What it is like to be in a fandom? – a Collab post with Saumya @ Draw-write-inspire

Note: It’s just us expressing our feelings and experience from heart. Our intention is NOT to force anyone into liking their music. In fact, I know everyone has different and unique taste in music.

Me and Saumya decided to share our experience on how we got into the fandom, why we like them and discussed everything on general. She has an amazing blog so don’t forget to check her out. For all my non-kpop fans, I’ll like bring to your notice that, in Kpop there is always a fan name for every group that we stan. For BTS, the term ‘Army’ is used to represent their fan base.

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1. How did you join in BTS fandom?

I was scrolling through YouTube and suddenly saw the song ‘Boy with luv’ trending with most likes and views so I decided to watch it. The ‘flower boy concept’ music video with catchy lines caught my attention first. Of course, I didn’t understand a single word they said but it made me hyped up.  As a music lover, I enjoy listening to different genres of music without a language barrier so I tried listening to all of their other hits too. To be honest, I felt the satisfaction of listening to good songs. It was as if I finally found my type of music.

I didn’t know anything about their personality so I didn’t say I’m a fan of them to anyone. During my free time, I watched their interviews, speeches about expressing their undying passion for music, conducting campaigns, and I came to know so much about them,  from head to toe. It was then I was finally felt proud to say I’m an army or the official fan of BTS.

2. What thoughts you had about them in the beginning and what do you think of them now?

I live in a society where there are many stereotypes for men like they are supposed to have beards, be angry, rough, and shouldn’t wear pink or cosmetics or do any make-over. Even crying and expressing their feelings out was considered as not manly. So when I watched them for the first time, they all seemed weirdly strange. I also found it difficult to identify every member because they all looked the same to me.
I still feel guilty for judging them so easily in the beginning. Now I think of them as 7 normal guys,  trying hard to achieve their dreams along with spreading love and influencing others through music.

3. Why did you decided to stay inside the fandom?

Usually, I don’t follow any band or join in a fandom. It was never my cup of tea. At first, I was like “Nah, I just wanted to know their names… why should I follow them!?”. It was like falling in love but a different kind of love. I don’t know when or I don’t know how but somehow I fell for them deeply. They are somewhat near to my age so I felt like growing along with them. I think that’s the perk of being in a fandom. We get to see their success, take part in their sadness and failures, and thus growing, glowing along with them. I think of them as someone who understand, support, and comfort others through their actions and music.

I still remember those days when I laughed so hard while watching the variety show ‘Run BTS’ where they play some random games. Nobody has ever made me laugh like that. They makes me smile and it feels so real.
Not to mention about the day when I cried so hard like 12.30 at midnight and suddenly the song ‘zero clock’ popped up in my recommendation list. After that I slept happily that day, it magically healed me. I said magically because I don’t know their language and yet they made me feel. I think it’s the day when I found there is no language to speak to a soul.
I also found happiness in army comments, always making fun, editing the most hilarious videos, supporting others in comments and fan club chats. We use our fan base for a good cause, the power of our mass support is no joke. Till now I’ve only seen the good deeds and initiatives taken by the army to support charities, donate money for the needy, take the social media trend to make others laugh, to stand against discrimination and violence. It was then I realized not only I followed the right band but also found the most beautiful fandom.

Why should I turn way away from someone who comforts, loves, and directs me to the right path? They are my source of happy energy and thanks to them, I feel so bright and hopeful.

4. Did your studies or work got affected by it?

No!! You might not believe this but I’m a topper in my college. A current academic award and best outstanding student award holder. I’ve always considered them as my source of inspiration and not a mere distraction. Even their songs are about hard working, success and following one’s dream. Sometimes they do distract me but I also need that. I want some distraction to escape from my stressful life.

5. Have they influenced you in any positive way?

Of course they have influenced me. I can be really depressing sometimes and it’s difficult for anyone including me to pull myself out of it. BTS pushed me forward during my hardest times. They make me laugh, give me support and confidence. Their songs and the story of their own lives motivates me and makes me want to live a good life. Their unconditional love for music inspired and woke up my desire for music too. I started learning piano and now it has become one of my favorite fascinating hobby.

(I’m 100% sure there will be mistakes because I taught myself by watching YouTube videos. Pardon any mistakes)

6. Most people consider fan girls as crazy. They think we ultimately stan them for their looks, fame and want to marry such person. What do you like to say to them?

Okay, let me make this clear. Just because a girl admires a guy doesn’t mean it’s for his looks or fame. Yes, looks do matter for a celebrity to be successful but we fans see so much beyond that. Girls may act like all they care about is his looks but deep inside they love him for what he truly is. You might say they  look ugly but I say they are the most beautiful person I’ve ever met. It’s because I know him and you simply don’t. All I want to say is never judge a fan without having any knowledge about it. We girls are not fools to hand over our love and life to the guys we’ve never met. There are some rare extreme cases where girls go crazy over them and cause trouble. I request you to not consider every fan just because of the actions of 10 among 100.

