By Victoria Miller
Back in the old days (yeah, yeah, I know-- my generation), we had an abundance of charismatic, sexy, and adorable young fellows who were known as teen idols. You know who I'm talking about -- those ultra hunky guys, young celebrity actors slash singers who graced the covers of really cheesy magazines like Tiger Beat and 16. Usually these guys had dual careers-- they were both actor and singer. Guys like David Cassidy, Leif Garrett, Donny Osmond and Sean Cassidy juggled television careers and music very well. Christopher Knight (Peter Brady from "The Brady Bunch") didn't even consider himself a singer, but that didn't stop him from "touring" with the Brady Kids singing group (heck he even released a solo project with his Brady sis, Marcia).
Back then, these young studs-- these American Idols, if you will-- were adored by female fans everywhere. And believe me these guys were everywhere. Posters, magazine covers and lunchboxes-- you name it. Still, they weren't as overexposed as the young stars of today.
In fact, it recently occurred to me that we just don't have teen idols anymore. Sure, there's hot guys-- girls love guys like Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. But where is the Bobby Sherman of today? It sure isn't Justin Timberlake. And I sure don't see another Scott Baio on the horizon.
The fact of the matter is, the stars of today are so overexposed-- via television, the tabloids, and the Internet-- that none of them seem special. In fact the only "idols" that fit the mold of the idols of yesteryear seem to be female. Hilary Duff? I think she qualifies. Lindsay Lohan-- same thing. But where are the guys? Where are the guys that young girls used to idolize?
When David Cassidy used to sing those sugary Partridge Family tunes (my faves were "I Woke Up in Love this Morning" and "Echo Valley 26809"), my knees would go weak. When Leif Garrett starred in the short lived series, "Three for the Road", I was there every precious week until it was unceremoniously cancelled. I had to be. You see, I clung to those moments, because it wasn't every day that I could just turn on the TV and see David or Leif.
But nowadays, if a young girl wants to see her crush, be it Aaron Carter or Eminem, all she has to do is go online and she can research his whole life story. And she can download a thousand pictures of him. She doesn't even get a chance to "miss" him, because he's everywhere. The Star Magazine. Entertainment Tonight. And yes, she can Google his name and she'll get thousands of hits. Today's young stars just aren't the same. And I don't even know if Tiger Beat Magazine exists any more, but if it does it can't hold a candle to their past issues, because the material just isn't as exclusive. Nothing special, blah blah blah.
I don't know, maybe it's just me. Maybe I've become jaded or maybe it's because I'm getting old. Yeah, that must be it. I'm just getting old.
