They’re loyal, they’re protective, and they’re everywhere — outside hotels, surrounding black SUVs, and waiting in arrivals at LAX with signs at the ready. Oh, and every celebrity has at least one. Here’s a hint — we’re not talking about bodyguards. We’re talking about superfans.
Third from left: Superfan Kelsey Thompson on stage with Lady Gaga, O2 Arena London, Oct 23 2014
“Back in October 2011, my friends and I camped outside of Lady Gaga’s London hotel from 5:30 Wednesday evening until the following Thursday afternoon, hoping that she’d come out and say hi,” recalls Kelsey, 21, a Little Monster from Warrington, UK. “We had pillows, duvets, the whole bit. Finally, around 11:30 the next day she came out and she actually recognized us! That was my first time meeting her, but she recognized us from being in the front row of like a million shows. She ran right over. But then things got crazy,” she continues, “fans who’d just arrived a few seconds before ripped down the barriers and charged at her, and so her security got her out of there. But before they did she grabbed my hands. We hugged for a few minutes, snapped a photo and she was put into a car. Since then, I’ve met Gaga over ten times,” she laughs. “She knows my name! And she’s pulled me up on stage during shows twice now. Like this past weekend at her artRave in the O2! It was insane! She feels like an old friend at this point.”
Katy Perry has her Katy Cats. Taylor Swift has her Swifties. The twittersphere abounds with Dr. Who loving Whovians, Marvel Comic obsessed Marvelites, a Rihanna-worshipping Navy, and perhaps most questionably of all, a sea of Benedict-crazy Cumberbitches, none too pleased with his recent engagement. Lady Gaga’s Little Monsters, Beyonce’s BeyHive, and Katy Perry’s Katy Cats are some of the most notoriously dedicated of all, reigning supreme in social media superfandom. So here’s a question. What exactly is a superfan, anyway, and why is our generation’s version any different from the Fanilows and Deadheads of pop culture past?
How about a little self-assessment? You may be a superfan if you partake in any of the following activities. First and foremost, you embrace the nickname given to you by your fandom and are more than willing to refer to yourself as a Diamond, a Heartbeat, a Little Monster or a Hiddlestoner in actual real life conversation. That is, using your real voice, talking to a real person (i.e. your increasingly concerned mother). As one Little Monster points out on Twitter, “Honestly, ‘Little Monster’ is part of my identity. My actual, real-life identity, not just on Twitter! My mum calls me Monster sometimes. And not even just when she’s angry.”
You hoard your tip money in a nondescript jar in your bedroom for months on end. The resulting fund is dedicated to the object of your affection. There are, after all, albums, concert tickets, plane tickets, bus fares and DVDs to be had! Superfans like Kelsey are known to spend anywhere between $450-$3000 a year on their idol, and as she’s quick to point out, “If you ask any traveling superfan, they’ll tell you that they never check their bank statements until after tour season’s over. It’s just too depressing.”
You have various social media accounts, Twitter being your primary stomping ground, used exclusively to communicate with your fellow fans (and your artist if you’re extra lucky). You also probably look alarmingly similar to say, Beyonce, Rihanna, or Chris Evans in your Twitter display picture, and by that I mean no one’s actually seen your face online. Ever. You’re not opposed to boarding buses, boats, trains or planes to support the leader of your motley superfan crew. Speaking of crews, you’ve made many a real life friend via social media, and as it turns out, none of you look anything like Rihanna. Who knew?
“Fans are great, but our community is what it’s about. I want to just be on their level every step of the way.” – Katy Perry with fans (Image by Andrew Colvin for Toro Magazine)
To be fair, the term “fandom” is nothing new and it’s been used since the early nineties. But the superfan is a new and charmingly noughtian breed. For that, we can thank social media. Though no social network is superfan free– not Tumblr or Facebook or Instagram or even Pinterest — Twitter is a haven for superfans. Here, they gather under the blanket of common interest to discuss all things Lorde, Beyonce, Zayn or Jessie J.
