Pop Spotlight

Zendaya, Adele, Pete Davidson, and dozens of others have been named in the 2022 TIME100, an annual list of the 100 most influential people serving important roles in entertainment, politics, sports, and business, among other fields. The list is sorted into sections of artists, innovators, titans, leaders, icons, and pioneers.

This year’s list features a mix of first-timers and recurring names alike, with Adele notching her third entry and President Joe Biden, who appears for the fifth time. The annual collection of names pairs off its selected recipients with other prominent figures for its blurb portion.

Speaking of Zendaya, Dune director Denis Villeneuve wrote: “She is an autonomous creative force herself. A cultural icon in the making. A person driven by pure inspiration, empathy, and respect for her craft, who uses authenticity as a new superpower. She seems fearless, her roots run deep, and I love that she still laughs like a kid. Zendaya is the future. And there is nothing more comforting to me. This is only the beginning.”

Other pairings include Sandra Oh on Simu Liu, Kara Swisher on Joe Rogan, Ryan Seacrest on Kris Jenner, Michelle Obama on Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon on Zoë Kravitz, LeBron James on Quinta Brunson, Nas on Mary J. Blige, Elle King on Miranda Lambert, and Jack Harlow on Pete Davidson.

“Pete’s appeal to the world has everything to do with his authenticity,” the rapper wrote about the comedian who recently announced his Saturday Night Live exit. “He doesn’t try to hide the person that he is. It’s a classic recipe for success and connection. I would consider myself truthful, but being around Pete makes me want to continue to reach even further for the realest version of myself. We don’t have another one of him. He’s daring, thoughtful, and simply hilarious. And he’s only 28. An icon with so much more left to accomplish.”

Other honorees on the TIME100 2022 list include Jon Batiste, Tim Cook, Ariana DeBose, Andrew Garfield, Sally Rooney, Issa Rae, Jeremy Strong, Jazmine Sullivan, Questlove, Taika Waititi, Michelle Yeoh, Volodymyr Zelensky, and Michelle Zauner, better known as Japanese Breakfast.