From musician, to makeup artist, to fashionista—and even finding the time to be a dedicated Barb—Jazmin Bean does not fit into any one category. But who exactly is Bean anyway? Well, that particular question doesn’t have an answer with a neatly wrapped bow around it. Instead, the answer takes you on a rollercoaster ride. From the streets of Harajuku, Japan, to the glorious and topsy-turvy world of Tim Burton, you’ll encounter Bean at the intersection of your worst nightmare and your favourite daydream—a “visual and musical collision of the darkest corners of our imagination,” as The Forty Five puts it. Bean is a hybrid of both the terrifying and the terrific. Creating a myriad of gruesome gore visuals and musical aesthetics, the artist firmly places themself in a lane of their own—and everyone should pay attention.
What’s underrated? Bean, according to the artist themself.
Jasmine Adams, professionally known as Jazmin Bean, is a British singer, songwriter, makeup artist, beauty brand owner, business entrepreneur, and of course, style icon—so, just about everything under the sun. The artist is non-binary, goes by the pronouns they/them, and toes the line between popstar and underground rebel on a daily basis. Their Spotify following is only growing by the minute—currently sitting at over 700,000 monthly listeners, you might recognise them from Reading Festival earlier this year where they donned a “conservative yeti but very pink” fit. The artist detailed their experience to NME as a first-time performer, saying that it “is all I ever wanted to do.” Bean did a set at the Pit stage—notorious for the moshing mix of fans that rock out in it. Now that you’re clued up a little, here’s what you really need to know about the singer.
As a champion of multiple aesthetics, Bean has been credited for their fearless approach to blending various styles together, sonically and visually, in their music career. “I create music and film that pushes the boundaries of beauty and societal standards—and throws itself into extremes,” they said in an interview with Dazed. There is a certain allure in the dark and lurid appeal of Bean, with their website currently featuring an image of them holding a giant blade. Frequently linked to other acts like Grimes, Rina Sawayama, Babymetal, Poppy and Melanie Martinez, the rising popstar has cemented their place in the alternative genre. Bean’s art seems to pull all ends of the spectrum, from nightmarish visuals to lullaby lyrics which both transform the way we enjoy and interact with music.
Bean has managed to gather a dedicated following that is just as into the weird and wonderful as they are. As for those who aren’t in on it, the artist shared that they love to play with them, “On the weekends, I would go to clubs and perform and do the most extreme things that I could do and see how many people I could shock,” they recalled in an interview with DIY Mag. They once even dumped a big jug of chicken liver on themself on stage to “really push it.” They dub this their ‘shock era’, though to the rest of us common mortals, they’re still in it—there was a point where the artist considered trying to pee on stage and drink said pee live from a cup to ‘Primadona Girl’ by Marina and The Diamonds. Luckily, “it just didn’t work cos I was so nervous.”
However, Bean goes beyond simply stepping out of the box. An issue the performer finds important is animal rights, “I feel like humans really need to get off the Earth so that animals can roll out,” when profiled for Dazed 100. “Also, I’m passionate about ending capitalism and everyone being equal.” Two-for-two, Bean. “A lot needs to change, and loud art is the best way to do it.”
The lovechild of heavy metal and sunshine pop—don’t worry we’ll break these down—Bean is certainly unique. This is translated clearly in singles like ‘Hello Kitty’ and especially, ‘Yandere’—a Japanese word for an individual who is head over heels for their love interest, to violent and destructive extremes. The single encapsulates this with lyrics like, “This might get a little messy, I’m sure, heads rolling for the one I adore. This may become a little brutal, if I’m honest, but it’s any-anything for you, my dear, I promise.”
Gen Z seem to have a liking for mixing the old and the new, with artists such as PinkPantheress taking the world by storm with dance-pop tracks that send us all into the haze of wired earbuds, Motorola Razrs, and painstakingly waiting for another Pierce The Veil song to pop-up on MTV—artists are starting to take hold of the power of nostalgia. With genres like pop punk making a resurgence in the modern music world, artists such as Bean are able to call back nostalgia while refreshing it with their own vivid and unique sound.
Bean’s musical influences range from many prevalent artists—with their dream musical collaborators being Avril Lavigne, Nicki Minaj and Gwen Stefani—they stated that they’d “probably have a stroke or something,” if they got any of them on a song. That being said, their most notable influence is SOPHIE. In an interview with tmrw, Bean talked about the death of the singer and the impact it left on them, “Obviously, SOPHIE was like a celebrity but I took her work very personally. I’ve never really cried over a celeb death or anything like that. I was genuinely frustrated, like ‘What do you mean? She’s going to come back’.”
