By Chia Kei Yin (24S03C)

Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Bruno Mars…these huge names in our modern pop industry all have something in common. They’ve recently held concerts in Singapore. We’ve seen all the hype over them on social media and news outlets. Fans here go crazy for them. The real question is: How crazy?

After a hiatus from touring due to the pandemic, these last two years have been the time for artistes to begin their next round of world tours. Some of you might remember waiting desperately while the Ticketmaster website displays a dismally large queue number, carefully deciding an outfit to wear on Concert D-Day itself, or queuing in anticipation outside stadiums or Singpost stations, even in the sweltering Singapore heat.

(Source)

Everywhere these household names go, celebrity mania follows. Once ticketing begins for any of their tours and concerts, tickets vanish within minutes like smoke as the concert craze spreads like wildfire. But how far would fans much like you and I go to support their celebrity idols? 

The Spectrum of Interests

From the survey I carried out, along with personal anecdotes from friends, Rafflesians typically love Kpop, mainstream English pop, Mandopop, rock and the various subgenres of each main music genre. Interestingly, someone mentioned ‘Lin-Manuel Miranda’ as one of their Top 3 favourites; musical theatre seems to be quite a huge hit among Rafflesians too. (Just ask who is interested in the Hamilton production coming soon.)

The reasons why they love these artistes are slightly more varied. They range from thought-provoking answers like “[xxx artistes’ songs are] social commentaries but not too pretentious” and poetic gushings such as “his singing really soothes the soul and tugs at heartstrings” to brutally honest confessions like “intense parasocial relationships when I was very lonely” and “sometimes I just want to feel pain” (are all of you okay?). 

If you wish to read why this fan loves Zhou Shen.

“fell in love with panic [at the disco]’s music and brendon [urie] is also very nice to look at. i loved that he was just as good live as he was in studio, and the versatility of his sound”

—Anonymous Rafflesian

Clearly, everyone’s music tastes are distinctly different. Often, the music one listens to reflects the nuance and turbulence of their feelings and thoughts.

“Tomorrow We Can Press Rewind” 

This line from Why Don’t We’s ‘Lotus Inn’ illustrates the yearning to replay good memories spent together. Similarly, I’m sure many of us love to stream our favourite artistes’ music, due to the time and cost efficiency it provides. 

As Chandrasekaran Shreya (24S06A) puts it, “Streaming’s just more convenient and doesn’t require any money to be expended. I don’t pull [BTS’] merch out to look at 24/7, but their music’s something I can and actively do listen to often!”

Given how easy streaming supports artistes, many like Shreya may sometimes stream for hours or days on end. In fact, Shreya has once streamed “Stop” by j-hope over 200 times straight. Anu Sreekanth (24S03C) has also streamed “5-Star” by Stray Kids for more than six hours at once.

Hayley Soh (24A01B) also streams her favourite groups on “all platforms” so they can be catapulted into greater fame by winning awards. “Especially for Kpop artistes, it’s really hard for groups from smaller companies to gain recognition. But I do think winning award shows will help them gain more fans,” Hayley explains. 

The use of the website Receiptify among Rafflesians is also common, which displays the top 10 (or 50) songs that Spotify users have been streaming in the past month, past 6 months and past year. 

“I like using Receiptify to see my most listened-to songs at the end of every month. I like to see how my taste in music changes over time and the new songs I’ve discovered,” Jermaine Lee (24A01A) explains. She also defines herself as a “casual listener” of Sabrina Carpenter—“Espresso” was second on her past month’s Receiptify.

My Receiptify from the past 6 months.

“1, 2, 3 LET’S GO”

This infamous fan chant performed near the beginning of Taylor Swift’s “Delicate” flew to our local shores a couple months ago in the form of the Eras Tour. To prepare for the concert, friendship bracelets were made and shared among fans, and they dressed up in outfits that suited Swift’s “eras” (her album concepts).

