Harry Styles. Oprah Winfrey. Ariana Grande. These are names people all around the globe recognize. 

Whether it’s for their unique voice or compelling vocals, singers receive a lot of attention from the media and their dedicated fans. 

“I am a huge fan of Lorde. I think Lorde is one of the most brilliant artists of our time and I love how unique her sound is. She definitely has a gift for songwriting, and I appreciate how authentic she is,” Senior Georgia Riccobene said. 

However, Riccobene finds her admiration of the singer to have its ups and downs. 

“The (not so) fun part about being a Lorde fan is that she likes to completely disappear from the public eye for years,” Riccobene said. “You really have to scour the internet for any traces of her while she’s off all social media on her hiatus. When she is off the grid, it kind of makes any little thing she does a big deal which is kinda funny. For example, she posted on her onion ring review account on instagram for the first time in like three years and everyone flipped out.” 

Junior Sofia Alfaro Vargas has remained a dedicated fan of Khalid despite not having new music to enjoy from him. 

“I enjoy listening to Khalid, even if he hasn’t come out with a new album in about a year,” she said. “I think his music has a lot of interesting beats and tempos as well as melodies.”

Senior Sam O’Brien follows various influencers because of their humor. 

“I mostly just follow a large group of influencers over the internet.” O’Brien said. “I follow them because some are really entertaining and offer me a good laugh that helps me get re-motivated and excited about life.”

There are many celebrities who are in the public eye for bad behavior as there are celebrities praised for their good deeds. 

“Don’t get me wrong,” Riccobene said. “Billie Eilish has some absolute bops, but I am disappointed with her behavior as a public figure and how she is representing my generation. I think her overly relaxed demeanor can come off as rude and entitled at some times.” 

No matter who they are or how they act, many celebrities have a huge impact on people. They step into the spotlight and live very public lives, ones that fans follow extremely closely. 

“For some people, their entire lives are following and watching a celebrity,” said O’Brien. “I think that a celebrity’s quality and happiness in life could definitely affect some of their big time fans.” 

Freshman Tessa Heffron believes the actions of celebrities influence the actions of their fans around the world, especially during the pandemic.

“I feel like now with the pandemic lots of celebrities are not following restrictions and social distancing and that makes teens and other influential people to do the same,” she says.

Because of the scrutinized nature of celebrities’ lives, cancel culture affects them in a big way. This quickly growing phenomenon can be harsh and unnecessary, says Riccobene. 

“A YouTuber I followed got cancelled this year for doing something idiodic years ago, and she is no longer on the internet or making content. While what she did was clearly wrong, I don’t think that her present, more mature self should be on the chopping block for her past stupidity. I’m concerned about the rapid growth of cancel culture and how it has the power to completely decimate people’s livelihoods.” 

Sophomore Kate Gorczyk agrees that though cancelling celebrities can be just, it has become cruel in many cases. 

“Cancel culture is definitely real, and it is very toxic,” she said. “I definitely think we should call people out but many people take it too far.”

In recent years, being famous has become more of a choice, whether stardom is achieved through putting music out or starting a YouTube channel. However, there are downsides to living life as a celebrity, so some wonder if it’s worth the risk. 

O’Brien thinks it’s not. 

“I definitely wouldn’t want to be famous,” O’Brien said.“While there are a lot of pros, the cons outweigh those benefits. The idea of being recognizable and wealthy is appealing, but the fact that you would have to put on a fake persona in public, would be recognized everywhere you go, and have the constant threat of being cancelled, makes it not worth it.”  

On the other hand, Heffron feels that being famous wouldn’t be so bad.

“I would like to be famous and be able to help people with my fame,” she said. “I don’t mind if I don’t get famous. I would like to be a famous athlete if anything.” 

Gorcyzk agrees.

“I love to act and would love to one day be in movies and tv shows.”