Remaining relatively unknown—with their subreddit only hosting a small following of 1,000—is actually a prerogative of Bean’s, “I’d really like to remain with my small circle of fans but I really want more people to find out about me. I want people to see me on certain platforms and be like ‘Why is this person there?’ and be confused about it,” they shared with tmrw. When it comes to their music, the craft seems to be more important than the praise.
Released towards the end of 2020 under Bean’s independent label aswang birthday cake (stylised in all lowercase), Worldwide Torture is a metal-pop heavy EP consisting of five songs. Tracks like ‘Saccharine’, ‘Little Lamb’ and ‘War Zone Urchin’ contain messages that are both vulnerable yet, simultaneously, volatile. Some of the lyrics include talking about “gouging out [their] eyes” out with love, and being “scared that you will leave, so I’ll keep pulling at your sleeve.”
Along with the passion and intensity of the lyricism, the EP is also accompanied by Bean’s artistic horror-pop visuals. The theatrical camp art of Worldwide Torture comes from its medly of fun and fright. Though short, Worldwide Torture is still able to span various genres of music. When discussing the EP with tmrw, Bean said they were very unhappy while making it. “I hated myself,” said the artist, but Worldwide Torture was a learning curve for them. Making it was a turning point of sorts for the young artist, who is currently 18. “This work helped me fall in love with myself and put boundaries with certain people,” they further told tmrw.
Bean’s music, though alternative to its core, can be claimed as part of the bygone subgenre ‘nu metal’ (also stylised ‘nu-metal’ or ‘nü-metal’). As one of the many subgenres of metal music from the 90s, nu metal took from preceding genres and now stands as inspiration for others such as modern American heavy metal. Despite its influence, the genre has had its fair share of critics, with NME slating it as one of the worst genres of all time as well as claims it is “rock’s most maligned offshoot,”—almost 20 years after the genre had apparently fallen out of mainstream popularity.
It is an alternative subgenre that “fuses heavy metal music with other styles like hip hop, grunge, alternative rock, hard rock, and funk,” as stated by Masterclass. With elements like jazz, rap metal, groove metal, and industrial metal all contributing to the sound and style of nu metal, the genre was influenced by many experimental rock groups like Faith No More. Less aggressive than death metal—meaning less harsh on the ears—it has become part of hybridised umbrella names like metalcore and deathcore.
Differentiating itself from its parent genre’s common guitar solos, nu metal features rapping and mixed vocals that are often a cross between screaming and singing—so, if you’re looking for that ‘racket’ your parents complain about, you’ll find it here. There’s also a heavy emphasis on syncopation—a syncopated beat will emphasise traditional weak beats and tend to sound more striking than non-syncopated rhythmic patterns. The heavily syncopated riffs and beats give nu metal an often jarring, asymmetrical sound, but the lyrics contrast that dissonance, as they are usually direct and angsty. However, not all of the lyrics in this genre are necessarily angry, they also cover a variety of interesting and subversive topics. Like Worldwide Torture, nu metal lyrics often explore “bullying and betrayal, others are about partying, moshing at concerts, hope, and even humor”, according to Masterclass.
When it comes down to Bean’s music, not only do they embody the core elements of nu metal, but the influence of the niche genre ‘sunshine pop’ (also called ‘soft pop’) is evident in their work. With a very small following dedicated to unearthing groups that fit the genre on reddit, sunshine pop is classed as a pop sub-genre that, like nu metal, originated in California, surfacing in the mid-1960s. Laced with limerent comments on the world that are often paired with nostalgic or anxious moods, the genre takes a sunny, soft appreciating look at the world’s beauty. Bean has also been grouped into ‘hyperpop’ by many publications like this feature list by The Forty Five.
As if straight out of Harajuku, you will find Bean adorned in all kinds of kawaii-inspired clothing with pink garments galore. It is clear that the artist, who’s also the owner of Cult Candy—their very own makeup brand—has a very keen and solidified sense of style right down to their influences. In a feature with Vogue, they gave tips on how to achieve their outlandish look, a “cat-eye mouth” complete with scary spikes and stunning violet contacts. They called themself a “genderless monster” in an interview with Truly, and their aesthetic appears to be exactly that. Here are some of the most prominent influences of the standout style-icon if you ever want to dabble in this world.
