I grew up in the golden age of teen idols: David Cassidy, Shaun Cassidy, Robbie Benson, Bobby Sherman, Leif Garrett. Top rated tv shows, #1 songs, gushing articles in teen magazines ("Find out what it's like to kiss Bobby!").
And beefcake. It took awhile to get your big break, so the teen idols were adults, in their late teens or 20s, with physiques and bulges. They appealed to guys in high school and college. Even adults often found them hot.
Today any 10-year old with a Youtube account can upload a video of him singing or telling a joke and suddenly gain 3,000,000 followers, sponsors, a movie deal, and fame. As a result, the teen idols tend to be very, very young, of interest to junior high kids and maybe, in a stretch, high schoolers, while the adults, if they have heard of them, are saying "call me in about five years."
To illustrate, here are the top 10 male teen idols from the website Teen Idols 4 You:
#10. Jace Norman, star of Nickelodeon's
Henry Danger, posing here in his underwear. 18 years old, barely an adult. A very skinny adult. And remember, he's been on
Henry Danger for 4 years. And he's only #10.
#9. Alex Ruygrok, Australian, a model who began his career in January 2017 by posting pictures of himself in various fashion designs to Instagram. He got lots of followers and sponsors, and was featured on the cover of
Fashion Kids in January 2018. He's now 13 years old, so he must have started at age 11.
#8. William Franklyn-Miller, a 14-year old British actor and model. He has appeared in about six episodes of tv series, including A
rrow, Neighbours, and Jack Irish, but he still managed to get 979,000 followers on Instagram.
Call me in about 4 years.
#7. Romeo Beckham, a 15-year old British guy. I don't know why he has 1.5 million followers on Instagram. Is it because he's the son of soccer star David Beckham?
I think he's the one on the left.
#6. Miles Heizer. An actual adult (age 24). He has appeared in
Parenthood, CSI, The Arm, and elsewhere. His popularity is probably due to his role in the suicide drama
13 Reasons Why. This is not a gay romance scene.
#5.Ricky Garcia. Ok, this one is old enough to drive a car (age 19), starring on the Disney Channel's
Best Friends Whenever and in the movie
Bigger, Fatter Lier (2017). He's also a singer. He's on the right, on a date with #1 Asher Angel.
#4. Johnny Orlando, age 15, an internet celebrity whose song "Mackenzie" has 11 million views on Youtube. He's also made some movies.
Have you noticed that, regardless of age, they all have shirtless or underwear photos uploaded for the edification of their fans? And they all seem to have abs.
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#3. Carson Lueders, age 16, an internet celebrity with 3 million instagram followers, a singer who loves his friends, family, and God. He's legal to date in some states, but why would anyone over the age of 13 want to? Even though the stars-and-stripes shorts are kind of cool.
#2. Bryce Gheisar, a 13 year old Canadian actor known for the Disney Channel's
Walk the Prank (2016-2017) and
Wonder (2017), about a boy with a physical deformity going to a mainstream school. Unfortunately, I think he's the one on the right. Could I get a date with the boyfriend instead?
And the #1 teen idol in the world:
#1. Asher Angel, aka "Ashy Boy," Jonah the heartthrob on the Disney Channel's teencom
Andi Mack. 15 years old.
He's the one second from the left, making gang signs while immersed in a pool. Call me in about 5 years.
I do like his choice of friends, though, especially the red-trunks guy with his boyfriend leaning against his crotch. Is Asher gay?
