The Normalization of Parasocial Music Fandom

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How did pop music fandom become as intense as sports? Why are stans obsessed with first-week sales, critical praise, and streaming numbers? When did this all start?

This is a deep dive / video essay breaking down how pop music culture transformed into a team-based battleground—and how the 2000s set the stage for it all.

In the wake of his monumental rap beef with Drake, Kendrick Lamar recently won five Grammy Awards for his diss track “Not Like Us” and is set to headline the Super Bowl Halftime Show alongside former TDE labelmate, SZA. While his victory lap is well-earned, the discourse surrounding it has shifted away from the music itself. Instead, fans are locked in endless debates about sales, review scores, and conspiracy theories—especially from Drake’s camp, where some are even claiming the industry is rigged against him (he just sued his label over this).

This level of intensity isn’t new. The Swifties (Taylor Swift), Beyhive (Beyoncé), the ARMY (BTS) and Barbz (Nicki Minaj) have long treated their favorite artists like sports teams, defending their honor and battling rival fanbases online. But when did pop music fandoms become so tribal and cult-like? When did loving an artist turn into repping them like a hometown team? When did the pop music fan war get this crazy?

After digging deep, I’ve pinpointed the key moments when everything changed—when pop music fandom became sports.

In this video, we’ll dive into the 3 pivotal moments where this happened, covering everything from early social media to MTV to the VMA’s (Video Music Awards) to an iconic sales war.

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Chapters
00:00 Music is Sports Now
01:52 American Idol
06:23 Leave Britney Alone
12:17 Kanye West vs. 50 Cent

Songs on the Soundtrack

“Gonna Fly Now (Theme from Rocky)” - Bill Conti
“Sticky” - Tyler, The Creator, GloRilla, Sexyy Red & Lil Wayne
“Dramamine” - Flawed Mangoes
“Anti-Hero” - Taylor Swift
“Halftime” - Young Thug
“Magic Stick” - Lil Kim & 50 Cent
“Remember The Name” - Fort Minor & Styles of Beyond
“One More Time” - Daft Punk
“American Idol Theme Song” - Julian Gingell & Barry Stone
“Roc Steady” - Megan Thee Stallion & Flo Milli
“Since U Been Gone” - Kelly Clarkson
“She Bangs” - Ricky Martin (Shout out William Hung though)
“Photograph” - Santana & Chris Daughtry
“Toxic” - Britney Spears
“Gimme More” - Britney Spears
“…Baby One More Time” - Britney Spears
“Moscow Cheryomushki, Op. 105: Sad Song” - Dmitri Shostakovich
“Club Classics” - Charli xcx
“B2b” - Charli xcx
“Tuesday” - iLoveMakonnen & Drake
“Stan” - Eminem & Dido
“Yummy” - Justin Bieber
“Can’t Tell Me Nothing” - Kanye West
“What I’ve Done” - Linkin Park
“Umbrella” - Rihanna & JAY-Z
“Stronger” - Kanye West
“Ayo Technology” - 50 Cent, Justin Timberlake & Timbaland
“Disco Inferno” - 50 Cent
“Just a Lil Bit” - 50 Cent
“Homecoming” - Kanye West & Chris Martin
“I Wonder” - Kanye West
“Like That” - Future, Metro Boomin & Kendrick Lamar
“Smoke Again” - Chance The Rapper & Ab-Soul
“BBL Drizzy” - Metro Boomin

tags: #kanyewest #popmusic