To celebrate the release of Wonder Woman this week, we’ve pulled together a list of 10 of the coolest and most important up-and-coming stars in the world who you should get to know better.
What connects them? They all share the four pillars that make Wonder Woman the amazing superhero she is: Power, Wonder, Wisdom and Grace.
Tom Holland
Age: 20
Known for: Being Spider-Man. The Kingston-born actor debuted as Peter Parkerin Captain America: Civil War last year. His first solo outing, Spider-Man: Homecoming, follows this July.
Power: He won the Rising Star Award at this year’s BAFTAs and has 1.7m Instagram followers.
Wonder: The way he tore into Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella’ on Lip Sync Battle in latex hotpants.
Wisdom: He recently wrote on Instagram, “I get asked, ‘What’s it like being a superhero?’ And honestly I’m the wrong person to ask. You should be asking the volunteers who work in hospitals – they’re the real-life heroes.”
Grace: The gymnastics videos he posts on Instagram prove that this guy is agile.
Daniel Kaluuya
Age: 28
Known for: This year’s breakout horror film Get Out.
Power: The London-born actor is set to appear in upcoming Marvel movie Black Panther and has a voice role in the new TV adaptation of Watership Down.
Wonder: He’s demonstrated his ability to transform himself physically for a role. To play a ripped boxer in the 2010 stage play Sucker Punch, Kaluuya shed 3st in just three months.
Wisdom: When Samuel L. Jackson criticised the casting of black British actors in American films like Get Out, Kaluuya responded eloquently: “I resent that I have to prove that I’m black. I don’t know what that is. I’m still processing it.”
Grace: His breakthrough came when he played a character called Posh Kenneth in Skins.
Awkwafina
https://youtu.be/YcphTuFGI40
Age: 28
Known for: Being a rapper, comedian, actress and writer who can’t be pigeonholed.
Power: Next year she’ll appear in the Hollywood films Ocean’s Eight and Crazy Rich Asians.
Wonder: One of her rap bangers, ‘Mayor Bloomberg (Giant Margaritas)’, warns New York City’s mayor not to ban her favourite iced tipple.
Wisdom: “I want to change the game to make rap that shows I’m not a normal female rapper,’ she’s said. ‘It’s not about how rich I am, how much sex I have, or how many boyfriends I have.”
Grace: Her risqué rhymes and comic timing are totally on point.
Charli XCX
Age: 24
Known for: Co-writing Icona Pop’s dance banger ‘I Love It’, singing on Iggy Azalea’s rap banger ‘Fancy’, and scoring a huge hit with her own pop banger ‘Boom Clap’.
Power: When it comes to tunes, she has the midas touch: she’s also written tracks for Blondie, Selena Gomez and Diplo.
Wonder: She’s so prolific her label can barely keep up. In March, she dropped a mixtape called ‘Number 1 Angel’ that was better than most pop stars’ actual albums.
Wisdom: She released her first single nine years ago, when she was 15, so it’s safe to assume she knows all about the music business. She began her last album with a track about a creepy industry douchebag. Its chorus goes: “Well, fuck you, sucker!”
Grace: She’s been known to rock out on stage with a giant inflatable guitar, so her swagger definitely can’t be faulted.
Novelist
Age: 20
Known for: Being a founding member of Lewisham’s The Square crew and one of grime’s brightest rising stars.
Power: Novelist has collaborated with Skepta and Jamie xx, and counts Drake as a mate. Last year he even set up his own label, Mmmyeh Records.
Wonder: He’s brave and not afraid to throw a curveball. Although fans love his inventive lyrics, this didn’t stop Novelist from dropping an EP featuring five instrumental tracks. “You aren’t ready to hear my voice,” he tweeted when it came out in April.
Wisdom: Novelist has a strong business head on his young shoulders. Explaining why he founded a label for himself and his pals, he told NME last year: “I felt like, if we’re going to govern our music and make the most out of ourselves, we should own everything that we’re doing and own everything that we can possible. [And] I feel like I’m in the position to do that.”
