amongst the first female teen idols
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 television.
Teen
idols are also usually commonly read about in tabloid
publications as 16 magazine, Tiger Beat, Right On!
and other teen magazines in the United States, and
similar magazines elsewhere. With the advent of television,
teen idols were also promoted through speciality programs
such as American Bandstand, the Ed Sullivan Show,
and Soul Train.
It
is the essence of the teen idol to appeal to the burgeoning
sexuality of the young without in any way threatening
it. As recently as the 1970s, some stars were asked
to shave their chests because it was perceived that
chest hair was threatening to young girls. In previous
times, teen idols were supposed to have an aura of
approachability, so often they had to keep romantic
relationships and marriages a secret because it was
feared it could decrease the popularity of the celebrity.
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 and The Rolling Stones were
teen idols, especially during the earlier part of
their careers. Yet The Rolling Stones were more rebellious
than The Beatles, who maintained their pop look until
1967 with the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts
Club Band.
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 the obvious combination
of what are perceived to be good, clean-cut looks
and a ubiquitous, almost invasive marketing campaign,
one of the key selling points of the manufactured
band is the "something for everyone" approach,
although this strategy has been critised for being
more along the lines of "something for everyone
who hasn't had much exposure to music." 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. (Credit:
Wikipedia)
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