Top Ten Signs of Fake Fans of a Music Artist

Fake fans are people who claim they are the fans of a specific singer or band, but they know 1-2 songs by them, and don't even know the names of the members etc. They are often characterised by wearing a T-shirt with the music artists's name on it.
The Top Ten
1 They say things like "Nirvana is my favorite Smells Like Teen Spirit song"

If I'm being completely honest I don't really like the idea of calling out someone for not being a true fan of an artist but this item still cracks me up.

It took me a few seconds to read this correctly.
But I disagree with anyone who says this. King Crimson by Starless is my favorite.

Black Sabbath debut single is titled Black Sabbath from their debut album, Black Sabbath.

Personally, my favorite song is Iron Maiden by Iron Maiden.

2 They compare that artist to the worst they know about

Are you really an e.g. Metallica fan if you say things like "Fade to Black is still better than Friday"? Why don't you compare your favorite music artists to the ones widely considered best? Or there's a YouTube comment below Maiden's Fear of The Dark "better than any modern trap musics" with 305 likes. Come on, are you listening to it because there's worse?

Gentle Giant is so much better than 6ix9ine.
It sounds dumb because it's so obvious I'd say that.

3 Their favorite song from that artist is the most famous one

This really depends on the band, if the band in general is really popular there is nothing wrong for example: if you like AC/DC: Back in Black, The Rolling Stones: Paint It Black, Red Hot Chilli Pepper: Under the Bridge, Aerosmith: Walk This Way, the Beetles: Hey Jude.
All of those songs are great and I wouldn't fault them for it being a fans favorite song

Some Examples: Journey- Don't Stop Believin, Led Zepellin- Stairway to Heaven, Queen- Bohemian Rhapsody, Beatles- Hey Jude, Rolling Stones- (I can't get no) satisfaction, Eagles- Hotel California, Duran Duran- Hungry Like The Wolf, Metallica- Nothing Else Matters, and so many more.

This isn't necessarily always the case. I'm a Guns N' Roses fan and Sweet Child O' Mine is still my favorite, same with Metallica and Enter Sandman (no matter what you say) and Led Zeppelin and Stairway to Heaven, and until recently Skillet and Monster

It depends on what artist is it. Sometimes their best songs are their most popular songs and sometimes their worst songs are their most popular songs.

4 They spell the name of the artist wrong

Same goes for names of band members. If I had a dollar for every time I saw his name spelt "Herman Lee" or "Herman Ri" instead of Herman Li or "Mark" Hudson and not Marc

I think that it's perfectly reasonable if you misspell a band name like Meshuggah.

The general public can't spell anything correctly.

Seeing "Lynyrd Skynyrd" misspelled as "Lynard Skynard" irritates me every time.

5 They disrespect people who only know one song of that artist

Oblivious to some other items, but for a real fan, it is still better than someone who has never heard of that singer/band/composer.

6 They claim that artist has no bad songs

Well, if you listen through a certain artist's discography and thoroughly enjoy each of their songs, I see nothing wrong with saying this, I don't expect everyone to be a music critic.

True fans mostly realise that even their favorite band/singer is sometimes in bad moments. Here comes the usual unoriginal YouTube comments with the folder and warning icons.

Every single music artist has made at least one mediocre/bad song. Even critically acclaimed bands like Queen, The Beatles, Iron Maiden have a few crap songs in their catalogue.

Every artist makes mistakes. They're human. I think it's unhealthy to hold a bad song or album against an artist if the rest of their catalog is mostly great.

7 You ask them why they like that artist and they reply "because it's great!"

Another "reasons" that prove that s/he does not know why are they good: They rock! He's a legend! It's no problem if fans are saying these, just if they are using them as reasons.

Also when we ask some people why they hate a band: because they suck!

8 They fail to sing along any song of that artist

I think you don't have to know the lyrics of ten songs if you are a fan, but at least don't show that you don't.

I like Iron maiden and I'm having troubles singing their songs. Does that make me a fake fan?

I mean, some songs can be really fast so it can be hard for the fans to keep up with it.

So apparently I'm not a real fan of any of the artists that I've listened to.

9 That is the only artist they know in its genre

Now that's not true. I personally don't research the genre of music; one of the artists I like is said to be a 'pop' singer but in my opinion pop songs are mostly bad. (No offense to people who like them, I just don't like them much.)
But I still absolutely love the artist and adore their music. Maybe it's because they don't really fit in in the genre, but still.

This is also perfectly fine, just so long as you don't claim to be an expert of said genre. I may listen to Prog very frequently, but I don't consider myself to be an expert on the genre.

Always happens with grunge (you know which band) and nu metal (you know which band). If someone really like that artist, s/he will probably look for some similar music.

10 Fans of metal bands who only like the non-metal songs by those metal bands

Ex. Metallica fans who only like Nothing Else Matters (it's a power ballad, not a true metal song).
Also, I had this conversation in my real life:
"We are Metallica fans, too! "
Me: "Great! What are your favorite songs? "
"Turn the Page".
(Turn the Page is a cover of Bob Seger and it isn't a metal song)

This could work with other genres as well. Example:
"I'm the biggest Genesis fan ever! They're the definition of prog! "
"What's your favorite song? "
"Invisible Touch."

The Contenders
11 They like them only for their looks

BTS fans in a nutshell.

12 They mention the most basic information about the band/artist as an attempt to seem informed

Gentle Giant broke up in 1980.
You've been blessed with the most important of knowledge.

What's wrong with that?

13 They wear the T shirts of the bands but they don't really know the songs at all if you try to ask them

I'd love to sport my Metallica tees in public but I'm so afraid that I'm going to be called out by some elitist who thinks I'm a fake fan or poser and asked to name three songs.

Oh but I love my Tame Impala shirt so much and I've always been such a huge fan, their song Stupid Hoe is so inspirational!

14 They spell that artist's name with a small letter

What does the way you type even have to do with how much you like people? If you write everything without caps anywhere and don't write names with caps either that doesn't have anything to do with how much you like them.

15 They start a comment with "I'm a fan" but everything after that is so mean that even a kid would understand it was written by a hater and not a fan

I am a fan but I hope this artist stops making music because he's a talentless hack.

Unless it's constructive criticism on how certain flops could've worked.

I'm a fan of Anathema, but I'd still love to rip apart their first few releases.

16 They spell it Freddy Mercury instead of Freddie Mercury

I've seen a lot of times

17 They can't tell the difference between November Rain and Purple Rain
18 They don't know the names of any of the band members

Welp, I'm guilty of this but I don't think that not knowing every band member's name makes someone a fake fan.

19 They like the musician just to look cool.
20 They only know, acknowledge, and appreciate the vocalists, or well-known members

The most obvious example is with Freddie in Queen.

21 When they don't know the name of the artist and any songs.
22 They only like the music and not the artist themselves
23 When you ask them their favorite song they say "Oh, I like all of them"
24 They are fans just for the artist's attention
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