You might have heard of the term "fangirl" before. As straight-forward as the term suggests, it refers to a female who is a devoted supporter of a particular singer, dancer, actor, or celebrity. The male equivalent to it is known as "fanboy", although the number of fangirls always overshadow the number of fanboys. Nevertheless, fanboys are as significant as fangirls (though I personally think that fanboys are a little more precious and admirable).
Being a 'truly true' fangirl or fanboy is no child's play, let me tell you that. It has to happen voluntarily and naturally without being forced by peer pressure or trend. You need to feel it first before you can show it through your words and actions. It's different than a mere celebrity crush. Trust me, I've been living as a fangirl since the 90's. Happily, of course. :)
Here, today, I'm going to briefly share with you my journey as a fangirl so far.
Before that, please take note that being a fangirl or fanboy doesn't define our professional life (involving our education, career, etc.). It also isn't exactly our personal life (revolving around our connection with our family, friends, ourselves, etc.). The way I see it, being a fangirl or fanboy should have a category of its own. Seriously. Until we can come up with a brilliant name for it, let's call it fandom life, shall we?
90's onwards: Westlife (British Pop)
Westlife was the first group that I became a fangirl of. The group officially disbanded not too long ago but I'm glad that I got to be part of their fandom. It was their blend of vocals that captured me when I first listened to one of their songs. In the group, a few of them have strong, powerful vocals, fitting for main vocals in any song. The others have gentle, unique vocals, suitably perfecting a whole song with their harmony and enhancements. Westlife did a lot of cover versions of popular songs, originally sung by other singers. Some appeared to disapprove this, claiming that they should do more original songs. However, it never really bothered me because Westlife did the cover songs justice by delivering them in their best abilities and bringing the songs back to life. Plus, it's not like they did those cover versions without consent and proper crediting.
The top 3 cover songs that I enjoy the most are 'Butterfly Kisses', 'I'll Be Loving You Forever', and 'What About Now'. As for Westlife's original songs, my top 3 favourites are 'I Lay My Love On You', 'Every Little Thing You Do', and 'I Promise You That'.
[Let me tell you this. I'm TERRIBLE at narrowing my favourite songs to just 3 songs, but I need to.]
2007 onwards: The Click 5 (American Pop)
The Click 5 was the first band that I really like. The original 5 members learned music and practised together in Boston prior to their debut. I remember their sleek, clean-cut, tuxedo-wearing image from their debut album that caught my attention. Around the time of the band's debut, a local magazine at my place organised a contest with the band's debut CD as the prize. I joined the contest, which required participants to submit a participation form found inside the magazine's latest issue, and a few names would be randomly chosen as winners. I was one of the lucky winners! But before the contest winners were revealed, I bought The Click 5's CD from a music store since I fell in love with the band's songs. So, I have 2 copies of the same CD!
Quite briefly after the band debuted, the main vocalist had to leave the band, which broke my young heart into pieces. ㅠㅠ I even blogged about it as my first ever blog post on my old, no-longer-functional blog site, as pictured above. I managed to keep myself okay and welcomed the new main vocalist. Eric, the original frontman of the band, has a tender, melodious vocal, whereas Kyle, the new frontman, has a sharp, funky vocal. That made the band felt different when Eric left but they were still awesome as a band.
My top 3 favourite songs by The Click 5 are 'Just The Girl', 'Say Goodnight', and 'When I'm Gone'.
2008 onwards: Jonas Brothers (American Pop) & McFly (British Pop)
Yes, I was one of the young souls who adored the Jonas Brothers when they were at the beginning of their career as singers. The idea of brothers being together in a band, combined with the talents that the brothers all have, was simply irresistible. Enough said..
My top 3 Jonas Brother's songs are 'When You Look Me In The Eyes', 'Hold On', and 'Just Friends'.
Then, I also discovered an amazing British band known as McFly. Boy, they're incredible! Normally, a band has one frontman or main vocalist. It's different with this band - they have two! The two main vocalists have different vocal strengths, enabling them to complement each other in their songs. Now that I think of it, Tom (McFly) is kind of like Eric (The Click 5), while Danny (McFly) is kind of like Kyle (The Click 5), vocals-wise. But unlike the case of The Click 5, where one main vocalist had to replace the other, McFly can go on with both of their wonderful main vocalists.
Out of all McFly's songs, my top 3 favourites are 'All About You', 'I'll Be Okay', and 'Sorry's Not Good Enough'.
2009 onwards: Arashi (Japanese Pop)
I knew Arashi pretty late. I figured out about them almost ten years after the group's debut. It was probably because J-pop has always been a little more reserved when it comes to promoting overseas. Only a few years ago, J-pop has really started to explore more options to go global. Good for them! Before liking J-pop (the music), I grew fond of Japan through J-dramas and J-movies. All five members of Arashi have always been quite active as actors too, alongside their career as singers. It was through Arashi's youngest member, MatsuJun's drama, '花より 団子' (Hana Yori Dango; Boys Over Flowers) that I was introduced to Arashi, who sang the theme song of the drama. In fact, Arashi sang the theme songs for all two series of the drama and the movie finale. It didn't take me long to dig through Arashi's songs for the past years and I liked what I found. So, I became a fan quite instantly.
The top 3 Arashi's songs that I love the most are 'Hero', '瞳の 中の Galaxy' (Hitomi No Naka No Galaxy; The Galaxy Inside Your Eyes'), and '明日の 極端' (Ashita No Kyoku; Memories of Tomorrow).
2010 onwards: BEAST (Korean Pop)
At this point of time, BEAST members are the kings of my heart. They just are! To be very honest, I never wanted to become involved in anything K-pop-related because I felt intimidated and unsure of how 'healthy' it would be to be part of something that mainstream. I refused to give K-pop a chance, not even a tiny little glance. I would
If I had to choose my top 3 BEAST's songs, they would most likely be 'Oasis', 'You', and '니가 보고싶어지면' (Niga Bogoshipeojimyeon; When I Miss You).
2012 onwards: BTOB (Korean Pop)
BTOB is the latest (and hopefully the last) added group that I'm really a fangirl of. After BEAST, I vowed to myself that I might not be able to divide my support and attention any further. True enough, BEAST is irreplacable to me. But because of BEAST, I had the chance to get to know BTOB even before BTOB officially debuted. BTOB is BEAST's junior group, under the same entertainment agency. I freely checked out BTOB because at first glance, some of the members reminded me of BEAST, visually and as a first impression. Now, I love the group because they are not only multi-talented, but interesting when all seven personalities collide.
The top 3 songs by BTOB that I enjoy the most are 'Wow', '뛰뛰빵빵' (Dwi Dwi Bang Bang; Beep Beep), and '킅난 건 가요' (Keutnan Geon Gayo; Is It The End).
Alright!
That's my fangirl journey so far.
posted from Bloggeroid
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