Stan (fan)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

A stan is an overzealous fan and supporter of a celebrity, mostly commonly a pop singer. The object of the stan's affection is called their bias. Based on the song "Stan" by rap artist, Eminem, the term has been used to describe fans that match the severity of the character in Eminem's song, whose name is Stan.[1] The word has been described as a portmanteau of "stalker" and "fan."[2][3]

Contents

Behavior[edit]

Discussing stans, Sam Lansky, Grantland.com journalist Sam Lansky stated:

Stans are prone to hyperbole and extremism: In stan parlance, the chart success of Britney Spears...means she's rendering all of your faves irrelevant, while the commercial underperformance of Keri Hilson's last album means she’s fated to live out her days mopping the floors at a Decatur Walmart. But among fans of mainstream American artists, stan culture is primarily limited to the annals of forums, Tumblr, and Twitter; then there are occasional outliers, like Directioners who hide on a tour buses or middle-aged men who show up at the homes of Disney triple threats.[2]

David Russell, an artist manager at IE:Music compared stan culture to the affiliations between fans of sports teams. Twitter users have come to include the word in hashtag trends, such as "Is it sad I’ve been thinking about Beyoncé almost all day at work? #stanproblems". A website known as "Stan Wars" or "stanipedia" sprouted up to host discussions and flame wars between rival fanbases.[3] In a response to stan culture, David Monger, an amateur cartoonist developed a web series on YouTube titled "The Nekci Menij Show". The show strives to satirize public perceptions of female pop stars, simultaneously parodying it.[4][5][6] The series features pop stars such as Nicki Minaj, Madonna, Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Kesha, Lady Gaga, Adele, and many more. The series employs an artistic style reminiscent of the Dolan Duck Internet meme.[4]

Usage[edit]

Colloquially, the term can be used as both a noun or a verb.[3] Stans of a particular singer are often given more detailed names, such as "Little monsters" for fans of Lady Gaga[3][7][8] "Belieber" for fans of Justin Bieber and "KatyCats" for fans of Katy Perry. Some artists, however, do not have specific titles attributed to their stans; fans of Kylie Minogue have been called Kylie Stans.[7][9] Even for fandoms with specific titles, the "artist stan" formula still applies.[3] 'Stan' is the official name of the Eminem fan base, after his song about an obsessed fan in 2000. It is common to find that Eminem's 'Stans' will become highly irritated by other fan bases using the term

Prevalence[edit]

Usually appearing on social media networks such as Twitter and Tumblr,[3] the phenomenon does appear in K-Pop circles offline. In one instance, K-pop singer Yunho, of duo TVXQ, was poisoned when his stans snuck backstage before one of his concerts. Yunho was hospitalized and the perpetrator was arrested. The term sasaeng fan in Korean is believed to be influenced by "stan" culture. Etymologically, it translates to "Sa", meaning private and "saeng" meaning life, in reference to fans' all-encompassing obsessions with their preferred artists.[2]

Celebrity reaction[edit]

Celebrities have reacted to their "stan" followings. Notably, English singer-songwriter Jessie J had this to say about her stans, "They're amazing, and they're the only reason I'm here at the VMAs and people know who I am," she said. "They support me and buy my albums and singles, and they stand outside hotels, and they come to shows, and they get tattoos of my lyrics and they cut their hair like me. You have to love your fans. That's why I call them my Heartbeats, because without them i wouldn't be here."[10] In 2012, a stan for Jessie J broke their leg to emulate her own leg injury. The fan tracked down Jessie J's personal address and sent her a photograph of the self-inflicted injury. The singer responded to the event with horror and decided to increase her security.[11][12]

