It’s safe to say that 2024 had been nothing short of an eventful year. Pop culture moments include the revival of Charlie XCX with her album Brat, Nara Smith and her style of making food, Moo-Deng the Hippopotamus, and the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight.
2024 has definitely given us our share of the most bizarre pop culture moments, and before the year ends, one more trend comes to take the top spot on our list.Â
Have you ever met someone who looked like a celebrity or has anyone ever told you resemble a celebrity? Well, I have news for you. The newest trend taking over is having celebrity lookalike contests.
The first contest was in New York City and took off globally, with people from all walks of the world coming together to find the perfect celebrity lookalikes. The audience crowns their favourite lookalike and showers them with gifts, cash prizes, and social media recognition.
Here’s a roundup of just some of the few notable celebrity lookalike competitions that took the world by storm:
Timothee Chalamet  Â
The first celebrity lookalike contest was held in New York City for actor Timothee Chalamet.
Flyers were posted all over the city, bringing attention to many New Yorkers, although some of them thought it was a scam. However, people lined up in front of hundreds of audience members dressed as Chalamet, with striking similarities to the movie star. One contestant dressed up as Chalmet from the movie Wonka.
The event was jam-packed with Chalamet’s fans, curious onlookers, and even people thoroughly annoyed that they were being inconvenienced from getting to work. Even with Chalamet himself making an appearance, the size of the crowd and the excitement from fans trying to catch a glimpse resulted in police shutting down the contest. This didn’t stop fans from wanting more, though.
Jeremy Allen White Â
The award-winning actor Jeremy Allen White was also given the honour of being subject to a celebrity lookalike contest. The actor rose to fame in the popular Hulu show The Bear, where he plays Carmen “Carmy” Bereztto a young chef in his family’s restaurant.
The competition, held in Chicago on Nov. 17, had a huge turnout, with contestants hoping to get the title of the Jeremy Allen lookalike. Contestants came dressed in their best outfits, embodying the loved characters, making sure to nail all of his mannerisms. Ultimately, three Allen White lookalikes were selected, but only one could take the crown. 37-year-old Ben Shabad won for his striking good looks and his charisma.Â
Zayn Malik
The former One Direction bandmate turned solo star Zayn Malik has become the third celebrity to have a lookalike contest in their honour (and we aren’t complaining).
Once again, fans took to the streets of Brooklyn, New York, trying to get a glimpse of a Zayn lookalike. Unfortunately, this lookalike contest didn’t live up to the hype, as the top three contestants shared minimal resemblance to the pop star.
Nonetheless, a winner must be crowned, so 29-year-old Shiv Patel won. Many fans were disappointed as they hoped the “Pillowtalk” singer would attend, but were left hopeless, unsatisfied, and disappointed. One person wrote on X, “Zayn Malik lookalike contest winner in Bushwick ain’t know a single one-direction song.”
Harry StyleÂ
Grammy award winner Harry Styles has joined his former bandmate Zayn on the lookalike trend.
The contest took place in London with a calmer — but still excited — crowd. Contestants came out in numbers, vying for the top spot of the contest. The “As It Was” singer was not present at the contest, but onlookers still came out to support.
The winner, Oscar Journeaux, took home a $50 cash prize and multiple cheers from the crowd as he looked like 2013 Harry. One user wrote on X, “The Harry Styles lookalike contest just proving that nobody’s touching this face card” — and I must admit she’s right!
The trend of the celebrity lookalike contest doesn’t seem to be dying down anytime soon. There were other recent contests featuring actress Zendaya in Oakland, California, former President John F. Kennedy in Boston and Toronto hosting a Drake lookalike contest in December.