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Concept of Celebrity

The concept of celebrity, to some, may appear to be a structural institution. It is one that rewards and deifies those who have already held more access to wealth and power than most are able to even imagine. Yet, the boundaries of celebrity are not definite. Even the word itself calls to mind vague ideations of the A-listers and megastars that dominate the media we consume. But what does it really even mean to be a celebrity in an age of apathy, and how does the general malaise of our time affect how we perceive those who seek to entertain us?

The quintessential pop star has always seemed to be someone both bigger and bolder than life itself with a uniquely-gifted voice, or supreme choreography, or transformations that revolutionized the fashion and pop culture of their times. Putting it quite plainly, celebrity was held to the standard of the Michael Jacksons, Madonnas, and Beyoncés of the industry, and with this nearly divine right to rule came a very one-sided consumerist worship of these industry titans. Celebrities weren’t expected to convey any less than perfection to the public, and the few glimpses into their private lives that slipped into the mainstream were caught between glances through closing windows. Whether it was the paparazzi swarming Britney

Spears in the middle of her divorce settlements or security footage of JAY-Z and Solange in an elevator, “celebrity” was a private sphere that the public urged to bring to the light of day.

With the start of the past decade, celebrities seemed to propel themselves even further into maximalism with music that was campy and public personas that were even moreso. With a general fixation on Eurodance-adjacent pop music and a brand of flamboyance best attributed to early Gaga, pop culture, more than ever, seemed to favor the escapism of artifice. Between music videos with multi-million dollar budgets and raw meat becoming an accessory at live performances and award shows, the gaudiness of celebrity was becoming glaring, and it was soon to hit a critical mass.

But due to the rise of social media, a counterculture to the maximalism that defined celebrity took hold. Among the first major industry powerhouses to adapt to this new world, Rihanna utilized social media as a means to interact with fans, attack her naysayers, and ultimately curate dozens of quotable moments that remain in the cultural lexicon to this day. With her effortless swagger and relatability, Rihanna seemed to define a new era of celebrity. Her music was followed as an extension of the people’s interest in her personal life, and by publicizing her private persona, she seemed to directly counter other artists of her caliber who limited their interactions with fans to promotional efforts for upcoming projects.

From this, a new generation of pop stars emerged: one whose lives appeared to be more acquainted with those who followed them. At the very least, this new celebrity class aimed to create music that was more reflective of their personal turmoil to connect to audiences. Out of the dust, artists, such as Adele and Ed Sheeran, provided a heart-wrenching, folksy alternative to the coked-out, ARTPOP-ian state of the pop music of their time. Yet simultaneously, there was the rise of indie-pop artists, such as Lorde, Halsey, and Billie Eilish, who were inspired by hip-hop and took to their music to diarize their critiques on society’s obsession with material wealth and standards of beauty.

In a culture of social media, discourse can rapidly gain traction through music, and with a new generation of cynicism towards traditional societal structures, social media allows for the public to align with artists based on their political affiliations and ideologies. Though this does open the door for celebrities to capitalize on structural anguish, more often than not, we see the rejection of figures who refuse to amplify causes that are important to the public. Miley Cyrus was annihilated due to her appropriation of Black culture throughout the duration of her controversial Bangerz press run. Since social media increases the hypervisibility of celebrities, there has been a constant pressure on Cyrus to apologize for the better half of the past decade, alongside the perseverating hits to her critical and commercial viability. Though cultural appropriation and the disrespect of Black art could be traced back to the very foundations of the music industry, social media demands accountability in a manner that older generations of artists never had to be wary of.

Megastars, such as Katy Perry and Taylor Swift, also found trouble adjusting to a new age of celebrity, where their visions of grandeur were not met with grace. Perry’s Witness found a lackluster reception as it failed to deliver on its promise of purposeful, political music as a response to the Trump presidency — a true shocker considering all the nuances of oppression in Perry’s perspective as a wealthy white cisgender woman. Likewise, Swift’s return with reputation was a self-aggrandizing retaliation to her second multi-million dollar fallout with Kanye West, and it was quickly unseated at the top of the charts by a series of breakthrough megahits, including “Bodak Yellow” by Cardi B and “rockstar” by Post Malone featuring 21 Savage.

This new generation of celebrity differs from its predecessors in the fact that the marketability

of an artist is directly correlated to how relatable they are to the public. The work that they create is diaristic in a nature that more closely resembles hip-hop, as opposed to the escapist dance music of days past, and in many cases, rap artists, such as Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, and Drake, are actually outpacing their peers in cultural and commercial impact. Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish, two of the most notable pop stars of today, are known best for their emotionally intimate bodies of work that follow their struggles with mental health. Grande’s “thank u, next,” which directly followed both the death of her long-term ex-boyfriend, Mac Miller, and the end of her highprofile engagement to Pete Davidson, blasted in with the highest first-week streams of her career. Though stardom may have become less centered around high-budget spectacle, the performance of bridging the public and private spheres of celebrity allows for audiences everywhere to feel more represented by the content that they consume.

However, much of our perception of the modern day celebrity is focused around hypervisibility, and this often comes at the expense of the artist, many of whom have already distanced themselves from social media platforms to avoid targeted harassment. But regardless of the visibility of a public persona, social media still only allows us to view a curated image of an entire being projected onto a screen. Despite the inroads made towards dismantling the idolization of celebrities, we must question whether we can truly ever have a healthy understanding of those that we can only perceive from a periphery. Though social media may present a new perspective, the line between artifice and authenticity is still shrouded in glass.

• Neeloy Bose (Bioengineering)

"But regardless of the visibility of a public persona, social media still only allows us to view a curated image of an entire being projected onto a screen."