I’ll be the first to admit it. At almost twenty two years old, I am a fangirl!
There, I said it. I’ve been a fangirl for the best part of eight years. It began when I was fourteen, where I was equal parts a Big Brother fan and a Twihard (the most embarrassing fan name ever!!), a die-hard Twilight Saga fan.
Once I had joined Twitter during my Junior Cert, the obsessions took off even further. I connected with people all over the globe who loved the same things as me, something I still do to this day. My friends refused to follow me because these things were all I talked about!
I’ve been through many obsessions. Now, I am happily settled in the K-pop world for almost three years. South Korea and their entertainment industry is my biggest love and passion. But there was two fandoms that really made me the person I am today.
A boy group named The Wanted came into my life in late 2010, when a friend and mutual Twitter follower introduced me to their debut song “All Time Low”. I was hooked on their every move and every word. My friends and I knew the managers, the live band, the security, even the members’ family and friends were in our following list.
It’s funny to say it, but my life changed after I became a fan. I met some of the best friends in the world at signings, radio stations and freezing our bums off outside hotels. When the band split in 2014, a good thirty of us gathered together at their final Irish concert, all bawling but thankful for the five lads who brought us together. We were – pun intended – glad they came!
We always had issues with their management, however. We always could tell when something wasn’t done right, when they weren’t getting radio play or column inches in the press.
We would take to our Twitters and our Facebooks and we would hassle our followers, family and friends to listen to their songs, to watch their music videos and to buy their albums. We even held flashmobs on Grafton Street, where we made up dances to their songs and blared them from HMV’s speakers. We were crazy but we were undoubtedly passionate.
The same sort of promotions went on for another of my favourite groups, Lawson. We would give out leaflets and busk outside St Stephen’s Green, playing their songs. Both groups took great interest in our work and even today, my friends and I are still on close terms with the members of Lawson, during their hiatus.
A friend of mine pointed me in the direction of my college course in IADT, that partners marketing, accounting and cultural studies with film, theatre and, my first love, music.
I quickly discovered that there are jobs that allow you to promote for a living. As soon as the opportunity came for me to spread my wings and fly into the workplace, I rocketed into research. And with a little help from my glorious personality (I’m modest too!!) I find myself sitting in the Fuzion PR office in Warrington Place, Dublin.
In case you hadn’t guessed, I am the baby of the Fuzion family, finally getting a chance to do what I love in the real world. I’m working as my internship with some absolutely incredible people who are so helpful and fun to be around. Luck is truly on my side with this one and I’m looking forward to what comes my way here in the next four months.
It just goes to show kids, you can find your niche where you least expect it, even in a boyband!
Sarah
Sarah O’Brien is a PR intern with Fuzion PR based in Dublin