Bean is majorly in love with Tim Burton—I mean, who isn’t?—and cites him as one of their biggest influences. Being obsessed with dolls—like the Monster High ones they grew up with—as well as all things macabre, it’s no wonder the Hollywood director of cult-classics like Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas is an inspiration of theirs. Burton, known for making freakishly fantastic films, has an aesthetic similar to Bean’s, one where the gore and the gorgeous meet. In their interview with Dazed, Bean stated that Emily, from Burton’s 2005 classic Corpse Bride, is a character they most identify with.
The artist has also got Toxic Boy, from the 2008 animated short of the same name, tattooed on themself.
Toxic boy from my favourite Tim Burton book and my favourite number on my knee , it’s new so it’s abit red but the pink on toxic boys head is meant to b der lol, I didn’t want that green 🦴🐜💖 pic.twitter.com/xhUO4JV9gE
— jazmin bean🦟☆彡 (@abortjazminbean) May 24, 2020
The look Bean channels through their visuals and fashion sense is heavily influenced by Japanese pop culture. Their style and carefully crafted outfits seem to be a melting pot of a number of unique trends such as Harajuku style, the Lolita aesthetic and Yami kawaii—Japan’s softer take on emo. Yami kawaii is a fashion movement that brings to light some of the most prohibited subjects of discussion in Japanese culture: depression and mental illness. It is also part of ‘Anti-kawaii’, a movement that aims to bring forth and highlight opposing elements to the typically known kawaii style, in order to leave a greater impact. Although the artist has never explicitly labelled these aesthetics as direct influences, their love of many Japanese trends is clear as day. Never missing a patch of pink in almost every outfit, their whimsical style is always cooky and creative.
Although it’s safe to say that Yami kawaii is dark enough by itself, throughout their style Bean adds an even darker element to their vibrant pink outfits, one known as ‘gurokawa’ (which is often translated to ‘Creepy Cute’ in the west)—a popular style of the 2010s combining the grotesque with the kawaii.
Many times I have described Bean’s aesthetic as something straight out of a nightmare—well, there’s a reason for that—and it lies within the artist’s connection to the Aswang (of which her record label is named after). A frightening mythological creature in Filipino culture—known to be shape-shifting monsters—they appear as normal people during the day (usually presenting as women) and transform into horrifying beings at night, hunting humans as their prey. The nocturnal beasts have a thing for human flesh, you see, even craving the taste of children—bringing to mind lyrics from songs like ‘Super Slaughter’, “yeah, my teeth are extra sharp, catching all my prey to slit.”
Bean—of Filipino descent—proudly talked about the creatures to NME, stating that “they love to scare bitches.” There is a clear connection between the mythological lore of the Aswangs and Bean, much like Bean has described themself, they also disguise themselves by using sinister vocal tricks to distract their desired prey.
Bean uses art to reflect their worldview—to push for more. When asked what the role of a new gen artist was by tmrw, they said, “We shouldn’t go backwards,” and that they hope to continue to push and inspire their fans in years to come. All artists seek nothing more than to make their mark on the world with their music and Jazmin Bean is certainly one of them. With a mashup of mixed genres such as electropop, metal, trap, pop rock and of course, indie—you name it, the singer has managed to create a lane for themself as a hybrid of opposites. I mean, who would have thought that screaming death metal and sugary sweet pop could go together so perfectly?
You’ve probably heard him narrate horror stories on YouTube. You’ve most likely jammed to his music on viral TikToks. And I’m pretty sure you may have stumbled across his Among Us gameplays on Twitch. If you’re still having a hard time guessing the mysterious influencer in question, here are a bunch of other clues: deep voice, veiny metal-ring-adorned hands, purple rabbit mask, and “choke me like you hate me, but you love me” (uwu). Oh, the last one struck a chord?
The emo rap—guaranteed to leave you either scared or turned on—features a reclusive creator on the rise with an entire ‘simp army’ hot on his trail. Introducing Corpse Husband, a ‘faceless’ influencer rewriting the rules for content creation in a digital age.
Allegedly born on 8 August 1997, Corpse Husband—also known as Corpse—is an American YouTuber and musician based in San Diego, California. Again, allegedly. Before kicking off his YouTube career in 2015, Corpse had been praised for his deep voice and suggested he dip his toes into narration. More specifically, horror story narrations.
