W.Who is the most famous person in the world? According to Google, Dwayne is “The Rock” Johnson, the movie-star wrestler who starred in Jumanji, Moana, and the Fast & Furious franchise. If this doesn’t seem completely impossible, it feels confused: why is this after one Australian website Called a new idea? Why is the picture opposite of Michael Jackson? Strangely enough, if you pause for a second it becomes clear. Chaotic, strangely made, just wrong in parts, but somehow still makes sense: This is as good a reflection of modern fame as any other.
We live in a time of glory and we’ve known that for some time. What stands out now is that there are so many stars, or “stars”, that the Celebrity Universe really looks like a great blanket of black sky filled with thousands of similarly sized flickering dots. From actors to influencers and YouTubers to presidents and prime ministers, as Andy Warhol said, we all have 15 minutes of fame left in us (or 15 seconds if you use TikTok). And sometimes it feels like these celebrities operate in separate galaxies. Earlier this year, one of the wilder rumors was that Kanye West, who was hiding in Wyoming, was cheating on Kim Kardashian Jeffree Star (a claim that Star has since firmly denied). For many people, their first reaction might be, OK, Kanye, but who the hell is Jeffree Star?
The answer is less trivial than you might think. For the uninitiated, Star is an androgynous YouTube makeup oracle with 16.7 million subscribers on his channel and 14 million Instagram followers. Whether or not you knew about Star could indicate your age, sexuality, and politics. or that you loved makeup (as is the case with similarly popular YouTubers James Charles). We now live in a world where someone can have nearly 17 million subscribers on YouTube and many people may have no idea who they are.
Likewise, there’s a similar jolt when you find that a song by Olivia Rodrigo, Drivers License, hit number 1 in the US, amassing 100 million streams in eight days – a record. Rodrigo may star on a Disney + show (the enigmatically titled High School Musical: The Musical: The Series), but you wouldn’t have had a chance to see her coming. Music critic Spencer Kornhaber wrote in The Atlantic: “Rodrigo is being sent to an atomized youthful audience that is consuming media in their bedrooms. He has the fame that remains invisible to large parts of the population – until something like a driver’s license bubbles up in the air and suddenly becomes ubiquitous. ”
What is that supposed to mean? Well, first of all, yes: you are probably getting old. But second, while it used to be assumed that a celebrity was so well known that it could unite us, that assumption now seems quite naive. The main culprit for this fragmentation is obvious: social media. Chris Rojek, a professor at City University who has written extensively on the subject, points to a famous article by sociologist Leo Lowenthal who examined how fame was ascribed in 1944. In the late 19th century it was scientists, writers, and politicians who received the most column inches; In the 1920s they were replaced by athletes and silent film writers. “The main reason was radio and film – technology changed people’s focus,” he says.
A hundred years later, the tremendous technological advances of the 21st century have changed the focus of people again – or rather atomized this focus and distributed itself to hundreds and thousands of different faces on highly individualized channels. “We’ve gone from a kind of Hollywood system where stars are created by moguls and PR experts, to some kind of DIY celebrity where people around us create websites and build followers,” says Rojek.
Famous for 15 million Instagram users … Jeffree Star and Dwayne Johnson. Composed: Guardian
However, this is not news. What has accelerated over the past year is our increased online consumption rate. With most of the culture shutting down and venues and galleries closing, two things have slowed our attention: social media and streaming services. For example, in the New Idea article, the post on Rock explains that his fame is down to his acting, and at the end adds almost innocently, “His Instagram is full of exercise videos, diet tips, and fun posts to keep him going connected with fans of all ages. “This isn’t a cute list of hobbies: this is the bread and butter of fame today.
Nowhere is this more visible than in the rise of TikTok. In many ways, Instagram is now the conservative platform for the establishment. Instead, it’s the mini video app that emphasizes how fame can develop in parallel universes. The most famous crossover case so far is Charli D’Amelio, who, with the help of Sister Dixie, has 108 million followers. TikTok is the latest stage that cannot be ignored: the musician SZA, for example, finally created an account last month when a clip from one of her unreleased songs went viral for a week. “Yall I don’t know how to do that yet, but exposing me lmaoooo,” she wrote, possibly aware that at 30 she is beyond the normal population.
