Best Song Ever—Forever? Exploring How Post-youth Fans Give Meaning to their Life-Long Music Fandom

Abstract

This study explores how aging One Direction and Taylor Swift fans continue their fandom in(to) adulthood. Drawing on interviews with twenty-three female fans, this article examines what happens if one actively pursues fandom after youth. Despite having multiple solo-careers to keep track of, or adjusting to new (Swift-)‘eras’, ‘aging pop fandom’ seems to go beyond the music: results demonstrate that these young aging fans consider themselves ‘life-long fans’, having been fans for such a long time. Additionally, their current fandom is about friendships and belonging to a community (particularly prevalent during the pandemic) and illustrative of how they as young fans developed (media) skills vital to one’s current career. What this study reveals is that whether it’s through (re-)listening to music, attending concerts or themed club-nights, pop music fandom forms a soundtrack to their process of aging.