7. I know it’s difficult to express the kind of relationship that we share among with our Idols in single word. How would you describe that relationship?

Absolutely true! I guess there isn’t a specific word to describe that relationship. They tend to gain inspiration from us while we support them for their outstanding talent. The idols are grateful to their fans for making their dreams come true and we fans will forever be grateful to them for lighting up our lives. To put it in exact words, I think of it as a beautiful kind of  relationship between two souls who support, comfort, and heal each other with love even though they will never meet.

Falling for BTS wasn’t falling at all, it was walking into a house and finally feel a relief knowing you’re home.

8. Every action has both good and bad sides. Is there any negative effects of being in this fandom?

I personally don’t have one because I know my limits but the people around me cause trouble. They quickly judge us without knowing the reason and the personality of the group that we stan. In worst cases, some don’t even speak with someone just because he or she is a fan of BTS. There is also so much hate going on for Asian people around the world which I don’t wanna talk about. I’ve heard one of my friend saying ‘those who like BTS are stupid and knows nothing about real music’. It hurt me in the beginning but now I laugh at their ignorance and illiteracy about anything related to Korean music and culture. Just because you don’t like them doesn’t mean you have the right to mock or hurt others. Why spread hate when all we ever need is love!?


9. “BTS are overrated”, the phrase that we usually hear as their fans. What do you think about it?

They didn’t become famous in one day or over midnight. Hear me, It took them freaking 7 years to get recognized. Do you even have any slightest idea about what all they’ve sacrificed or what insults they’ve received in that process? A humble request from every fan, please don’t judge their hard work and talent based on fame. Before saying, just look at their age when they joined in the band, the amount of energy they are spending on each choreography and in the production of music. What they have achieved is far beyond their age. Sorry to say this but if they were Americans, I’m sure they would have been popular within 1 year. They are not overrated instead you are surrounded by their fans mostly. I don’t blame you for for not liking them but I just want to inform you that no one is overrated here. Don’t jump into conclusions like I did once. No comparison but just like other great bands or artists like One Direction, Jonas Brothers, Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, BTS also deserves it. If you still think they are overrated then, let them be. Because as an ambassadors of Unicef, I can blindly say that their influence is going to help a lot of people to take right decisions in life and love themselves a little more.

10. Which is your most favorite BTS song and why?

Asking a fan to choose only one favorite song is the most difficult question to answer. Almost all their songs are my favorite.
I’ll go with – Blood, sweat, and tears if I have to choose one.
This particular song is about the temptation of a teenager falling into the hands of evil and his willpower to fight against it. I say it’s my favorite because I Ioved the way they chose to express it through tales of Greek mythology, Icarus falling from the sky, about the famous story of Demian’s book by Hermann Hesse in the music video.
I have a thing for Greek mythologies and I could hear their stories all day.

11. At last a personal question, even though Army loves BTS members equally, we can’t deny the fact that one particular member catches our attention more. Who is your ultimate bias and why do you like him?

This is another toughest question to answer. I personally admire each and everyone’s talent and personalities.
From RM – I learned how to be a wise leader.
From Jin – I learned to accept and love myself more
From Suga – I learned to remain calm and focus on my work
From J-hope – I learned to have hope in every situation.
From Jimin – I learned how to show affection, love and take care of others.
From V – I realized it’s okay to stay goofy, weird and unique sometimes. It’s okay to live your life to the fullest that others don’t understand.
From Jungkook- I learned how to work hard and respect others no matter how successful you become.

Another reason why I came into the fandom was because of Kim Taehyung aka V. He stood out most from the group, always getting the center of attention from the army. His stage expressions, appearance, unique taste in Gucci model clothes, solo songs, deep haunting voice, clever yet innocent personality made me want to know more about him. He got the spotlight every time. As the time passed after I came to know completely about everyone in the group, Jimin caught my attention next. He was everything I expected in a man, a pure gentleman. He’s also got a unique fashion style, doesn’t give a shit about gender stereotypes, and extremely talented. He is selfless, caring, and always thinks out his members before considering him. He is handsome and got an intimate look that could kill anyone with just a glare. He loves doing pranks with his members but ends up being the victim. He has an angel soul stuck in a devil’s body. Jimin is my bias and V is my bias wrecker.

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My drawings or fanarts:

I’m not very good at drawings human faces compared to cartoons, animated and doodle drawings. Here are some of my attempts in drawing BTS members :

What is your answers to these questions!? Who is your favorite music band? Tell me in the comments below

Signing off for today ✨

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