Marlians, Wizkid FC, 30BG gang, Bellovers, Savage Army, Outsiders, Beliebers ..... Whatever names they may choose to bear, it is evident that fans club are fast becoming an integral part of Artistes branding and they have immense power in propelling the career of their artiste thus consequently playing a crucial music in the music culture and industry as a whole.
A popular saying goes "Music is a universal language". Persons that have chosen to speak this language as a career path are known as musicians and when these musicians speak to someones soul, they gain a fan and make a sort of connection with them.
However, there are some times that the connection between the artiste and the listener becomes obsessive and toxic and in this article, I have examined some symptoms of toxic followership of Celebrities especially Music Artistes.
1) Priority - " if Wizkid is performing here tomorrow and I have an exam tomorrow , I can miss the exam o". This statement is a typical example of toxic followership. Prioritizing celebrities over your loved ones, placing them above your life goals like exams or contractual appointments, not priotising your physical health to attend their shows or listen to their works among other things shows toxicity and unhealthy obsession.
2) Disregarding Other Talents - Not recognizing and constantly downplaying other talented and competitive artistes shows toxic followership. Once you start noticing the urge to always compare other artistes with your favourite and regard the other Artistes as never good enough or talented or constantly disrespecting and insulting other artistes in competition with your favourite for no reason, you might need to caution yourself .
3) Fighting Other Artistes fans - Engaging in physical/online fights with other people over Artistes that see at shows and hug things out or even go further to do collaborations is just plain ignorance . Threatening to beat up , setting up location for physical fights , insulting peoples family and losing friends over artistes is simply a sign of celebrity obsession and toxic followership and should never be encouraged .
4) Trying to be like Ones Favourite Artiste - Fans planning to do plastic surgery to look like their favourite artistes , dressing exactly like them, copying their mannerisms, frequently receating scenes in their videos and other acts of immense imitation are signs of toxic followership.
5) Excessive Stalking - While wanting to hear and know more about your favourite artistes can be classified as fan love , Stalking their pages excessively, camping at their apartment or monitoring their movements and the lives of their lovers or family members is a sign of celebrity obsession and toxic followership.
If you exhibit any of these signs , you might want to take a deep breath to reflect , set your priorities right and reevaluate your love for such Artistes in order to truly enjoy their craft and maintain a very healthy connection with them .
Written by Iamsynord. An entertainment lawyer and freelance writer open to collaboration with creatives across the country as regards artistes development and entertainment generally . He tweets via @iamsynord on twitter
