The Madness: When R&B Stans Attack, We Take 10 Steps Back

As social networking sites continue to attract more users with celebrities, fan-on-fan wars, (often called "Stan Wars") become more frequent.

As some R&B singers become trending topics on Twitter -- in this instance for the wrong reasons -- it's considered by most to be career suicide for celebrities to voice their opinions against obsessed and over protective stans’ favorite artists.

Before we get into the meat and potatoes of this article, let's take a look at some of the most popular.

R&B stans on social media:

"The Navy" -- Rihanna

"Beyhive" -- Beyoncé

"The Lambs" -- Mariah Carey

"Team Breezy" -- Chris Brown

"C-Squad" -- Ciara

"Trey's Angels" -- Trey Songz

"Rowland Stones" -- Kelly Rowland

"Stars" -- Brandy

Tweeting or commenting opinions about an artist may seem harmless at first, but it could actually be one of the biggest mistakes in the social media galaxy. Like an animal in the wild awaiting its prey, stans are lurking and searching for the next person to challenge their favorite artist's vocal ability, accolades, (i.e. Grammy wins, Billboard chart history, etc.), or relevancy.

R&B songstress Keyshia Cole-Gibson has been the latest target in these series of wars. During Beyoncé's Super Bowl halftime performance in February, which featured an appearance from Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, Cole simply tweeted her thoughts about Williams' performance:

"I think I was frightened to blink for a sec. Then Michelle sung and woke my ass up from my daze! She always fuckN the groove up," said Cole.

In March, Beyoncé released a snippet of her track "Bow Down/I Been On." Exercising her right to voice her opinion, Cole took to Twitter to weigh in on the track:

"First 'Women need to Stick together' now bitches better Bow. Smh. But it's all G! Chicks stay shooting the shit. But when I speak my mind its a prob. #Well #StayMad," Cole tweeted.

Seconds after her tweet, hardcore Beyoncé fans came together in an ongoing rant -- or what some people refer to as a 'drag session.' They belittled Cole's achievements; her relevancy in music, her marriage, and her mother’s past drug addiction.

While many of these stans approve of the relentless attacks against one another, and celebrities, one could ask , How far is too far when involving themselves in celebrities’ personal lives? Also, should fellow singers display their true feelings towards another artist’s artistry via Twitter? Lastly, does the lack of unity among R&B fans cause division among the music industry?

At one time, R&B artists dominated the Billboard charts. Artists reached platinum status, sometimes multi-platinum status and received the proper appreciation for their music during award season. However, times have changed and it's considered a blessing to push 500,000 units for an album.

One possible reason for the shift in sales and recognition is the division among R&B fans. Instead of appreciating the time and effort artists put into their music, fans bash albums sales, the packaging, and compare first week sales, along with how many Grammy awards it received.

Last year, R&B veteran Brandy made her return to music and released her highly anticipated album" Two Eleven." While it did not push strong first week’s numbers, critics deemed the album as one of the best R&B albums of 2012. However, stans of other artists chastised the singer’s fan base, also called the Stars, for not supporting the album sales, labeling the album as a flop.

While all fans from each stan group declare there's no real R&B being played on radio or selling units, it raises the question, Why didn't you support Two Eleven, or any other R&B act’s albums? It's solely because fans are consumed by quantity and not quality. No matter how great the album is or how great of a performer the artist may be, if it is not benefiting their favorite artist, numbers and awards will always be greater than substance.

With the condition R&B fans are in now -- if there's no unity among fans soon -- the gap between R&B fans and R&B artists will continue to widen, which will keep album sales low, stop radio airplay and inevitably result in no musical recognition.

R&B stans can sometimes get carried away when they're defending their favorite artist. R&B superstar Chris Brown is no stranger to controversy when it comes to social network feuds.

In November 2012, he shared his thoughts on his aging process with his 11 million followers. "I look old as f--k! I'm only 23...," tweeted Brown. Comedienne Jenny Johnson replied to his tweet saying, "I know! Being a worthless piece of s--t can really age a person."

After Brown responded with a rash of tweets and deleted his account, his loyal -- Team Breezy -- immediately decided to take this fight to the streets of Twitter. One pro-Breezy fan tweeted Johnson saying, "Who the f-ck are you? What the f-ck did you do with Chris Brown? GIIIIRL, I HOPE YOU KNOW.. I WILL KILL YOU."

More hateful tweets were sent to the comedian throughout the rest of the night and as Team Breezy returns from the war zone unharmed and un-bothered -- was it necessary to involve themselves in Browns Twitter beefs - even if it's your favorite artist?

Sure it's easy to hide behind avatars and go on a back and forth attack against someone for stating their opinions, but when it's all said and done, what was accomplished? -- a few laughs and a new following of other over the top fan groups of followers? Leaving those attacked in these wars mortified by the reaction of complete strangers threatening to kill them.

To these overzealous fans, it's their responsibility to protect or get involved in the personal relationships of their favorite artist. It can be as simple as not accepting who their fave is dating, or someone disrespecting their musical influence, but be sure, these true fans are going to have the last word every time.

In late March, Kelly Price set Mariah Carey's Lambs off after the singer tweeted about a certain 'singers' performance. "I'm yrs late on this one but I'm looking at a concert on tv right now of a certain "singer," tweeted Price. "Asking myself what happened to ur voice?"

After much speculation and assuming that the tweets were about Carey, a swarm of cruel and downright mean tweets were sent to the "Friend of Mine" singer. Kelly Price later responded saying, "I don't mind ppl drawing conclusions and having opinions bcuz I'm entitled to mine and will have mine but at least make sure I said it. #Dumb"

Price said it best - "At least make sure I said it." Whenever an artist releases new music or has a television performance and another fellow artist says something indirectly or it's taken as shade, it's automatically assumed it's about their favorite artist. We are not saying that sometimes artist don't dress up their comments to throw shade at their peers but - love it or hate it - folks will have an opinion, and are entitled to it. Moments after Beyoncé released the Pepsi commercial with her single, Grown Woman, "Braxton Family Values" starlet, Tamar Braxton tweeted one of her many catchphrases, "You tried it." Seconds later, the BeyHive and other fans were up and down her mentions attacking "The One" singer, but she fired back saying, "She's not talking about Beyoncé," and said the tweet was meant for one of her followers. As new R&B artists emerge in the industry, my hope for the future is that these R&B artists, and their fans alike, will be able to learn from their peers and fellow R&B fans. I hope they look at social media, and how great a role it may play in the growth of R&B.

Learn to stand together in genre. If we can stand together, R&B can reclaim its rightful place and receive the proper sales, chart positions, and award recognition.

Defending artists day in and day out, wishing harm on an individual, or worse, their family; because someone disagrees with your belief, should never be the answer. You may not respect their opinion, but respect the fact that we are all entitled to opinions of our own and keep it moving.

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment below.

The Madness: When R&B Stans Attack, We Take 10 Steps Back

Antwane Folk

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