Dalia :
Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, and other artists we now call icons didn’t become icons purely because they were more talented, but because they peaked before social media fragmented attention. Limited access, fewer platforms, and a more centralized music industry allowed a small number of artists to dominate culture in a way that simply isn’t possible today.
Today’s artists are just as talented, sometimes even more so, but the digital world makes everything feel ordinary. Constant access removes rarity, and without rarity, it’s hard to create myth. At the same time, the industry no longer allows one or two artists to stand alone at the top, attention is split, cycles are faster, and audiences are saturated.
If the roles were reversed, and artists like Tate McRae had peaked in the 90s under those conditions, they would likely be considered icons today. Not because they would outshine the past, but because the system would have allowed them to become monumental in the first place.
2026-01-22 23:33:41