A teen idol is a celebrity with a large teenage fan base. Teen idols are generally young but are not necessarily teenagers. An idol's popularity may be limited to teens, or may extend to all age groups.
By region
Asia
East Asia possesses a robust fan culture centered around idols, one that spans both genders and generates broad appeal. East Asian idol culture, which first began in Japan in the 1960s, would spread to neighboring countries in later decades: in South Korea and Taiwan, for example, it took root in the 1990s, and in China the 2010s. Idols are also not limited to singing, and may take part in more explicitly image-focused venues such as pin-up photography (gravure idols) and pornography (AV idols).
There are many different idols and idol groups spread across many countries. In Japan, there are pop stars Ayumi Hamasaki and Namie Amuro as well as Kana Nishino and music groups such as Momoiro Clover Z, Morning Musume, AKB48, and Perfume and Johnny & Associates boy bands Arashi, NEWS, KAT-TUN, and Hey! Say! JUMP among others. In Taiwan, there are pop icons such as Jay Chou, Jolin Tsai, music groups Mayday, F4, and S.H.E. In South Korea, notable K-pop personalities include singers BoA and Rain and groups BTS, Blackpink, Exo, TVXQ, 2PM, 2AM, Beast, Shinee, Super Junior, 2NE1, Big Bang, Wonder Girls, T-ara, Kara and Girls' Generation. In Vietnam, there are the singers WanBi Tuấn Anh, Sơn Tùng M-TP, Đông Nhi, Bảo Thy and Tóc Tiên.
Europe
European teen idols include German popstar Bill Kaulitz of the pop-rock band Tokio Hotel and the members of the Anglo-Irish pop boy band One Direction, and Girls Aloud, another Anglo-Irish band. In Spain, La Oreja de Van Gogh, Miguel Bosé, Mecano, and Hombres G all enjoyed teen-idol status. In the Balkans, the late Macedonian singer Toše Proeski was considered a teen idol.
Latin America
In Latin America, idols ranges from Mexican pop stars Timbiriche, Lynda Thomas, Magneto, Puerto Rican born Mexican Luis Miguel, Colombian Shakira and the popular Puerto Rican boy band Menudo in the 1980s and 1990s, and Paty Cantú, Anahí, Belinda, and RBD in the 2000s and 2010s. Besides, former Menudo member Ricky Martin, their chief rivals Los Chicos and former member Chayanne, Venezuelan actor and singer Guillermo Davila and more, to Argentina, where telenovela, Chiquititas, ushered in a new era of teen-idols for that country, including actors Benjamin Rojas, Felipe Colombo, Luisana Lopilato, and Camila Bordonaba, who went on to form teen band Erreway, precursors to Mexican band RBD.
North America
Often teen idols are actors or musicians. Some teen idols began their careers as child actors, such as Britney Spears, Hilary Duff, Raven-Symoné and Miley Cyrus. There were teen idols before there were teen magazines, but idols have always been a permanent feature in magazines such as Seventeen, 16, Tiger Beat and Right On! in the United States, and in similar magazines elsewhere. With the advent of television, teen idols were also promoted through programs such as American Bandstand, The Ed Sullivan Show, Soul Train. Today's teen idols have spawned an entire industry of gossip magazines, television shows, YouTube, social media, and whole television channels such as E!.
By era
Early teen idols
The first known person to have been treated as a teen idol was Franz Liszt, the Hungarian pianist who, in the 1840s, drew such a following among teen girls that the term "Lisztomania" soon came to describe the phenomenon. The kind of idolizing following Liszt drew in Europe would not be followed for several decades. American-born Roger Wolfe Kahn became, arguably, America's first modern-day teen idol, when, in 1924 at the age of sixteen he launched his first jazz band. Throughout his teens, he became dubbed the 'Millionaire Maestro.' Geraldine Farrar, American opera singer, had a large following of young women nicknamed "Gerry-flappers" in the early 20th century. Rudy Vallée, who became a major success in 1929 with hits like "Honey" and "Deep Night", may have been the first American popular singer to have been idolised by hundreds of teen-aged girls at sold-out concerts. He was also possibly the first popular singer to have a star vehicle created for him: The Vagabond Lover.
Frank Sinatra, whose early career in the 1940s is often linked to his appeal to bobby soxers, who got that name because they were forced to dance in their bobby socks so that their shoes would not damage the dance floor, is also regarded as having been amongst the first teen idols.