Growing up alongside creepypasta channels like MrCreepyPasta, Chilling Tales for Dark Nights and Cryaotic, it wasn’t until the influencer came across Mr. Nightmare, Be. Busta, and Lazy Masquerade that he launched his own quests into the category. Today, the creator is part of a community of YouTubers known as ‘Horror Narration Channels’ and prefers to read true stories that are typically sent in from his subscribers or taken off subreddits like r/LetsNotMeet and r/NoSleep.
After lending his voice to horror narrations, Corpse slowly branched out into music with his debut single ‘MISS YOU!’, followed by ‘WHITE TEE’ and ‘E-GIRLS ARE RUINING MY LIFE!’. The latter has now amassed a whopping 100 million streams on Spotify and over 50 million views on YouTube. To date, he has around nine songs under his belt, seven of which he’s credited as the lead artist. Over the years, Corpse has also collaborated with The Living Tombstone, Savage Ga$p, Chills, Crusher and fellow vampire Machine Gun Kelly for ‘DAYWALKER!’—featuring YouTube’s most-watched female streamer Valkyrae.
During the pandemic, Corpse Husband also started streaming popular video games including Among Us with other internet personalities like PewDiePie, Sykkuno and surprise, surprise: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC). “I can’t get over this dude’s voice. It’s so deep,” AOC was heard gasping on a Twitch livestream—hosted alongside high-profile streamers like Pokimane and Corpse Husband to encourage viewers to vote in the 2020 elections. The congresswoman further admitted to being distracted by the creator’s voice, giving more than enough content for fans to create heaps of viral compilations showing their wholesome interaction on YouTube.
Now let’s talk about the creator’s presence on TikTok. With 2.1 billion views on hashtags dedicated to musings about the anonymous artist, Corpse’s impact on the platform can be traced to his 5.2 million followers with less than ten videos on his account. Did I mention that most of these posts only feature his hands? Uploading black and white filtered clips, the creator can be seen rocking his veiny hands on a chair, casually stretching his fingers with a rose and a toy dinosaur between them and even offering hoodies to a flustered Sykkuno. Adorned with chunky metal rings, chipped nail polish and heart-beaded bracelets, Corpse’s #onlyhands have broken every platform they’ve graced with their presence.
@corpse_husband YOU GUYS ARE CRAZY LMAO #corpse_husband #corpsehusband #onlyhands
♬ E-GIRLS ARE RUINING MY LIFE! - CORPSE & Savage Ga$p
Following his viral fame, Corpse has also launched his own line of merchandise—including exclusive posters, beanies, hoodies, face masks and more. The online store, which went live as a Christmas gift to his fans in 2020, reportedly crashed for many as the website received tremendous traffic across the globe. Most of the items sold out like hotcakes in under five minutes and continue to do so whenever they’re restocked.
In other news, his cult-like following—who once called themselves ‘little freaks’—have rented and flown a plane over his favourite restaurant, Sizzler’s Steakhouse, to promote his hit single ‘Agoraphobic’ on Spotify. The fandom has additionally helped secure a coveted billboard for the creator at the New York Times Square, trending both #corpseinthesky and #corpsebillboard on Twitter. Another chaotic achievement under their belt includes changing Wikipedia’s definition of breathing to “Corpse Husband.”
WHAT, U GUYS GOT A PLANE FLOWN FOR ME LMAOOOO https://t.co/hqXazgcthw
— CORPSE (@CORPSE) February 14, 2021
For those who are well-versed with fandoms in the Kpop industry, all of these activities might sound trivial and one might even consider them part of regular influencer culture. But let’s not forget that Corpse Husband is an anonymous, ‘faceless’ creator. Nobody knows his real name and what he actually looks like. In fact, in a rare interview with American YouTuber Anthony Padilla, Corpse admitted that those around him in real life have no clue of his online fame. “I come across as sketchy to everybody,” the influencer said, adding how he has a separate room for recording videos.
Whenever there are parties or gatherings hosted in his apartment, Corpse allegedly tells his guests not to enter that specific space. You know the typical assumptions that stem from such claims. The ‘E-GIRLS ARE RUINING MY LIFE!’ musician further confessed that he can’t answer simple questions like “What do you do for a living?” and “How do you make all this money?”
But is it actually possible to maintain complete anonymity on the internet—especially when you’ve cultivated a fanbase who willingly tattoo your hair strands and sell out your favourite perfume in a matter of seconds?