And there are literally millions of them — just ask Lady Gaga’s 42.7 million Monsters, One Direction’s 21.3 million Directioners, and Katy Perry’s staggering 59.8 million Katy Cats, all hanging out on Twitter. Figures aside, though, there’s a level of closeness achieved online unique to Generation Y and its superfan tendencies. As Marcus, an eighteen year old Whovian points out, “I don’t think superfandom would’ve come about had it not been for social media. This is our generation’s ‘thing,’ if that makes sense. I mean, of course there are groups of fans in every city,” he continues, “but without social networks it’d be impossible to unite on such a big scale.”
Take nineteen year old Karen, a Marvelite, Hiddlestoner and Little Monster from Yucatan, Mexico. When she’s not cramming for her uni assessments, Karen spends a lot of time on Twitter talking to superfans about the latest and greatest from Marvel Comics, actor Tom Hiddleston, and Ms. Gaga. “See, on social networks, I’ve met people who are now really close to me, and that probably wouldn’t have happened without sharing interest in fandoms.” As is usually the case for superfans, being part of fandoms helps people like Karen, “feel accepted into a group in society and feel like they belong somewhere.” We’ve got some serious fan-to-fan love happening on social media, and there’s plenty to go around.
Directioners wait outside concert venue (Image via Feminspire.com)
Matt, a twenty two year old university grad from Pennsylvania, is one of those superfans who’s been around for his idol since the very beginning, quick to point out that he’s been a dedicated Little Monster for about seven years now. He explains, “Part of the fun of being a superfan is meeting others like yourself and participating in each other’s stories, seeing how the stories weave together underneath the fandom of an artist. Sure, people might say we’re insane. But I think there’s something to be said for solidarity!” he laughs. After pausing to think a bit about his love for fandom, he points out that, “Fandom has turned me into a much more confident and outgoing person, you know what I mean? It’s helped me do a double-take on my life. At the end of the day, Gaga really has helped me see the good in everyone.” There’s some truly profound stuff happening in superfan-land, kids.
Superfandom isn’t all fun and games, though. There’s a certain level of stress that goes along with participating in fandom, especially when an endless flow of information about that star is available at the touch of an app. Karen says, “Things like not receiving a tweet can get some superfans stressed to the point where they skip classes or stop doing things they’re supposed to do in real life just to stay glued to their phones, checking for updates. It’s mad!” It seems we have a widespread case of celeb addiction on our hands. As Matt points out, some aspects of superfandom can get out of control. “Sometimes,” he says, “superfans seem like junkies chasing some sort of high.”
Sure, fanbases have existed since the dawn of the superstar, just ask Paul McCartney. And yes, some even created names for themselves like the ones we see on Twitter today (Parrotheads, anyone?). But there’s something different about contemporary superfans. These kids build entire lives around fandom. And in that vein, many people have just one question: Are they taking it too far? Well, where there’s passion there are always problems, right? The National Union of Students explains that, “Interestingly, like nations that engage in wars over difference and conflict in ideology, fandoms sometimes engage in ‘fanwars’ online, culminating into nasty remarks and even death threats. Like any war, collateral damage is high on both sides, yet unlike in a real war there is no visible victor or loser.” Online bullying is a real issue in the superfan world. When do fans have to say that enough is enough? Does the veil of social media make bullying that much easier? Probably.
Another issue’s this. Modern medicine can make a syndrome out of anything, so you best believe that they’ve diagnosed superfan. Even the British Journal of Psychology had something to say about it, mirroring Matt’s concerns. Enter “Celebrity Worship Syndrome” for which there is surely some kind of treatment plan (hint: it probably isn’t Twitter). Seriously though, obsessive behavior always has the potential to spill over. Once it goes too far, both superfan and idol have to deal with the fallout. Matt says that, “It’s not uncommon for the most fixated superfans to spend countless hours, days, or even weeks pinpointing their idol’s every move through social media, waiting for even the slightest glimpse of their faves. But there’s a fine line between superfan and stalker.” It’s a fine line some superfans tread regularly.