More recently, the Bruno Mars concert had fans dressed in glitzy concert outfits, including some donning the iconic outfit that Mars himself wore in his album cover for 24K Magic. Notably, he also led fans in singing Kit Chan’s “Home”, a song that holds close to many of our hearts as seen by the heartfelt singing during every National Day celebration in RI.

IU’s ‘H.E.R.’ concert also managed to bring fans like Tan En (24S03C) to tears. “I’ve been wanting to see IU in [her live] concerts since a few years ago and my heart was so full after.” 

So, what’s the difference between the experience in concerts and just streaming the artiste’s songs online? “The actual vocals, instrumentals and music are happening live [in concerts], meaning it’s something fresh and exciting compared to hearing pre-recorded vocals. I find that artistes tend to make certain changes in the way they sing live and the power of their voices just translates better in real life,” Benecia Kang (24S06K) comments.

Benecia at Coldplay’s concert

Benecia at ENHYPEN’s concert

Unfortunately, due to the overwhelming demand from fans for concert tickets, concerts can also become a breeding ground for marked-up prices and scams. “Concerts are a pain if you don’t get them through authorised retailers. If you happen to miss the general sale, you’re forced to buy on Carousell where people mark up their price to increase profits. Sometimes, the buying process gets so miserable and expensive the concerts lose their inherent value,” Syaura Nashwa (24S03R) explains.

Syaura at a Daniel Caesar concert

From Plushies to Vinyls

Some spent more than $700, too.

Fans who are “hardcore stans” of their favourite artistes are known to queue for hours at concert venues or fight to be the first in online sales just to get their hands on at least one form of merchandise, and I can definitely see the appeal. Celebrity merchandise comes in all forms—from celebrity photo cards to clothing to light sticks. Of course, artistes also sell physical copies of albums as CDs and vinyls. 

With the variety of items available that appeals to a wide audience, along with the sense of scarcity that comes with the fact that merchandise tends to sell out quickly, who wouldn’t want to brag about getting a physical, tangible form of their artistes’ creations?

Most of all, En values practicality in the merch she buys. “I don’t really buy photocards that much unless I really like the concept”, she explains, saying that the process of acquiring merch is difficult. She outlines the cons of buying merch online, “I have to wait for it to arrive from overseas, and it may get lost too.”

However, she showers lots of love on the merch she does have. After getting a DAY6 Young K mascot plushie, she brings it everywhere with her, even overseas (En really loves her plushies).

Source: @kikikkeki on Instagram

Syaura seems to prefer wearable merch instead. “I like the fact that I can wear art,” she says. However, her favourite artistes, including BROCKHAMPTON, Daniel Caesar (she did a review of it here) and Frank Ocean, are mostly based in the US or Europe, making shipping costs “insane”. 

Syaura’s BROCKHAMPTON hoodie

However, she’s found a solution around this problem. “[When deciding to buy merch,] I buy more rap vinyls since my sibling loves rap too, hence cost is cut down by a bit. I also make sure that the designs are more subtle so that I can wear them like normal daily apparel—for those who know, know!”

Like the others, Hayley is also very mindful of what merch she buys. “I try to limit my spending when it comes to merch and only buy what I’m really certain I’ll use. I have a hoodie from Stray Kids and a shirt from Agust D, both of which are very practical items I’ve worn a lot.” She also adds that her Stray Kids hoodie is her favourite piece of merch ever bought, and it “keeps [her] warm”.

This is how much Hayley loves Stray Kids.

For those who may still be holding back on buying merch, don’t fret! As Benecia puts it: “I think voting [for awards] and maybe fanmeets and fan letters are alternative methods for those who may not be able to afford [merch] but are still willing to show their support.”

So What?

Among Rafflesians ourselves, the music we like helps to distinguish our individual interests and personalities, while uniting us through various fan bases and communities. 

Ultimately, regardless of whether you choose to stream your favourite artistes’ music or enjoy the craze of grabbing all their merch before it sells out, there are many ways to support your favourite artistes. It doesn’t matter if you are a hardcore stan, just a fan or even a casual, occasional listener of any artist, the appreciation of music can be felt on all levels.