Just like you, some of our fave celebs love a good reference. Here are a few that gave us one to remember.
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Even though Gen Z were babies and kids during the ‘90s and 2000s, we love looking back at that era, and thanks to social media and other media from the past, it’s not that hard to do so. The fashion, aesthetic, and pop culture was everything honestly. Whether it be nostalgia or a longing for simpler times, Gen Z loves a good throwback to that era, so it’s no wonder quite a few young stars have turned to that time period for inspiration and then some. From music, visuals, fashion, style, social media posts, and more, nostalgia hits hard with these moments. With that, let’s peep at some of our fave Gen Z stars throwing it back to decades past.
BEABADOOBEE SINGING “SWAY”
You’ve probably heard your mom blasting this song when it came on the radio. Our fave Filipino-British singer, beabadoobee, covered Sway by Bic Runga on the popular YouTube series Like A Version. A Southeast Asian classic, this track is a favorite, and thanks to her cover, a new generation of music fans are discovering it for the first time. BRB, gonna sway along to beabadoobee’s heavenly voice.
TATE MCRAE GOES XTINA MODE
The Gen Z pop star on everyone’s mind these days is Tate McRae. With her dance abilities and vocals, people often cite her as the new Britney Spears, or at least an artist who is giving that kind of energy. But for this entry, Tate channeled another iconic pop diva of that era, Christina Aguilera.
In Tate’s exes music video, she gave off Dirrty vibes with the boxing and bathroom scenes similar to those in the Dirrty music video (a reference we also caught in Denise Julia’s better than he does music video). Also, peep the opening of the It’s ok I’m ok MV where Tate’s walking on the sidewalk reminds us of Beyonce’s legendary strut in the Crazy In Love music video.
JAYDA TWINNING WITH MOM JESSA ZARAGOZA
We love seeing celebs dressing up as other celebrities, especially when it’s a celeb channeling their celeb parents. When it comes to singer-songwriter Jayda, she took that to the next level and dressed up as her mom, Jessa Zaragoza. She delivered not one, not two, but three different outfits that referenced her mom’s iconic looks. In an Instagram post, she recreated the album covers for Ibigay Mo Na, The Best of Jessa Zaragoza, and Just Can’t Help Feelin’ which features the track Bakit Pa (which Jayda also recreated). Like mother, like daughter fr.
COCO JONES GIVES US A TASTE OF BRITNEY
Using samples in songs right isn’t as easy as some might think it is, but that conversation doesn’t apply to R&B songstress Coco Jones, who did it well on her newest single Taste. Coco is not new to making samples her own, as other songs in her catalogue feature them. But for her newest release, she turned to a pop legend for inspiration. Many of us have definitely turned up to Britney Spears’ game-changing song Toxic, and Coco sampled the beloved chorus. She even referenced Britney’s sheer diamond bodysuit in the MV for Taste, and she ate with that.
SASSA GURL = SOBRANG JOLINA
@sassagurldump Sobrang Jolina
♬ original sound – Sassa Gurl Dump
So many celebs have dressed up as or referenced Jolina Magdangal in the past, but Sassa Gurl’s look is one of our favorites. In a video uploaded on her TikTok dump account, she dressed up as the 90’s icon while doing her own spin of the Sobrang Latina trend. While being her most kikay self in the video, she was saying “Sobrang Jolina!”- and she totally is. With her colorful fit, cutesy clips, and bright makeup, we can definitely see her living the chuva choo choo fantasy.
KATSEYE CHANNELS THE SATC GIRLIES
@katseyeworld they say nothing lasts forever. dreams change, trends come and go, but friendships never go out of style 🏙️🍎 #KATSEYE ♬ Theme from "Sex and the City" – TV Sounds Unlimited
Gen Z loves girl group KATSEYE for a number of reasons. One of those is their friendship, which gives off total main character energy. You know who else had a beloved friendship? The ladies of Sex and the City (well, most of the time anyways). Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte’s friendship took over television in the 90s and in the 00s, making them an iconic group of besties that Gen Z continue to take inspiration from to this day, and that includes KATSEYE.
They did their own version of the show’s iconic intro while they were in New York City, and they called their version “Katz and the City”. So slayful TBH. We’d totally tune into “Katz and the City” if it was a real show.
TWICE PERFORMING “10 MINUTES”
If you’re a K-pop stan, chances are that Lee Hyori’s 10 Minutes is in one of your playlists. The Y2K song has become a favorite for a good reason. The pure baddie energy the track exudes is everything—and TWICE gave it to us in their version. You might remember when TWICE members Nayeon, Jihyo, and Mina devoured their performance of the track during some of their fanmeets. Honestly, how could we forget? These divas gave it their all, and we ate it up. Bonus points for the Y2K ‘fits that wouldn’t look out of place today.
BONUS: BRETMAN ROCK’S HOMAGE TO AALIYAH
Baddies only! What we love about this Bretman Rock look was that not only was he wearing a vintage Roberto Cavalli F/W 2000 dress at the 2021 VMAs, but it was also the same dress Aaliyah once wore to the MTV red carpet, too. Fierce, ferocious, and only someone with the aura of Bretman Rock could pull off.
Continue Reading: Beyond A Throwback, These Young Stars Are Taking To The Y2K Fashion Archives For Their Major Style Moments
