Welcome again to Fan Chant, a weekly column for Okay-pop followers, stans, and newbies alike. At the moment, I needed to talk about my favourite pattern of the week and the surprising involvement of Kendrick Lamar. If you get pleasure from what you’re studying, be at liberty to subscribe to my companion e-newsletter to get Fan Chant delivered proper to your inbox every week!
As any vaguely on-line Okay-pop fan can affirm, standom has its personal language. Moving into Okay-pop can really feel akin to leaping on Duolingo, at first — what’s aegyo? Why are we calling a launch a comeback if this group simply dropped new music 4 months in the past? Is maknae a member, and why is it an enormous deal that they ate first?
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Conversations on this area of interest are sometimes extremely foolish, and one among my favourite issues is every time followers apply among the cringier items of stan converse to non-Okay-pop artists to underscore simply how ridiculous it may be. Anybody who has skilled the Okay-pop spiral will know the forms of feedback I imply; they’re present in Instagram Reels remark sections, cutesy corners of Twitter, and (shudders) YouTube feedback. They’re the feedback that generally lean up to now into lovable territory that they find yourself infantilizing the artist they declare to like.
This week, recent off his victory on the Grammys, like-minded followers are making use of this bit to the one and solely Kendrick Lamar.
who made these paw prints? I did ^_^” https://t.co/AxawGlfqzw pic.twitter.com/APVWgy22Cg
— M ☆ (@duskgumi) February 4, 2025
The wildest half about this pattern, which pops up once more from time to time, is that these are genuinely all statements I’ve seen utilized to actual Okay-pop idols — paw prints for Suga of BTS, “nation’s prince” for any variety of good-looking singers. Inevitably and fortunately, every time tweets like that get an excessive amount of traction, I additionally see plenty of individuals reminding the unique poster that these are grown males, typically nicely into their 20s (if not 30s!). Consequently, I can’t get sufficient of those posts enjoying off of the cutie patootie nature of the rapper who bodied Drake to maybe the purpose of no return.
Kendrick oppa’s aegyo is so charming~ nation’s prince certainly https://t.co/kwj1b868Y8
— sisi (@siahloves) June 25, 2024
To me, inside jokes like this — poking enjoyable at our personal, not any of the artists — are when Okay-pop fandom feels probably the most optimistic. No nook of standom is a monolith; there are Taylor Swift followers who can assess her work critically, and teenage ladies who personal AC/DC shirts as a result of they can identify greater than three songs, thanks very a lot. And whereas there are actually individuals on Okay-pop Twitter who posts issues like this earnestly, I wish to suppose that there are much more people who find themselves in a position to assist their faves in affordable methods.
That is what we needs to be doing! Being deeply unserious is far more enjoyable than fan wars, isn’t it? And, ought to they ever turn into broadly out there, I’ll go on the document as somebody concerned with a Kendrick picture card. Preserve a watch out for the ending fairy throughout the Tremendous Bowl this weekend.
my kendrick photocards are right here https://t.co/XdWc9LZm6E pic.twitter.com/lAK69Qs7Di
— eloise ♱ (@stopbanningelly) July 4, 2024
[PANN] Kendrick Lamar reveals off his pure aegyo in surprising cheek pinch. Knetz react.
Feedback:
[+1005] – ahh ㅋㅋ he’s so f*cking lovable like a bit pet ㅋㅋㅋ
[+998] – ㅠㅠㅠ i am jealous f*ck.. kendrick-ah let me pinch your cheek too ㅠㅠ https://t.co/SlXnF8c408
— chromokakopia (@balleracha) February 5, 2025
Tune Rec of the Week:
I lately watched RM’s pretty documentary about placing collectively this album. This track stays my favourite from the undertaking.