Sometimes, despite their fame, I do not envy musicians. In our day and age, a singer is quickly promoted to the idol of every single one of their fans, like as we have discussed before, are usually in the young teenage variety. That can be a lot of pressure for a person, especially when that means constantly staying in character for those fans. You are not just an idol when you are on stage; thanks to magazines like Heat, a celebrity often has to remain in this god-like image, when they go about their day to day lives. One photo of them doing tequila shots is enough to get every fan out there, slitting their wrists (see, my article can remain topical).
However, some fans aren’t worth the hassle. In my time, I have met with some supposed music fans, who go about supporting their favourite singers in the worst possible way imaginable. They see these people as a product and not, as an actual person, as if Jay Z woke up this morning and thought to himself: I really want to make a music for Barry in Baltimore to sing in the shower today. Funnily enough, most of these people I am thinking of belong in that young teenage bracket.
For the benefit of the article, I have listed each entry under the singer who I have encountered this kind of problem with the most. The fanbase doesn’t necessarily apply to just them, but recently I think they have suffered the worst because of it. I am also not saying that everyone who likes that band or singer is that kind of person. This is just a certain trait I have noticed among the ‘hardcore’ fans. Post in the comments below, if you think you recognise any of these kinds of people.
3 – METALLICA
Why shouldn’t they be able to live their dreams of starring in Monsters Inc?
One thing that surprised me when I first started reading and writing articles on the internet was the amount of hate for Metallica. I am not a massive fan myself, but I cannot deny that they have an incredible amount of talent. Their aptitude with instruments and vocals are outstanding and they have become a staple of the metal genre. I have never thought of them as a hated band.
When I researched into one, the only real explanation I could find was: ‘they sold out, man. Gave up on the fans and went for the money’. I hate this excuse for why a band is rubbish. Fans love supporting a little-known Indie band and I can kind of see the charm in it. It is always a good feeling listening to a small-time band or singer do a gig at an acoustic night in a pub somewhere. Sure, everyone loves Rihanna, but everyone has heard her voice: the guy singing on stage right now is awesome and only a select people will ever hear him. That feeling makes you feel pretty exclusive, and builds an instant rapport between the musician and the audience.
However, we cannot hate that singer for moving on from the pub. Real musicians want to make a living out of their band. As a struggling actor and writer, I can relate to an extent; sure, right now it is a hobby, but if you want to make a career out of it, you have to postpone the rest of your life to an extent. This struggling singer doesn’t really want to get a job, on the off-chance that he ‘makes it’ and becomes a big star. We cannot hate a band, like Metallica, when they actually succeed and do this. We basically don’t want them to put food on their families tables, because we lose this feeling of closeness to the band. That’s not them selling out: they are just getting paid for doing what they love. That is pretty much the equivalent of us hating on Gerry the banker, because he asked to get paid for working as a cashier.
2 – KATY PERRY
Katy Perry is a pretty damn good singer: she has a great voice and often puts it to a catchy tune that will get played too many times in a club and every rom-com for the following two years. However, the fans never seem to be content with what they are given. Like an evil Oliver Twist, they always go up to the exhausted singer, as she is finishing up her album and asking for more.
I am using Katy Perry as an example, seeing as the papers are often telling the reader how over-worked she is lately. I don’t blame her: her music is so easy-listening that we are always wanting more for the singer. She may have survived second album syndrome, but she is going to have to put up with fourth and fifth album syndrome. Rihanna is another one that I am surprised as lasted this long. She spews out single after single, yet we are always demanding more from the singer.
I am actually fairly guilty with this one myself. Take the Lonely Island for example. Recently, they released the first song from their third album ‘YOLO’. It was fantastic and I spent three minutes laughing my head off. However, as I searched Youtube for another song on their new album and found none, I got angry. But why? They just gave me a song; I had no right to instantly (and it really was instantly: the moment when YOLO finished), demand for more. This is how we can destroy our favourite bands, so we really should watch out for it.
1 – CHRIS BROWN
Sometimes celebrities do not feel the need to live up to their role model status. Sometimes, they realise that their fan base love them no matter what and believe themselves to be ‘above’ everyone else. I really didn’t want to talk about the whole Chris Brown thing on this website, but it has proven impossible to avoid. The truth is: Chris Brown did something truly awful and we have let him get away with it, because his music is good.
He really needs to learn to shave properly.
Yeah, OK, I like this songs. That doesn’t mean I have to support the singer. In buying his music, we have given him the impression that he is now untouchable. It is the same for any hip hop star whose songs solely revolve around beating up anyone who disrespects them. It is sometimes disgusting to listen to. Yet their fans love the behaviour of these singers and praise them. No one should be praised for beating up a woman: it is just wrong. And that is the kind of fan base that think damages the music industry rather than helping it.
Oracle of Film 