History's Pop Idols: Justin Bieber Echoes Sensations of Years Past

Like Justin Bieber or hate him, you just can't avoid him. It's time to come to terms with the fact that Justin Bieber is part of an eternal force in celebrity pop culture that will not stop when his chart numbers drop. Though Bieber seems to be everywhere right now, he has not been the first pop star to grab the attention of the media.

Screaming fans practically clobber Justin Bieber wherever he goes, and he definitely cannot have a moment's peace without the scrutiny of the public eye. Throughout the history of mass media, pop idols have taken hold of the public's attention, and most particularly the attention of hordes of teenaged girls. Let's check out some top pop idols of the past who lived the Bieber path before Bieber was a twinkle in the eye of a baby delivery stork.

Rudolph Valentino - The Original Teen Scream Idol

Rudolph Valentino was a silent movie star in the 1920s who garnered so much attention from his fan base that he is widely considered one of the first mass media pop obsession idols. Valentino's name was known in almost every household in the 1920s due to his presence in film and magazines. Italian-born Valentino's most popular film was called "The Sheik." Like Justin Bieber, one of Valentino's signature features was his piercing eyes.

Fabian - Hit 1950s and 1960s Songwriter

Fabian Forte dominated the teen scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s with a slew of hit songs, including eleven that made the Billboard charts. His biggest hit on the charts in the United States was called "Tiger." Fabian attempted a film career but has since thus far failed to catch the public eye. Fabian had a hit hairstyle for the time, and was considered to be a moderately Bieberesque performer, which meant he was an exceptionally good-looking boyish songwriter.

David Cassidy - Unforgettable Hair

David Cassidy was an insanely popular music idol in the 1970s. He is best known for his time on "The Partridge Family," but in the pop media, he was better known for his dreamy eyes and perfect hair. Cassidy's hairstyle, like Bieber's, was so popular that pop stars and ordinary men began to copy his cut to get the Cassidy-loving ladies to look their way.

Jordan Knight - Dancing Boy Band Wonder Idol

He wasn't known for his hair, and it wasn't his singing, so it must have been the dancing that rocketed this boyish teen idol into bedroom posters worldwide. One of the frontrunners on the crush circuit for the hyper-publicized boy band "New Kids on the Block" which enjoyed a rich career in the late 1980s, Jordan Knight was on the notebook, bedding, curtains or t-shirts of almost every boy crazy elementary schooler in all of the United States.

Other members of the group, like Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntire, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood, received similar success with the ladies, but Jordan Knight always seemed to reign at the top of the NKOTB crush list.

Pop idols are unique because they command your attention whether you want to give it to them or not. Though some have shorter careers than others, the pop idol will always reign in the minds of the media-consuming public. Though Bieber has the hearts and minds of the nation's young ladies now, the winter of his pop idol career will soon approach, bearing another young talent for a loving public to obsessively adore.