Variety's Power of Young Hollywood Honors McRae, Sombr, Withers &
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- Variety held its Power of Young Hollywood event at the Four Seasons Beverly Hills on Wednesday, presented by Disney+, with co-presidents Dea Lawrence and Ramin Setoodeh hosting and Mario Lopez and his 12-year-old son Dominic emceeing.
- Malachi Barton, star of Disney's "Camp Rock 3" and "Coven Academy," was named a cover star and drew screams from young fans and costars in attendance.
- Tate McRae referenced her Lollapalooza closing performance in Chicago during her speech, telling the crowd, "Obsession has always been the thing that drives me."
- Sombr received his songwriting honor from Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham and said he writes "all my songs alone in my bedroom," calling the recognition "humbling."
- Sienna Spiro delivered an acoustic performance sponsored by Amazon Music, while Neutrogena, Eternal Water and CashApp ran activations across the Four Seasons lawn.
- Nadia Gray, star of David Ayer's "Bright" and the upcoming "Baywatch" reboot, mingled with Variety's 2026 New Leaders class including WME partner Mike DeVeau and Brillstein's Matt Sadeghian.
Why it matters: The event doubles as a trade ritual: Variety signals which young performers and creators its industry readership should be tracking, while Disney+ — the presenting sponsor — locks in face time with the next generation of talent across music, film and social media ahead of 2026 release slates.
