The male pop star economy is in a recession. 

Music was once home to the greats. Bowie, Mercury, MJ. Some of our most innovative, boundary-pushing artists have been men. However, despite once dominating the industry, men are falling behind. Non-Anglophonic countries in Latin America and East Asia are having no issues developing male creatives. Other genres are having no issues developing male rappers, producers and writers - yet pop remains untouched. An industry currently dominated by aesthetically distinct and critically acclaimed female artists. Today’s offerings aren’t currently held to the same standard of artistry. 

If I had it my way, pop would remain as one of the only industries where women dominate. But I can't have everything, and I’m starting to fear that the lack of new boy bands, teen heartthrobs and the general decline of tween media is starting to destroy the fabric of society. My 13-year old sister has nobody to fawn over, but Arctic Monkeys like it’s 2014 Tumblr, and it's getting to be a problem. Tweens have no defining, nostalgic media they can call their own, which is really harming their critical cringe-development.

The quintessential male pop star's formula is easy to identify. Some modicum of talent. Conventionally attractive, but not threateningly so. An identifiable public persona. predicting their next move. As simple as it should be to find, given the readily available pools of talent around the world, record labels have become preoccupied with pre-existing fame. With the budding talent of creative spaces in every country around the world, why is it so difficult for record labels, inundated with resources, budgets, and drive, to find such artists? 

Our splintered media landscape makes true, monocultural pop stardom rare. Instead, it is easier than ever for artists to create timelines tailored to their needs, helping them build niche cult followings. Every few weeks, a new ‘hit artist’ pops out of the industry-plant factory with stories of industry oppression preventing their cataclysmic pop stardom of yore. I swear Sombr was invented last Thursday. They might not be entirely delusional, but the young men the industry has presented to the public are rife with issues. And according to my extremely academically informed research, each up-and-comer can be whittled into the following three categories: 

‘Sad guitar boy’ music has been one of the worst defining features of 21st-century pop, only further elucidating the impossible Olympic fire-rings women must jump through to be viewed as artistically interesting. Modern musicians have taken the round peg of traditional singer-songwriting and have hammered it into the square hole that is Charlie Puth - an unfortunate case of when obvious talent and excellence finds itself inhabiting the body of someone who has nothing insightful to say. 

In 2026, we find ourselves in an increasingly economically precarious world. Audiences don't enjoy feeling insulted at the banality that was Shawn Mendes’ last album being sold to them for an inflated price. The women who are increasingly outperforming men in the workplace do not enjoy coming home and tuning in to new music only to be reminded that, in every workplace, they must always prove their right to belong there. And whilst the sad guitar boy is generational [insert name of an old school sad guitar boy], the sad guitar boys of the past were overshadowed by actual male pop titans - and the nonexistence of true male stars in our current milieu only further directs our attention to the sad guitar boys’ mediocrity. 

Despite their often interesting and innovative music, gay male artists who don't present as traditionally masculine are finding it difficult to achieve universal heartthrobism. In an industry that virtue-signals its progressiveness, gay men are still expected to present as traditionally masculine and sing heterosexual songs so that wine mums in their 40s can pretend it’s about them. Troye Sivan and Conan Gray are extremely successful in their respective corners of the internet, celebrated by avid consumers of fandom culture. But their respective niches ultimately prevent them from achieving macrocosmic global success, as they dare not embody the bland, widely applicable image that the music industry rewards.

It pains me to not have a more sophisticated categorisation of these artists, but my inspiration when I think of their music is also lacklustre. Home to those with the most astute potential, who didn’t launch into the cataclysmic cannon of pop stardom purely because of some career misfire where things just didn’t go quite right. 

Boy band escapees tend to voyage here. Zayn Malik and Jungkook - both with massive, loyal fan bases who weren’t able to attract the general public, whether it be rampant racism or a misalignment between management and the music they intended to create. The issue was highlighted by Zayn’s dispute and departure from RCA Records in 2021, stemming from concerns about his lifestyle and his refusal to engage in traditional promotional activities. 

Benson Boone is also an escapee. Not from a boy band, but from the Mormon Church. Which explains why “taking off your blue jeans” might feel rebellious to him. He has the pop-culture referentialism of someone who couldn’t watch YouTube growing up, which perhaps explains why he dresses like the son of Harry Styles, one of the most ubiquitous male musicians of the 2010s. And considering Harry is the watered-down David Bowie, at some point, the qualities that made Bowie so great have filtered through these men to produce Sombr, who I’m sure will have a protege by next week. 

Has the ‘traditional male pop star’ died? 

Well, most of them are, factually dead. However, spiritually, the music of the greats is found in every seam in Harry Styles’ bell bottoms, the influence of hip hop chimes in the rhythm of every song on Justin Bieber’s ‘Journals’, and every hat Michael threw to the audience was captured by a modern artist who has adapted his choreography and made it their own. I am yet to see a solo male artist who has broken through in the past decade whose music and persona will permeate the culture the same way. 

So, who might be next?

Ever since Bruno Mars made it his life’s purpose to win Grammys solely by nostalgia-baiting, it's been slim pickings. The Kid LAROI came close with hits like ‘Stay’ and ‘Nights Like These,’ but couldn't conjure any viral moments or memorable performances. Zach Bryant had real potential - great music, millions of fans - but his scandals and personal life dwindled any opportunity he had for more widespread success. Dominic Fike and Noah Kahan have a fair shot - they’ve lingered on every up-and-coming list over the past few years and have the talent and fanbase to back them up. They each seem to be only one hit away from breaking into the mainstream, as long as that hit doesn't fall into the sad-guitar-boy abyss. We’ve certainly got contenders, but honestly, I think the next main pop boy is going to come out of nowhere and have a monumental rise to fame - not a child star, not an industry plant, just someone from the middle of nowhere with a sleeper hit, kind of like Chappell Roan with “Midwest Princess.” 

Ultimately, the formula of the quintessential male pop star isn't dead. What people want hasn’t changed. Becoming the next truly great male pop star is universally needed and certainly not a pipe dream. But perhaps the conditions surrounding it have changed. It cannot be so hard to find.

Ela is a 2nd-year Arts/Laws student. When she isn’t poring over her readings or checking her inbox to hear back from jobs she’s feverishly applied to, she likes to swim, consume as much media as humanly possible, and then complain about how high her screen time is.