The other big winners were streamers who devoured the attention we would normally give blockbusters. “[Being on] Their really good shows are the real currency of fame, ”says Ivana Giachino, a talent booking agent who enables brand partnerships between celebrities like Cartier, Omega and Dom Perignon. As such, she is well placed to know how much fame is valued in pounds and pence. When it comes to measuring it, she says, “It’s still a mix … but mostly I think it’s analyzing a social media following.” To be successful online is not just about having followers (although it helps – Cristiano Ronaldo, Ariana Grande, and The Rock are the top three people on Instagram right now), but how much engagement you get from them.
Make a career … does the committee bring together future celebrities? Composed: Guardian
A major question is whether all of this will neglect other, more old-fashioned ways of imparting fame. Hollywood, for example, is shaken by a crisis that has removed its machinery. On a Tom Cruise scold on the set of Mission: Impossible leaked last December and told the crew that it allegedly wasn’t strictly social distancing. After all, the cinema was the system that created it. “Tom Cruise is almost 60,” says Rojek. “Where are the next cruises?” Rojek no longer believes that there are “generation stars” that cross borders as easily as in the past. However, Giachino says Hollywood still has a lot of influence and suggests Timothée Chalamet as a potential new cruise: “He’s a great actor, but also cool.”
Still, the feeling remains that Chalamet has to make a lot more films to reach this level. He could post on Instagram, but he has “only” 11.7 million followers and many of his generation prefer TikTok. Maybe he’s looking for a new platform, or he’s innocently hoping that he can wait and see. In the meantime, fewer and fewer new stars seem to be uniting generations, and this brings us back to our original question: who is the most famous person in the world? “I know who wanted to be,” says Rojek voluntarily. “Trump card.”
It would be nice to write an article on fame in 2021 and not talk about Donald Trump, but it would be amazingly naive. Trump ranks third in this New Idea ranking after Rock and Will Smith and ahead of Michael Jackson and Drake. He has mastered the art of contemporary celebrity as a hybrid fame that has accumulated from decades of monopolizing each platform. First he was an ogre who followed the Vanity Fair pages, then he got on reality TV, then on Twitter, and then, as we know, the White House.
A new breed of hero … Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford. Photo: Peter Powell / NMC Pool / PA
There is hope, however. For many, last year’s standout celebrity was footballer Marcus Rashford, who used his fame to hold the government accountable (and win big deals with Nike and Burberry). Rihanna is another example of someone who has adapted seamlessly to this century, moving from pop icon to beauty mogul. It reminds us that something old-fashioned can make you famous, but it always has to be a launchpad to take turns from. Cut so far and she tweets about the Indian farmers’ protests. Such interventions remind us that engagement – not just from fans but also from the star – is key to being a real star these days. Brands and audiences want more “authentic” faces that “stand for something,” explains Giachino. “Covid made that even worse. Be it climate change, BLM, mental health – the world has changed. “In addition, identity is very important. “We have to be able to relate [to someone] whether you are 40, 60 or 19. “
And is celebrity spreading that bad from that angle? If you believe in diversity politics, surely diversity of stars is also welcome, a galaxy where you can focus on your Kims, Kanyes or Jeffree stars depending on your age, race, sexuality or gender? Perhaps a first concern here, however, is that celebrity connects us less than before – which feels awkward for many. Even more alarming is that despite this Smorgasbord of Fame, we never seem to be full. Even if you can find the celebrity tailor-made for you, someone else will soon pop up who looks a bit more appetizing.
“The logical situation in the laws of supply and demand is if you have an oversupply – lots of celebrities – the demand for them will go down,” says Rojek. “The difference, however, is that the technologies are designed to have novelties built into them.” As we are always looking for new content, we are asked to update our celebrities. Worrying about who the new famous faces are seems a bit childish. It’s the platforms that matter now. For example, what is the Instagram account with the most followers? It’s Instagram itselfat 387 m. Not very reassuring. It almost makes you want to cling to the certainties of the rock.
