Research Paper On Boyband Hysteria

Rosemary Leger

Feature Story Draft

Boyband Hysteria & Why It’s Okay

“Music is my religion.” Jimi Hendrix put a common feeling into the most relatable of words. Music is a uniting force; it brings people together emotionally and physically. People subscribe to the beliefs and lyrics of their favorite artists and performersas if they were a higher power. There is no better experience for a musician’s disciples than a live concert. For decades fans have followed bands and singers, to numerous shows and tours and around the world. In few instances this following gets out of hand, and the mere appearance of the star causes chaos, mobs and physical illness among fans. This special hysteria is brought about by none other than a boy band. Boy bands

Both had two number one albums on the Billboard charts, and sold a combined 59.4 million albums. Although sparking many a debate on who was the better boy band, they both maintained record-breaking careers and have since made long-awaited reunions. With the recent passing of the 50th anniversary of Beatlemania, music writer Dorian Lynskey published a study on the hysteria and tales of fandom. In his research, Lynskey writes about a “dance madness” in the middle ages that took over German villages. This was the first time in written history that music had caused bizarre behavior in citizens. The term “mania” was first given to a group of fans in 1844, in the term Lisztomania. This craze was brought about at the piano concerts of Franz Liszt. A German writer described the scene as “true madness, unheard of in the annals of furore.” What he means is this intense excitement displayed by listeners had never been seen before. Another music writer from Paris described a Liszt concert as an “ecstatic audience, breathing deeply in its rapt enthusiasm, [who] can no longer hold back its shouts of acclaim.” These words sound familiar to those used to describe many pop music concerts

A TV critic reviewing the documentary said, “A scorned Directioner is a terrifying beast.” This documentary follows fans of the band, looking for what it truly means to be a “Directioner”. It discusses with the girls the lengths they are willing to go to meet the boys, and how they are united in fandom to support the boy band.

Again, Lynskey in his 2013 article explains that the themes of Beatlemania have recurred in fans throughout music’s history. It is the screaming, waiting in lines, longing to experience a live concert and craving for any form of contact that keeps the attention of fans. Niall Horan of One Direction was speaking about their fans and quoted, “They are nuts. Mostly all I see is a sea of screaming faces.” Lynskey believes any boy-band star from the past fifty years could have said this.

This past December, One Direction finished a 131-show world tour. While in Australia, a popular news branch The Punch, published an article by Daniel Piotrowski. The article interviewed fans awaiting their arrival at the airport. The fans claimed they were just there to see the British-Irish pop group, and not to attack, but also were finding it difficult to remain calm, and could not predict how they would react when and if the boys came out to see