Grace: Although he’s longer working with Adele’s label XL, Novelist never bad-mouths them. “The relationship was cool,” he told NME. “When I spent time around different crowds, different labels, it was good. It allowed me to see how things work.”
Olly Alexander
Age: 26
Known for: Fronting electropop crew Years & Years, plus acting roles in Skins, Penny Dreadful and The Riot Club.
Power: He’s blessed with natural eloquence and authority – when Alexander speaks out on LGBT and mental health issues, people sit up and listen.
Wonder: Years & Years’ signature hits ‘King’ and ‘Shine’ rank among the best British pop singles of the last five years.
Wisdom: He know he’s not perfect, but that’s what makes him a great role model. Last year he said your struggles “can be your fuel – so long as they don’t consume you, they can be the energy that propels you”. He’s also said he has a crush on Jeremy Corbyn. That was probably a joke, but as the General Election approaches it doesn’t sound quite so ridiculous.
Grace: Alexander dressed as an “undead Geri Halliwell” for a Years & Years Halloween gig – and got away with it.
Lorde
Age: 20
Known for: Her 2013 breakthrough single ‘Royals’, impressive debut album ‘Pure Heroine’ and this year’s addictive comeback banger ‘Green Light’.
Power: Not in doubt. At just 17, she was asked to curate the soundtrack to The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, and recruited A-list stars like Kanye West, Ariana Grande and Major Lazer. And let’s not forget she has Taylor Swift on speed dial.
Wonder: Come on, you’ve heard her stunning pop tracks ‘Team’ and ‘Tennis Court’.
Wisdom: It’s become a cliché to call her “older than her years”, but that’s because she’s so sharp. Most artists will never produce something as smart as ‘Royals’, her commentary on mainstream music’s obsession with status.
Grace: Lorde’s wild dance moves are unconventional, but there’s no denying she owns them.
Zara Larsson
Age: 19
Known for: Her hit singles ‘Lush Life’, ‘Never Forget You’ and ‘I Would Like’, and generally being pop’s woke new queen.
Power: Formidable. After winning a Swedish TV talent show at the age of 10, Larsson used it as a springboard to pursue global fame, and she’s already well on her way.
Wonder: She’s already pulled off one minor miracle. ‘Symphony’, her Clean Bandit collaboration, recently knocked Ed Sheeran off the Number One spot after 14 weeks.
Wisdom: She knows what she thinks and isn’t afraid to say it. In a genius Instagram post, Larsson shamed boys who claim they’re “too big” to wear condoms by sharing a picture of one stretched over her leg.
Grace: Some of her pop rivals don’t bother with choreography, but Larsson has proven her ability to execute a slick and sexy dance routine. Her idol is Beyoncé, so she’s aiming high with her performances.
Millie Bobby Brown
Age: 13
Known for: Playing Eleven, the psychokinetic kid with a sick buzzcut in Stranger Things.
Power: With 3.6m Instagram followers, she’s one of the planet’s most influential young teens. She’s also landed a role in the 2019 blockbuster Godzilla: King Of The Monsters.
Wonder: Watch the video of MBB rapping Nicki Minaj’s verse from ‘Monster’ without gasping.
Wisdom: She’s wise beyond her years. “I knew what the industry was about, I knew it was competitive,” she said last year. “So I think it’s important just to stay humble and really not make it a competition. It’s about the art and you’re being a participant.”
Grace: Plenty. She’s been signed up by IMG Models.
Lil Yachty
Age: 19
Known for: Being the red-hot rapper who’s putting positivity back into hip-hop.
Power: His debut album ‘Teenage Emotions’ includes collaborations with legends like Migos and Diplo.
Wonder: Yachty’s music is filled with joy and inclusivity. The cover art for ‘Teenage Emotions’ shows young people of different shapes and races, and a gay couple kissing.
Wisdom: He understands that traditional genre boundaries are passé and he can make any collaboration fly. “I want to be on every lane. Pop, EDM – I want to be genre-friendly,” he’s said.
Grace: Kanye West hired him to walk the runway at last year’s Yeezy Season 3 fashion show.
Wonder Woman is in cinemas now