When fans get fans aka content is king
I saw my first content creator in the wild a few weeks ago. I was walking the dog when she ran past me with her phone held aloft, talking animatedly. She could’ve been face-timing a loved one I suppose, but I had this sense that she was performing. It was like looking through a window into the future. I’m insulated from the creator revolution in my suburban pocket of a small town at the bottom of the world, but I would love to visit New York, London or Seoul one day just to see TikTok dance videos being filmed in real life.
Part 2: 14* reasons why Arirang is my AOTY
From Swim to Into the Sun, what a run.
Part 1: 14* reasons why BTS’ Arirang is my AOTY
I told my work friends last week that my two favourite BTS genres were ‘obnoxious Korean hip hop’ and ‘introspective power ballads’ and that’s why Arirang is the best thing I’ve ever heard. Every song has multiple moments that scratch my brain just right. I’ve decided to timestamp them. Think of it as an interactive tour of the album. I read a Guardian review of Arirang which called it a ‘dumb fun pop album’ and the writer is not wrong but also not remotely right. Therin lies the genius of Arirang. If you only dip a toe in you can have a great time pretending it’s a silly, horny, fun hip hop / pop album. But if you dig deeper you realise that it’s still fun but also smart, clever, outrageous, ironic, angry, sad, hopeful, beautiful, replete with yearning. In short, a modern no-skip masterpiece.
Just thinking about j-hope going crazy
It must be weird to be married to me right now.
Part II: on the performance of fandom (belonging)
This is meant to be part 2 of a ‘performance of fandom’ double shot but as I was writing it I realised the ‘performance of belonging’ was a more apt name. The first part was about my most recent concert experiences and the give and take between artist and audience. When you tackle this idea with large global fanbases like Swifties or BTS ARMY, the performance becomes much more than one fleeting moment of connection. Each experience builds upon the next, creating an entire universe of narrative threads and emotions for millions of people around the world.
Part I: On the performance of fandom
I’ve been to three concerts in the past month and they’ve got me thinking about the performance of fandom. In the age of streaming, we have such instant and high quality access to music that we don’t really need live versions. So why do concerts exist? In my mind, it’s because we’re all in constant pursuit of moments of magical reality. When I go to a concert I’m hoping to find the bridge between the inner kingdom that internalises and canonises music, and the outer kingdom within which I pay bills and fully expect to eat / sleep / work until I die. Finding and crossing this bridge comes at a cost, and that cost is a performance of appreciation to an artist.
Lando Norris and the hero’s journey
Most people who know me are aware that I’m a very committed Formula 1 fan. Committed enough that I’m up at 5am every second Monday to watch a race before work (Southern Hemisphere fans unite in sleep deprivation!) It’s funny being a motorsport fan as a woman. Men usually assume I’m in it for the drivers and don’t have any wheel knowledge. Meanwhile I’m poring over the telemetry and watching strategy deep dives — but don’t worry — this post isn’t about the baseline misogyny within male-dominated sporting fandoms. It wasn’t actually aerodynamics, engines, or babes that got me into F1. It was stories.
Not a fangirl, a flowseeker: a unified theory of the fandom-prone personality
Years and years ago, I went to an incredible talk by a woman named Sacha Judd called “what you love matters”. It really struck a chord with me, so much so that I still vividly remember parts of it 8 years later. You can read her full explanation of the talk here, but the gist is: people (predominantly young women) who participate in online fandoms have incredible creative and technical skills that the tech industry overlooks because they’ve been honed in service of something socially embarrassing. Think: One Direction, The Lord of the Rings, or My Little Pony.
Super Tuna: a fun Run Seokjin diversion
I have an intense and introspective post on the boil but I’ve been distracted by the most chaotic 72 hours of BTS content since I joined the fandom, so I’m going to talk about that first. Because I make the rules here. Kim Seokjin, everyone’s favourite hyung (older brother) of BTS, did two encore concerts in Incheon over the weekend.
Spaghetti, schadenfreude and ‘the smallest spark’: on brilliant readings of basic works
Today was my first new music release from a BTS member since I became a baby ARMY. Exciting. Even more exciting that it’s the one and the only J-Hope. Well technically it’s a Le Sserafim song with a J-Hope feature (they’re a K-pop girl group). In the past 2 months I’ve gone deep on BTS but not really broadened my cultural exploration to other K-pop artists. Maybe there’ll be time once I get through 13 years of BTS content…
Give ’em something personal: parasocial connection and the illusion of intimacy
I think my first parasocial relationship was with Lucy Pevensie when I was six. After finishing The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, I opened every cupboard in every building I visited, convinced if I just believed it enough I’d find Narnia on the other side. The focus on Lucy was simply because I recognised myself in her: the diligent, earnest sibling, easily hurt by less considerate brothers and sisters. The one who was so ready to believe in magic. If Lucy was real, I was convinced we’d be best friends.
Inside the Magic Shop – reciprocity, sincerity and emotional labour in the artist-fan relationship
RM from BTS did a WeVerse Live earlier this week. In true RM fashion he went deep, not just talking about his hair, training routines and what he had for dinner (the most common WeVerse conversation topics), but how he’s been struggling with insomnia, anxiety, self doubt, and loneliness since his discharge from the military. It was raw and heartfelt and has made me reflect on the social contract between artist and fan—the emotional labour expected and returned.
From mirrorball to one-way glass: reflections on the life of a showgirl
I’ve been grumpy all weekend and it can’t just be because I’m not into the new TS album? Surely not. They’re just pop songs, and good ones at that. Sonically surprising, catchy, and with memorable lyrics (lol). She promised fun ear worms and she delivered. But the things is, I’ve never been into Taylor Swift just for the ear worms…
She’s a mirrorball: mentally preparing for a new Taylor Swift era
I’ve been a fan of Taylor since my country-music-loving ex-boyfriend introduced me to Fearless when I was 23. That’s a 16-year relationship, longer than I’ve known my husband. And I appreciate that it’s not a real relationship, but because of the way Taylor writes—the way she’s built a narrative multi-verse within her music that connects you to her story in a way that also serves to echo your own life experiences—the connection I have with the idea of ‘Taylor Swift’ is very emotional. That’s why I blacked out a little during the Eras Tour (Eras amnesia is a thing).
I tripped and fell into ARMY: how to become a BTS fan in 5 easy steps
Let me be clear that I entered this rabbit hole with a skeptical mindset. I wanted my hypothesis about manufactured pop music to be proven right. I did not get what I wanted. That’s because regardless of how the machine of K-pop makes me feel, there’s just something magical about BTS. They’re a moonshot.
Please like what I like: finding validation in the reactionverse
I first stumbled upon the reactionverse when I became a TikTok lurker. Specifically I became hooked on Taylor Swift reactions. As a Fearless era Swiftie, there is something deeply satisfying about watching a TS ‘hater’ slowly change their mind about her talent one song at a time. Reaction videos have existed for as long as YouTube has (about 20 years), but the number of them has exploded in the past 3 years. There’s probably a multitude of reasons for this, but the one that stands out for me is supply and demand: it’s not just me who’s getting a kick out of watching people like what they like.