Olandria Carthen Turns Reality Fame Into Real Power With EBONY People’s Choice Win
The Love Island USA alum proves her cultural pull goes far beyond TV, earning a spot among EBONY’s 2025 Power 100 honorees.
Los Angeles, October 9 EST: Olandria Carthen was supposed to be a summer fling in America’s streaming consciousness the Love Island USA contestant with a winning smile and a knack for keeping things real on camera. But somewhere between the viral TikToks, the brand deals, and the genuine warmth that cut through the show’s usual gloss, Carthen built a fandom that doesn’t just “follow.” They root.
That energy just paid off big: EBONY Media Group announced that Carthen has been named the People’s Choice Award winner in its 2025 EBONY Power 100, an annual celebration of Black excellence that rarely misses a cultural beat. She’ll be honored at the Beverly Hilton on November 4, sharing the stage with icons like Teyana Taylor (Entertainer of the Year), Iman (Icon of the Year), Lonnie G. Bunch III, Shaquille O’Neal, and Tracee Ellis Ross.
From Villa to Visibility
When Love Island USA aired its last season, Carthen was one of those contestants audiences couldn’t quite place part girl-next-door, part digital-age It-girl. Off the island, she pivoted fast: social media savvy, brand-aligned, but still refreshingly unfiltered. Her followers felt like they were watching someone learn fame in real time, mistakes and all.
So while other Islanders drifted back into the algorithm, Carthen kept surfacing. Her posts found traction beyond the show’s fandom bubble Black Twitter, lifestyle vloggers, and fashion-watchers started to notice. She wasn’t selling an image so much as inviting people into her evolution.
That relatability a mix of self-awareness and Gen Z transparency is exactly what makes her win feel earned. The People’s Choice Award wasn’t just a popularity contest. It was a nod to how fame now works: not handed down by studios or PR machines, but built post by post, story by story, until the audience says, “Yeah, she’s one of ours.”
A New Kind of Star Power
EBONY’s Power 100 list has long spotlighted those shaping culture, but Carthen’s inclusion marks a subtle shift. The list has always leaned on household names your Shaqs and your Tracees but adding someone who made her name through a reality show and social media speaks to how decentralized celebrity has become.
It’s not about access anymore. It’s about authenticity, even when that authenticity is carefully curated. Carthen’s rise lands in the same cultural moment that has turned The Bachelor’s alumni into entrepreneurs, Love Is Blind contestants into influencers, and TikTok creators into Emmy guests. The boundaries between entertainment, influence, and identity are blurrier than ever.
Still, Carthen’s case feels a little different. There’s a sense of craft behind the charm. Her online presence isn’t just reactive it’s intentional storytelling, shaped by someone who understands that visibility can be a platform, not just a performance.
What This Win Signals
For EBONY, awarding Carthen isn’t just about riding the social media wave. It’s about affirming a new generation of Black cultural figures who aren’t waiting for permission to be seen. It’s a recognition that representation in 2025 looks different it’s born on reality TV, refined on Instagram, and validated by legacy institutions that are finally catching up.
And for Carthen, the timing couldn’t be better. The Love Island alumni circuit can be fleeting, but she’s managed to spin her moment into something sustainable a brand with real community. Fans describe her as “genuine,” “refreshing,” “relatable,” and those are the exact adjectives the industry keeps chasing but rarely earns.
She may not have an album out or a film on deck (yet), but her EBONY Power 100 win solidifies her as a presence someone who reflects how fame, especially for young Black women, is being rewritten in real time.
That’s not just a career milestone. It’s a pop-culture pulse check.
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A bi-coastal pop culture critic and former indie screenwriter, Gia covers Hollywood, streaming wars, and subculture shifts with razor wit and Gen Z intuition. If it’s going viral, she already knew about it.
