QX’s resident youth rounds up the young people who are dominating entertainment, music and culture.

Whether it’s trying to talk to your nephews, or explaining who Jamelia is to the new intern, it sometimes feels like the new generation are speaking a foreign language. Your hilarious references to Father Ted are completely wasted on them, resulting in nothing more than a confused blank stare. They have no idea who Edina Monsoon is or why those Irish girls singing in French wore so much denim. For you to have any hope of maintaining a healthy conversation with a baby-faced, tongue-popping individual then you must arm yourself with some of their language,.So imagine this as your ‘Handy Phrases’ pocketbook.

You thought that you could navigate this rough terrain with a bit of Ariana Grande or a Kardashian in your back pocket, but there’s a crop of young celebrities out there that are taking over across all industries, that you’ve never even heard of. Here are some handy ones to have to hand so you don’t feel like a complete dinosaur, and you can not only communicate, but seem like totes fab.

Here they are below, selected by QX’s resident YOUTH, Ifan Llewelyn, who’s 22 (don’t, we know it’s awful).

Jojo Siwa

Take a deep dive into Twitter and you’re bound to come across this hair-bowed glitter ball of energy. Having to debut her unique look on American reality show Dance Moms among the likes of the ‘Chandelier’ dance sensation Maddie Ziegler, she made the most of her air time and came out with a very respectable online presence. When she’s not excitedly delivering gobbledygook into camera on her YouTube channel, she can be found babysitting Kim K’s kids or creating, selling and buying her own merchandise.

Millie Bobbie Brown (main image)

While some gays insist on taking her down, the tweens are here to raise her up. Despite a smear campaign by some bored Twitter gays, MBB is going from strength to strength. Last year she was named as UNICEF’s youngest-ever Goodwill Ambassador and spoke out about her experience of online bullying, but you probably know her as the star of Netflix’s Stranger Things which is soon back for its third season. 

Billie Eilish

Every teenage girl goes through that rebellious phase where they dye their hair purple and pierce something. Billie’s having hers now, and the kids are loving it. She went from being relatively unknown to being on everyone’s lips in what feels like a few months. You may have seen some PinkNews headlines about her singing about wishing someone was gay, but don’t let that turn you off. Her full name is Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell and that pretty much sums her up. Often found sporting an oversized jumper, a beanie and a face like a slapped arse.

Zendaya

You may think that a 22-year-old hasn’t quite earned the right to become one of those one-name celebrities, but she most definitely has. A Disney Channel child actor turned fashion creature, she’s rarely far away from a big event’s best-dressed list. It’s already been a fantastic year for the Californian beauty, having collaborated on a collection with Tommy Hilfiger (which we’re sure you watch Grace Jones strut her stuff in) and is set to star in a new edgy HBO series that deals with sex and drugs, so she’s soon to graduate from tween star to famous adult.

Shawn Mendez

Out of this list, this is probably the one you’re most familiar with, especially following his Calvin Klein underwear campaign. He’s been thirsted after for way longer than it’s okay to do so, only being of thirst legal age for the past two years. He’s what we like to call ‘twinkessential’ being quintessential twinky. He’s been churning out music for the past six years, often compared to an early Justin Bieber but with better style and not as likely to get caught pissing in a bucket.

James Charles

HELLO SISTERS. If you’re not awake to the cosmetic revolution that’s taken over youth culture, we take it you don’t have an Instagram account. Teens are no longer turning up in droves to watch rock concerts and head-banging to bad music, they’re getting their mothers to drive them hours to shopping centres to meet beauty bloggers. Reigning among the biggest names in the industry, James Charles is a force to be reckoned with. Don’t be fooled by his pixie nose and brilliant white smile; underneath it all he’s clambering his way to the top of the pile of contour pallets and concealer sticks. If you’re still not sold on his impact, he shut down Birmingham city centre for a 5-minute drive by appearance. 10,000 people turned up.

Josie Totah

Having made a career for herself playing bit-parts on TV programmes as a young effeminate child, it took being cast as the main role in Mindy Kaling’s Champions for ‘J J Totah to become a household name. It was in the midst of this new found success that Josie came out publically as being a transgender woman, being the first high-profile young celebrity to do so.

Elle Fanning

Following in the footsteps of her older sister Dakota who was in that Denzel Washington film, she’s also become a cinema darling. She’s finding her feet and stepping out from her sister’s shadow and becoming a go-to young stylish person for Vogue fashion shoots. We like to think of her as a Nicole Kidman in training, but only time will tell if she will take the translucent princess’ Hollywood throne, or if she’ll settle for Naomi Watts status.

Noah Centineo

Despite working for over a decade, it took a string of Netflix romcoms to propel Noah to certified heart-throb status. His boyish good looks, an even tan and a quirky Instagram account has made him a go-to for playing the guy that’s completely out of our dorky protagonist’s league but ultimately turns out to have loved her along. He’s a notch down from the air-brushed teen beauties of the early noughties, having just enough of an approachable quality that teen girls the world over think that they stand a chance.

Brooklyn Beckham

The Beckham children are reacting themselves to take on the dynasty, and no one more so than Brooklyn. His Bristol student chic look and pussyfooting down the high-fashion trail behind this mother has served him well. He already has a Hollywood romance under his belt, and now is setting out to become the next Mario Testino landing a campaign with BMW.

The post The Gen Z Celebrity – the young folks that are taking over appeared first on QX Magazine.