“Being a ‘faceless’ influencer isn’t a new concept but it is still something that we don’t see often,” David Gosselin, CEO and president of the influencer management agency A-List Me, told SCREENSHOT. “We typically see influencers connecting with their followers by being relatable and showing their everyday life but ‘faceless’ influencers connect in a totally different way by being mysterious and intriguing their followers with the unknown.”
When SCREENSHOT reached out to the New York-based influencer marketing platform Upfluence, the team had similar insights to share. Solutions Architect Sean Byrne first highlighted the similarities between online avatars, an idea that has been around for decades, and being an anonymous influencer on the internet today. “The anonymity allows creators to establish a new persona and identity in whatever mould they choose—hidden from the criticism and hate that can come with being an influencer in the public eye,” he said.
According to Byrne, this anonymity can also alleviate part of the fear and anxiety that typically grip influencers, especially at the start of their public journey. “It’s easy to feel insecure when thousands of people are seeing your face and are consuming what you’re producing. Posting anonymously allows creators to be true to themselves, keep their personal lives private and live a double life—if that’s what they seek,” he explained. “I’m sure it can be freeing to be walking down the street as Corpse Husband without anyone knowing who you truly are.”
But the faceless path to fame is not without cons.”From a creator perspective, being anonymous has some interesting downsides,” Byrne mentioned, adding how an influencer’s anonymity will most certainly work against them during their grind to grow and build a brand. “Typically, to get partnerships and brand deals, companies and partners want to make sure a creator fully represents their brand and values. They will be less trusting of a creator whose face they have yet to see,” the expert said. However, this isn’t an issue once an anonymous personality climbs into the “mega star” rank.
That said, this “mega star” rank in question brings a whole other set of concerns with itself. Ever since Corpse started gaining traction on YouTube, his fans have been begging the influencer for a face and name reveal. This became particularly concerning when he hit the six million followers mark on YouTube in December 2020—after which Twitter was flooded with images and even addresses of random people who users claimed to be “the real Corpse Husband.” In September 2021, pictures of an alleged 13-year-old boy went viral on the platform, with many suggesting that Corpse’s face was “not as he advertised.”
“They’re taking pictures of real-life people, I don’t know if they end up seeing it, and then because [they] think it’s me, they shit all over [them] even though they’re normal looking people,” Corpse Husband said in a second interview with Anthony Padilla. “[If] that’s what normal looking people get for [being] me, then I can’t imagine if it was actually me.” This is one of the reasons why the anonymous personality has brushed aside all hopes of a face reveal coming from him anytime soon.
In a Minecraft livestream, Corpse confessed the fact that people’s expectations of his appearance have peaked to unachievable standards. “When you have millions of people going like ‘I think he looks like this’ and you look dramatically different from all of them, it’s like you’re going to let down a lot of people at once and I’d rather not do that,” he admitted.
So can Corpse Husband always keep his fans guessing? Or, given how the internet works, is the creator’s face reveal bound to happen against his will someday? “There have been a few ‘leaks’ of Corpse Husband over the past few years but it seems none of them hold any weight,” Byrne said, adding how he expects a proper face reveal to come from the creator himself in the future instead of it inevitably happening against his will. “So many faceless creators have done such a great job with their anonymity and since it’s their entire brand, they’ll be intentionally careful about it.”
In this regard, A-List Me’s David Gosselin gave the example of Banksy, the England-based street artist, political activist and film director whose identity remains unconfirmed—yet has amassed a whopping 11.2 million followers on Instagram. “As the brand continues to grow, so will the mystery behind it,” Gosselin said. “The more people that follow Corpse Husband will create more suspense of who [he] is.” Although Gosselin believes Corpse can maintain the air of mystery he has created around his identity, the CEO highlighted how it’ll become harder to do so as his popularity skyrockets.
Byrne, on the other hand, directed my train of thought to Corpse’s struggle with severe anxiety, which is heightened due to his fame. The creator has also been laying low ever since the slew of memes and trolls on his identity exposed a horrifying side of the internet. “Corpse recently spoke about why he’s slowed down his content creation regarding YouTube videos and Twitch streams, crediting this change to intense social anxiety,” Byrne explained. “If Corpse was out streaming and creating YouTube videos daily, there’d be a higher chance of his face reveal to happen against his will. But since he’s taken a step back, I think he will be in full control if and when he ever decides to reveal his likeness to his fans.”
In his livestreams and Twitter account, the anonymous influencer has also been vocal about his battle with chronic illnesses and health problems including fibromyalgia, sleep apnea, insomnia, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)—which is partly responsible for his deep voice—and an eye disease which causes inflammation, often requiring him to wear an eyepatch.
