But understanding their investment in idols like Swift is key to dealing with standoms-or, at least, that’s one takeaway from Hannah Ewens’s Fangirls: Scenes from Modern Music Culture, which will have its U.S. Stans, for better or worse, are stitched into the fabric of the internet, and they flex their power however and whenever they can. This isn’t the first time stans have gone to extremes: The Barbz have sent death threats to journalists and fellow celebrities for not being undyingly devoted to Minaj, and the Beyhive once so badly hounded a woman on Instagram that Beyoncé’s publicist had to step in. Instead, it sent Swifties into a frenzy: They doxxed Mapes, sharing her phone number and address on Twitter and even sharing photos of her home. Mapes and her colleagues gave folklore a score of 8.0 out of 10-a rating that most musicians would consider indisputable acclaim. Pitchfork senior editor Jillian Mapes experienced the worst of it after publishing an even-handed review of folklore that surveyed the album in its totality to reach clear conclusions about its importance and impact-in other words, doing her job. But what about fandoms that take it a step too far in defense of their idols? Just last week, we witnessed a fandom at its absolute worst, when devoted Swifties began harassing any music critic who dared offer anything but fervent praise of the musician’s recently released eighth album, folklore. These fandoms can also mobilize for good-the BTS Army recently donated more than a million dollars to the Black Lives Matter organization after George Floyd’s murder in May 2020. Their efforts are often successful: Minaj specifically thanked her fans for helping her and Doja Cat reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart with the “Say So (Remix),” and fan-hosted streaming parties and coordinated playlists certainly help boost chart position for their faves. Whether it’s creating accounts dedicated to their favorite artist, touting their favorite artist’s Billboard stats, or creating fancams, fandoms are a driving force for an artist’s success. There are Lady Gaga’s Monsters, Beyoncé’s Beyhive, Ariana Grande’s Arianators, Taylor Swift’s Swifties, Rihanna’s Navy’s, Nicki Minaj’s Barbz, Cardi B’s Bardi Gang, One Directioners, and even the BTS Army, and each of these factions duke it out on social for supremacy. Hannah Ewens, author of Fangirls: Scenes from a Modern Culture (Photo credit: Chris Bethell)įans, stans, and everything in-between are an avid part of social media.

Fangirls hannah ewens