By Gracie Watkins
In August of 2023, Billboard released an article investigating the question: where have the mega popstars of the 2000s and early 2010s gone? It was met by widespread online conversations, reflecting the deep-rooted concern within the music industry that the number of recognizable faces and names in pop music have declined in recent years.
Gone are the days of the Brittany Spears and Katy Perrys. Today’s labels are no longer relying on these ‘mega stars’ as the sole foundation for their profit because pop stars are no longer breaking into mainstream media in the same way they had in the decades prior. The very definition of pop star has undergone a profound transformation.
So then, what does it mean to be a pop star in today’s day and age? In the early 2000s, ‘making it’ as a pop star meant being on the front cover of magazines, hounded by paparazzi, and selling out arenas. They were the catchy tunes, flashy performance, and carefully curated personas that dominated tabloid covers and the entertainment industry.
However, a new wave of artists is reshaping this paradigm, ushering in an era where authenticity and genuine connection with audiences take precedence over mere spectacle. Fans are beginning to see the emergence of a reimagining of what once was, where with their popularity, Tate Mcrae, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, and Chappell Roan, we get to see what it truly means to be a pop star in the 2020s. These artists are breaking barriers by embracing their individuality, vulnerabilities, and personal narratives.
They are unafraid to peel back layers and reveal their true selves, sharing personal struggles and emotions through their art. In her album, “emails i can’t send”, Carpenter expands on familiar notions of unrequited love and mental health throughout the majority of her songs, allowing for listeners to understand and connect with her past the old superficial lens. This transparency resonates deeply with fans, forging an interest in their beliefs, their values, their fashion, and, of course, their love lives.
Popular social media pages, like Tiktok and Instagram, obsess over feuds such as Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter in 2021. They devote their pages to relationships such as “Saltburn” star Barry Keoghan and Sabrina Carpenter, featured in her summer single “Please Please Please”. And, they dress for sold out concerts, adorning camp attire for Chappell Roan’s Midwest Princess Tour.
This begs the question: are pop stars back? Are fans still just as obsessed today as they were with the 2000s pop star socialites? They might just be. Social media and authenticity may have trumped the manufactured characters that the industry once created, but these new names are still topping charts, selling out stadiums, and dominating magazine covers. It appears as though all hope is not lost.
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