Mother, Mother, Mommy, My Wife, My Love are all endearments fans these days use to describe a female artist practically flourishing in their genre. But what began as a funny and sickeningly sweet sentiment for fans to show their appreciation has, in turn, begun to be recognized as a precursor for a terrible concert audience for the performer.
As a fan, I understand the need to make sure that artists you LOVE know that you appreciate them, so you dress in outlandish concert wear, buy merch, and support the artist across platforms. With this behavior, there is a relative understanding that the artist is a real person and requires our respect. As time has gone on, that sentiment has all but vanished as global access toward artists has grown exponentially. Now, with simply the click of a button, fans can track the movement of their favorite artists across the globe, find what restaurants they go to, who they’re dating, if they’re sick, and so much more personal information that artists are now told they’re not allowed to hide. There are fewer and fewer opportunities for artists to keep their lives private. As fans gain even more access to artists/performers, an entitlement has formed among fans, believing they are entitled to know every part of the lives of their favorite artists.
This entitlement has led to the inherent change in how fans conduct themselves in a concert setting. Before society had greater media access, fans could still become obsessive and unhealthily intervene in an artist’s life occasionally. Now, we see it becoming a regular by-product of an artist performing at a concert. Now fans, as an artist is performing, can regularly be seen throwing things at performers as they perform on stage, attempting to grab the artist as they try to perform, trying to follow the artist home after the concert is over, or even screaming obscenities during the concert, all in an effort to be “different” and stand out. Each of these experiences not only ruins the experience for other fans but has led to artists taking a more active role in advocating for their privacy as in the eyes of the media. Through this, we see that artists seek to be seen as people instead of as products that everyone wants their hands on.
Artists and concert venues have taken to putting in various measures to try to once again put some healthy distance between artist and fan:
- removing the caps of drinks at concerts to prevent the use of those caps in assaulting the artist
- having more secure entrances and exits that are farther away from fan exits to prevent ambushing artists after the concert
- more security at the edges of the stage preventing grabbing the artists
- lines put on the stage marking a safe distance in which the artist can stand at the end of the stage and not get touched
- decline in meet and greets instead employing more virtual fan experiences that help better keep the artist and fans safe as many of these obsessive fan occurrences usually end up inconveniencing the artist and fellow fans.
As for my recent experience at the Mitski concert a couple of weekends ago, I had a great experience. At first, I was very worried about fans jeering at the artist, as I had seen videos of other parts of the tour where fans had been yelling vulgar things at Mitski as she tried to sing. Luckily, I didn’t notice much of it during this concert. However, there was a moment in which Mitski was talking to the audience, and someone would not stop yelling “I love you” while she was talking. Though I did note that before, in previous videos detailing the tour, she spoke more during the concert, yet with my concert, she decidedly only spoke three times between songs, which I’m guessing is a result of trying to limit the concert being momentarily derailed by annoying fans.
Nevertheless, I wrote this piece to convey a statement many fans need to hear. As a fan, you are not entitled to an artist’s personal life, body, or location. I know many will say that it’s public, so I should have an opinion, and in this vein, I agree. Have your opinion, but stop going to inappropriate lengths to convey how much of a fan you are. It ultimately ends with people disrespecting artists. Artists take so much time to create their music, make a setlist, and form a tour, so enjoy it, and be as respectful as possible. Trust me, that sincerity will be conveyed, and you’ll have a better time for it.