So how do the apples of the superfan eye handle the attention? How do stars like Beyonce and Lady Gaga deal with being some of the most obsessed about people in pop culture history? As it turns out, many of these stars are superfans of their superfans, and the social media door swings both ways. On one hand, superfans get inside access to the lives of their idols. This is the superfan end all be all. On the other, those idols are far closer to their fans than ever before. Whereas celebrities were once shiny, unattainable creatures, now they’re just people who other people happen to really admire.
As Matt explains, “[Gaga] goes out of her way to make us feel comfortable, whether that’s bringing food to us when we’re queuing for hours or responding to messages on social media. She goes above and beyond to show us that she used to be one of us.” Kelsey’s quick to back him up. “One of the reasons I’m such a huge Gaga fan is because of the connection she has with us as fans. She likes to get to know us as people and always has time for us. Always.” Though the media, always so cynical, may try to frame these star-to-fan relationships as marketing schemes, is it really so hard to imagine that people are connecting across social status over a shared interest? Are Gaga and Beyonce really incapable of caring for their superfans just because they’ve got some Grammys under their belts? Let’s give them a little more credit than that.
Lady Gaga Superfans line up outside Weiner Stadthalle, Vienna (Image via Facebook – Lady Gaga)
Queen Bey weighs in. “Sometimes I’m just like, ‘tone it down’ but it’s just really beautiful and I honestly from the bottom of my heart give everything I can give. I’m always thinking about them, my superfans.” Sure, living such a public life is enough to drive anyone crazy. Some superfans do need to tone it down (remember, the first step is admitting that you have a problem). At the end of the day, though, there’s a certain level of love and respect that exists between artist and admirer. It’s almost casual. At a special screening of her Live at Roseland DVD, Beyonce laughs and says, “Oh my god, first of all, I see all my superfans in the audience when I’m performing because they’re doing the choreography harder than me! Some of the fans were like, ‘Bey, you better put this on the DVD.’ So I did. It’s a really special bond and it makes me so proud.” Who would have guessed it, pop culture nay sayers? It looks like the queen of the BeyHive cares about her worker bees after all. And they don’t even have to bow down.
And Lady Gaga, perhaps the most vocal about the love affair she has with her Little Monsters, always wants us to know that her fans are her people. During artRave: The ARTPOP Ball on 23 October 2014 in London, Gaga looked out across the general admission floor while she told the rest of the arena that, “When I put out a song six years ago called Just Dance, one of the most authentic fan bases in the world was born. We have the same views about love, the same dreams for acceptance, and we always come together because we belong together.” In a fan-run interview back in 2012, she admitted that, “I looked out into the crowd and saw lots of tiny little mirrors. I got to see myself in them and they helped me realize all sorts of things about myself that I used to be afraid of.” And all signs are pointing to the fact that, years later, none of that has changed. For some of the biggest pop stars in the world, superfandom is more than just tweets, record sales, selfies and autographs. The feeling’s mutual.
Beyonce with superfans on Coney Island, New York (Image via The Guardian)
Sure, superfans get picked on at school from primary up through uni. Their friends don’t really get it and their parents worry. But there’s something thrilling about queueing up to see your favorite artist sixteen hours before the gates open. About waiting outside hotels and venues and airports with people who are just as dedicated as you. About running out first thing in the morning to get a new album, and lining red carpets at movie premiers just to get a glimpse. Okay, maybe we need to put the phones down sometimes, but how else are we supposed to freak out over Cheek to Cheek, the new Avengers trailer, or Beyonce’s new not-so-secret secret album together? Most of it is about the artist, and to people like us, that person’s important. Plain and simple. I mean, they better be since my tail bone’s seen better days after sitting on concrete for hours on end waiting for a certain Lady to hop on stage. (Not to mention my wallet’s been pretty damn empty since 2008. Just saying.)
Over at the BBC, Dave Lee’s quick to point out that, “It was celebs that were considered the most influential of all on [Twitter], even more so than world leaders.” But maybe these celebs are leaders in their own right. They preside over an ever-growing group of dedicated, passionate superfans who turn to them for guidance and who, in the end, wind up making serious connections along the way. “That’s what fandom is,” Karen says, “It’s a family of people from all over the world brought together by a common interest. Fandoms have a special way of accepting you just the way you are, even if it is online.”
MAD 