It is up to celebrities to uplift and highlight the narratives of their fans. By buying into their product (their music, their humor, their beauty), our investment is a crucial component of their survival. Celebrities that not only understand, but acknowledge this codependent relationship between their fans and themselves are those that I am proud to support.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sophia Bush is one of my favorite celebrities- although the initial fascination started with her heart shaped lips and raspy voice that lent itself so well to the heartache that was Brooke Davis on One Tree Hill, it quickly transitioned into an admiration for her dedication to using her platform to better the world. From her environmental advocacy, to her pursuit of giving girls and women an equal access to education, to advocating on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community through media campaigns and fundraising events, she is the epitome of the "activist" we want our public figures to be. Icing on the cake, she's tight with the OG homies, the Obamas.
I've always been this way- in order for me to truly be a fan, the celebrities I support have to contribute to the betterment of the world. I believe that having any sort of platform is a privilege, and with that privilege comes the responsibility of activism (I do acknowledge that many people pursue careers in the arts for self-fulfillment and not for the limelight, but I do not believe that this excuses them from taking advantage of the platform that they do possess).
Bearing this in mind, I want to let ya'll know that this past Tuesday, March 28th, I attended my very first legitimate concert- Panic! At The Disco's Death of a Bachelor Tour. I've been a Panic! fan since I first stumbled upon the music video for "Let's Kill Tonight" on YouTube back in Sophomore year of high school. So when Panic! tickets went on sale, I figured, now's as good a time as any to attend.
And boy, Brendon did not disappoint (to those that follow me on Snapchat- apologies for the 280 second snap story). He covered pretty much every single song downloaded on my phone, including a cheeky performance of Miss Jackson, a ceiling-shattering falsetto heavy rendition of "The Ballad of Mona Lisa," and a perfectly pretty, soul-crushing acoustic version of "This is Gospel." He even gave us "I Write Sins, Not Tragedies," the song pretty much the entire venue was salivating for.
But I want to talk more in depth about a specific segment in the performance. When we entered the venue, two girls named Adriana and Shaina handed us colored paper cut out into hearts. The message read "Hold up during Girls/Girls/Boys and shine your flashlight through it" and under the instructions was the capitalized slogan of the song, "LOVE IS NOT A CHOICE." (For background on this song and why it is such an iconic piece of bisexual music, and just what strangely beautiful humans Brendon and his wife Sarah Urie are, read here.)
Halfway through the set, Brendon instructed us that it was time to take out the hearts and shine our flashlights through them. We did, and what formed, all around the stadium, was a myriad of colored lights shining upwards, illuminating a Pride Flag (I want to take a moment to acknowledge that the creator of the Pride Flag, Gilbert Baker, passed away earlier today. Send some prayers and positivity to his family). He got an actual Pride Flag himself, held it in his hands, and started belting out the song. Behind him, the screen lit up multicolored as well, displaying the faces of influential LGBTQ+ figures of history and modern times.
As Girls/Girls/Boys ended, he proceeded to cover Bohemian Rhapsody. To do that song justice, that too live, was a feat all on its own, but tied into this segment, it meant so much more (Freddie Mercury is a queer icon).
He then broke from the music to discuss the current state of the world, where the leading nation of the "Free World" has hired an administration that practices the suppression and silencing of the LGTBQ+ community (and minority communities at large). He spoke to the the audience about the importance of love, without judgment, without boundaries, without division. He spoke about the love he had for his fans, and the love he wanted his fans to have for each other. He took the time to not only mention, but address in depth both through conversation and performance, his unequivocal support and love for the + community, and his resistance against those who seek to disenfranchise it. The predominantly young, impressionable audience, I have no doubt, left with messages of love ringing in their ears.
Any gathering of this size is bound to include both individuals who suffer from self-hatred, doubt, and ostracization, and those who caused them to feel these emotions. I can only hope that Brendon's words were able to provide hope for the first group, and insight for the latter. For me, my chills throughout the entire segment reflected my deep appreciation of his direct address and celebration of LGBTQ+ identities.
It is up to celebrities to uplift and highlight the narratives of their fans. By buying into their product (their music, their humor, their beauty), our investment is a crucial component of their survival. Celebrities that not only understand, but acknowledge this codependent relationship between their fans and themselves are those that I am proud to support.
I encourage anyone with a platform, regardless of how large or small (i.e. Brendon with his thousands of doting fans or me with my social media following), to begin using their platforms to begin speaking up about injustices faced by marginalized communities. It doesn't take a whole lot of effort, but the positive effect it can have is limitless.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Other fun tidbits that made me glad this was my first concert, and of Brendon Urie's presence in general:
1. he discussed how he had laryngitis the past week, and his doctor told him to quit drinking and smoking; his response was, "can I vape?"
2. Pete Wentz made a special appearance in a video where Brendon was captured by some foreign alien king thing and transformed into a darker version of himself, and I about died because I thought Fall Out Boy was gonna make a guest appearance.
3. On the Uber back my roommate Danny and I shared the ride with a girl who had been to 7 different Panic! concerts, had a picture of him kissing her cheek, and knew his entire romantic history with dates and details.