When asked about his views on the unrealistic expectations of Corpse that have festered within the public over time, Byrne mentioned, “The audience will imagine and create an image in their head based on the persona a creator has established, and if the reveal happens and it doesn’t meet those expectations, the backlash can be rough.” According to the expert, there’s no right or wrong answer to being anonymous or not—just differences in the pros and cons. “A creator should align themselves with what’s important to them and take that leap of faith,” he added.
I hope I can serve as some kind of inspiration or awareness for people with chronic pain and illness someday on a massive platform. That's my main goal with growing my art and what keeps me going. I feel like those voices are very unheard & misunderstood. This shit is a nightmare
— Corpse Husband (@Corpse_Husband) August 23, 2020
Now onto the elephant in the room. Even if Corpse does a face reveal on his own terms, will it ultimately do more harm than good to the creator’s fame? I mean, the very element of mystery—which Corpse has built his presence around—would be eliminated from the scene. It’d be an entire shift from his ethos as a faceless influencer, right?
Gosselin believes that it makes more sense for Corpse Husband to maintain his anonymity. “My reasoning is ‘don’t fix what isn’t broken’,” the CEO said. At the same time, however, he outlined how influencers ultimately know their followers better than others and therefore know the best content strategy for their brand. “Corpse Husband is more than just a faceless influencer and will be able to maintain a strong connection even if there is a face reveal,” Gosselin added.
Alex Curry, an influencer marketing strategist for gaming and esports at Upfluence, further divulged some historical insights on how a face reveal isn’t really a deterrent for anonymous influencers. “During the early years of digital content creation, especially within esports, a plethora of gaming content creators opted out of the traditional ‘on-screen’ appearance and instead chose to let their gameplay or creative voice-over narrations speak to their audience,” he said.
One such creator who has seamlessly aligned audience expectations and transitioned from a voice-over personality to an on-screen influencer, according to Curry, is Ali-A. “Having first created a YouTube and Twitch presence in early 2009, Ali-A became an illustrious figure among the gaming community for his interpersonal relationship with his audience by simply recording or voicing his Call of Duty gameplay to his audience,” the expert explained. “In three short years, he amassed 400,000 followers between YouTube and Twitch.TV—known at the time as Justin.TV.”
But it wasn’t until Ali-A decided to bring his audience deeper into his life that he finally revealed his face to the public. “His audience took his face reveal extremely well because they were connected to his personality over a surface-level outer appearance,” Curry continued. “Just like Corpse Husband’s audience, Ali-A’s fans had been teased with fake leaked images of his face and even questioned whether other personalities on the platform had created Ali-A as an alternate alias. Today, he sits at 17.2 million subscribers and is still very relevant in the esports space.”
The influencer marketing strategist ultimately believes that, “given the fact his fellow gaming content creators have set such a positive precedent on face reveals, should Corpse choose to do one, his fame will only continue to grow.”
you have nothing to apologize for corpse 💖 take care of yourself pic.twitter.com/IHFNL8CaOJ
— Rainy❤️🩹til death (@sykkun0_s1mp) December 22, 2020
At a time when we’ve learned to embrace our virtual selves, the rise of Corpse Husband as a global phenomenon signals the overarching appeal of anonymous influencers—who are constantly rewriting norms for content creation in a digital age. “Everything is on the internet now and whether you are a faceless influencer or going the more typical route, you would be able to build a strong presence by just having a social media handle,” Gosselin admitted in this regard.
Curry further explained how influencer culture has shifted beyond physical or face-to-face interactions being the standard, all thanks to the pandemic. “Audiences that had followed their favourite creator from the very early stages of their career are now maturing into an influencer genre that focuses heavily on the deeper interpersonal development between [one’s] content and their fanbase,” he said. According to the expert, gone is the era where a public figure’s success is centred around their physical appearance, materialistic flexing and constant updates to keep their fans hooked.
“We are witnessing a shift where less is more and seeing higher engagement rates in this landscape too. Not being able to constantly know the whereabouts of your favourite influencer keeps audiences guessing as to the next piece of content that will be revealed.” This norm also translates into a positive impact on creators who are faced with the constant pressure to deliver content to their massive audiences. “Influencers are now able to take frequent breaks instead of generating content at such a large volume which eventually leads to burnout,” Curry concluded.
So buckle up, 2022. It might just be the peak time to embrace reclusive creators who are basing their success entirely around their wholesome content and personality online.