Popular stan groups[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Urban dictionary: stan". Urban Dictionary. Retrieved 11 September 2012. 
  2. ^ a b c Lanksy, Sam. "Hallyu Tsunami: The Unstoppable Rise of K-Pop Fandom". Grantland.com. ESPN Networks. Retrieved 11 September 2012. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Hawgood, Alex. "Scratching the Celebrity Itch". New York Times. Retrieved 11 September 2012. 
  4. ^ a b Cabalona, Jeremy (2012-09-26). "'Nekci Menij Show' Parodies Pop Stars With Crude Animations". Mashable. Mashable Inc. Retrieved 2012-10-30. 
  5. ^ Staff, Reporter (2012-09-18). "A Little Chat With... The Guy Who Does The Nekci Menij Show". Popsessed. Retrieved 2012-10-30. 
  6. ^ Bedder, Alex (2012-09-07). "Webseries Royale: Divas, Divas, Divas "Got 2B Real" vs. "The Nekci Menij Show"". NYU Local. New York University. Retrieved 2012-10-30. 
  7. ^ a b Martin, Samantha. "Daily Tweetcap: Lady Gaga Stans For Kylie Minogue". Pop Dust. Retrieved 11 September 2012. 
  8. ^ Rubenstein, Jenna Hally. "Lady Gaga Tweets GLAM Photo Of Herself In A High School Play, And She Hasn't Aged A Day Since (PHOTO)". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved 11 September 2012. 
  9. ^ Anitai, Tamar. "12 Unforgettable Moments In VMA History: Live Snakes, Baby Bumps, Meat Dresses, Oh My!". MTV Buzzworthy. Viacom. Retrieved 11 September 2012. 
  10. ^ Anitai, Tamar. "Jessie J Talks 'Domino,' Dedicates Her VMA Performance To The Heartbeats". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved 11 September 2012. 
  11. ^ Sciarretto, Amy. "Jessie J Increases Security After Fan Breaks Leg to Be Like Her". Pop Crush. Retrieved 11 September 2012. 
  12. ^ Tinny, Aaron. "Jessie J fan: I broke my own leg to be like you – Star's stalker hell". The Sun. News International. Retrieved 11 September 2012. 
  13. ^ Sager, Jessica. "Kesha Gets Patriotic on the Cover of V Magazine". PopCrush. Retrieved 9 November 2012. 
  14. ^ "Beyoncé Launches New Website, Sends Out First Tweet". Rap-Up. 5 April 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2013. 
  15. ^ "Win tickets to see Pixie Lott on tour!". Lipsy London. 19 November 2010. Retrieved 16 April 2013. 
  16. ^ "Marina And The Diamonds Talks 'Electra Heart,' Beyonce, Homoerotic Video". Huffington Post. 11 March 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2013. 
  17. ^ Gresehover, Ehren; Oler, Tammy. "Ugh, You’re Probably a Directionator". Slate. The Washington Post Company. Retrieved 9 November 2012. 
  18. ^ "gud™ From Burt's Bees® Names Multi-Platinum Breakout Pop Sensation Carly Rae Jepsen As First Spokeswoman". MSN. New York, NY: Microsoft. 14 February 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2013. 
  19. ^ a b "American Idol Considered Replacing Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj Midseason; Jennifer Lopez Might Return". E! TV Scoop. April 24, 2013. Retrieved April 28, 2013. 
  20. ^ "Demi Lovato's Lovatics Are The Best Fans Of 2012". MTV News. Retrieved 2 April 2013. 
  21. ^ "Cheryl Cole's Soldiers Win Capital Battle Of The Fans Poll". Capital FM. Global Radio. 5 July 20-12. Retrieved 4 March 2013. 
  22. ^ Ching, Zachary. "Ladies, Gentlemen and Trainwrecks: Porcelain Black". Opening Ceremony. Retrieved 30 August 2012. 
  23. ^ Kevipod. "New Music: Porcelain Black – Swallow My Bullet". Direct Lyrics. Buzz Media. Retrieved 30 August 2012. 
  24. ^ "New Music Porcelain Black – "Swallow My Bullet"". The Prophet Blog. Retrieved 11 September 2012. 
By style
By region/country
Other topics
By type
Genre
Medium-specific
Demographics
Organizations and events
Publications and activities
Conventions
By topic
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stan_(fan)&oldid=560206954"