In recent years, being a ‘stan’ or ‘stanning’ has become an art form. According to Urban Dictionary, a ‘stan’ – popularized from the Eminem song of the same name – “is an overzealous maniacal fan for any celebrity or athlete”. However, it’s more than just idolizing your favorite pop star; it’s about being a super fan and flexing it any time, any place, and in any form. It’s a 24/7, 365 gig.
Seems like a lot of work? It is! In my opinion, it should be a course at an Ivy League university. It requires an extensive amount of time arguing/ debating on social media sites to answering and jesting that your favorite artist is by far the best. Most importantly, you must become a complete scholar of your favorite artist works, i.e. knowing every detail of the star’s album sales, singles charting, calculating all their awards and sold out shows and of course flawless pictures of them at various events; it’s Bachelor’s degree status. I personally consider myself a Britney stan, but if I compared myself to those on Twitter, Tumblr and the gossip site, Oh No They Didn’t – where stans collide – I’m merely just a fan. Stans are also apart of an artist’s collective group, such as Beyonce’s Beyhive, Rihanna’s Navy or Lady Gaga’s Little Monsters. Although not mandatory, most stans have delusions of grandeur, as in they think they’re Blue Ivy Carter’s long lost aunt/ uncle or believe that Taylor Swift is the Stevie Nicks of our generation.
Now that we’ve gotten the basics down, when is it time to turn in your stan card?
Clearly, when you’re a teenager, stanning is a part of your life. That’s when you discover what you enjoy in music and may take things a bit far. Who didn’t have tons of posters of their favorite boy band on their walls? Or try to stalk their favorite boy band member when they were in town (oh, was that just me and all the One Direction stans?) Teenage stanning is a right of passage. It’s something you look back on fondly and couldn’t believe you listened to such cheesy pop music or realize how mature the music that was marketed to your demographic (seriously, record labels, “Nookie” by Limp Bizkit was for teenagers in the 2000’s?)
Once you’re in your late teens, early twenties, things get complicated because you’re not a girl, but not yet a woman. You’re legal, yet, adult life hasn’t fully set in yet. You probably can afford those pricey floor tickets when you’re favorite artist comes to town. Even the music has changed because you’ve grown up with your fave. All of sudden, the songs have deeper meanings and you go through the experiences these singers are belting out about. Love’s laboured loss, being poor, having responsibilities and stuff, you’re living it! So perhaps, it’s okay to be a stan during your late teens and early twenties.
Mid to late twenties starts to get iffy. Your palette of music has probably changed and instead of blowing ALL your money on Miley Cyrus concert tix and oversized twerking stuffed bears; you’re probably sipping wine and having a discussion with friends about the new Sam Smith album. Your sense of stanning should change, but again – you’re not above developing a meme about your favorite artist.
Now if your ass is thirty and above, maybe it’s time to step away from the computer and stop having Rihanna tags in your search section on Twitter so you can attack anyone that comes her way. Trust me, Rihanna got it under control with her “clap back” at her own fans. Beyoncé will write an open letter to her haters or ask them to bow down at her greatness. Watch from afar, but don’t participate. I know it’s hard, but let the kids take this one. It’s time to pass in the stan card, and demote yourself to fan status. Eventually, we all have to resort back there at some point.
All stanning aside, it’s really about the music. But we must remember to actually enjoy the music these performers put out and also acknowledge when they release lackluster material because you deserve better if you have to download their music.
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