4. I bought sweatpants that are too big on me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sophia Bush is one of my favorite celebrities- although the initial fascination started with her heart shaped lips and raspy voice that lent itself so well to the heartache that was Brooke Davis on One Tree Hill, it quickly transitioned into an admiration for her dedication to using her platform to better the world. From her environmental advocacy, to her pursuit of giving girls and women an equal access to education, to advocating on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community through media campaigns and fundraising events, she is the epitome of the "activist" we want our public figures to be. Icing on the cake, she's tight with the OG homies, the Obamas.
I've always been this way- in order for me to truly be a fan, the celebrities I support have to contribute to the betterment of the world. I believe that having any sort of platform is a privilege, and with that privilege comes the responsibility of activism (I do acknowledge that many people pursue careers in the arts for self-fulfillment and not for the limelight, but I do not believe that this excuses them from taking advantage of the platform that they do possess).
Bearing this in mind, I want to let ya'll know that this past Tuesday, March 28th, I attended my very first legitimate concert- Panic! At The Disco's Death of a Bachelor Tour. I've been a Panic! fan since I first stumbled upon the music video for "Let's Kill Tonight" on YouTube back in Sophomore year of high school. So when Panic! tickets went on sale, I figured, now's as good a time as any to attend.
And boy, Brendon did not disappoint (to those that follow me on Snapchat- apologies for the 280 second snap story). He covered pretty much every single song downloaded on my phone, including a cheeky performance of Miss Jackson, a ceiling-shattering falsetto heavy rendition of "The Ballad of Mona Lisa," and a perfectly pretty, soul-crushing acoustic version of "This is Gospel." He even gave us "I Write Sins, Not Tragedies," the song pretty much the entire venue was salivating for.
But I want to talk more in depth about a specific segment in the performance. When we entered the venue, two girls named Adriana and Shaina handed us colored paper cut out into hearts. The message read "Hold up during Girls/Girls/Boys and shine your flashlight through it" and under the instructions was the capitalized slogan of the song, "LOVE IS NOT A CHOICE." (For background on this song and why it is such an iconic piece of bisexual music, and just what strangely beautiful humans Brendon and his wife Sarah Urie are, read here.)
Halfway through the set, Brendon instructed us that it was time to take out the hearts and shine our flashlights through them. We did, and what formed, all around the stadium, was a myriad of colored lights shining upwards, illuminating a Pride Flag (I want to take a moment to acknowledge that the creator of the Pride Flag, Gilbert Baker, passed away earlier today. Send some prayers and positivity to his family). He got an actual Pride Flag himself, held it in his hands, and started belting out the song. Behind him, the screen lit up multicolored as well, displaying the faces of influential LGBTQ+ figures of history and modern times.
As Girls/Girls/Boys ended, he proceeded to cover Bohemian Rhapsody. To do that song justice, that too live, was a feat all on its own, but tied into this segment, it meant so much more (Freddie Mercury is a queer icon).
He then broke from the music to discuss the current state of the world, where the leading nation of the "Free World" has hired an administration that practices the suppression and silencing of the LGTBQ+ community (and minority communities at large). He spoke to the the audience about the importance of love, without judgment, without boundaries, without division. He spoke about the love he had for his fans, and the love he wanted his fans to have for each other. He took the time to not only mention, but address in depth both through conversation and performance, his unequivocal support and love for the + community, and his resistance against those who seek to disenfranchise it. The predominantly young, impressionable audience, I have no doubt, left with messages of love ringing in their ears.
Any gathering of this size is bound to include both individuals who suffer from self-hatred, doubt, and ostracization, and those who caused them to feel these emotions. I can only hope that Brendon's words were able to provide hope for the first group, and insight for the latter. For me, my chills throughout the entire segment reflected my deep appreciation of his direct address and celebration of LGBTQ+ identities.
It is up to celebrities to uplift and highlight the narratives of their fans. By buying into their product (their music, their humor, their beauty), our investment is a crucial component of their survival. Celebrities that not only understand, but acknowledge this codependent relationship between their fans and themselves are those that I am proud to support.
I encourage anyone with a platform, regardless of how large or small (i.e. Brendon with his thousands of doting fans or me with my social media following), to begin using their platforms to begin speaking up about injustices faced by marginalized communities. It doesn't take a whole lot of effort, but the positive effect it can have is limitless.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Other fun tidbits that made me glad this was my first concert, and of Brendon Urie's presence in general:
1. he discussed how he had laryngitis the past week, and his doctor told him to quit drinking and smoking; his response was, "can I vape?"
2. Pete Wentz made a special appearance in a video where Brendon was captured by some foreign alien king thing and transformed into a darker version of himself, and I about died because I thought Fall Out Boy was gonna make a guest appearance.
3. On the Uber back my roommate Danny and I shared the ride with a girl who had been to 7 different Panic! concerts, had a picture of him kissing her cheek, and knew his entire romantic history with dates and details.
4. I bought sweatpants that are too big on me.
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