The strange case of fans creating celebrities

John Lennon, formerly of the Beatles, was shot by a crazed fan on Dec 8, 1980, reflecting the ugliest side of the mostly intense, sometimes intractable, relationship between fans and their idols.

About 40 years later, the crazed love for their idol has prompted Chinese fans to defend a celebrity in a bizarre way. Provoked by the query of a fan of Cai Xukun, a young Chinese online celebrity, that Jay Chou, a veteran Chinese pop singer, doesn't enjoy huge online traffic and popularity, Chou's fans have massed together on Weibo, Chinese version of Twitter, to push him up to the top of a list that ranks celebrities according to their popularity on the platform and is often used by companies to measure the commercial appeal of stars.

What the battle between the young and old generations of Chinese fans reveals is much more than a brute contest of devotion to their respective idols. It also shows a certain number of people's suppressed indignation at the so-called "online traffic stars" who boast of huge influence online－but have few or no defining works to show－thanks to their diehard fans' concerted actions and propaganda.

More often than not, these celebrities are accused of creating false online data or buying trending topics on Weibo to hype their popularity. That Wu Yifan, a Chinese singer, topped the iTunes North America chart last year despite having little following in that region shows what a set of obsessive fans is capable of doing in a bid to promote its idol.

Suddenly, the traditional relationship between fans and idols of "we adore you because what you've achieved" seems to have changed to "we adore you so we're gonna help you achieve 'great things'". The mushrooming of "star-making" variety shows such as Produce 101 by Tencent have done nothing except to fuel this trend.

Overnight, the Chinese entertainment industry has become a heated battlefield for fans, who fight numerous battles everyday on behalf of the idols they worship. The fights can range from quarrelling with the fans of another star to making efforts to push their idols up an online ranking list. This has shifted the competition from the celebrities to their fans.

Usually, a highly disciplined and united fan base with a clear division of work, including online promotion of their idol, seeing him or her off at an airport, sparking online discussions, is often behind the rise in a celebrity's social status and following, a trend that can be traced to the Republic of Korea.

A sort of relationship that stems from love and provides a deep sense of satisfaction and relevance to fans is thus developed. Galvanizing and moving as it is, what these fans seem to ignore is they alone cannot create a long-standing superstar. Their words cannot be put into the idol's mouth. In terms of a celebrity's development, what truly matters in the long run is his/her own toil and talent, which are best reflected in his/her body of work.

And only top-quality works can reach and appeal to more people outside of a star's existing fan base and expand his/her real influence, which more often than not cannot be truthfully and comprehensively gauged by some online ranking lists or discussions. Help your star grow with unobtrusive support, but do not overstep the boundary and do not artificially raise his/her status. In short, let the celebrity's repertoire speak for his/her status.

The author is a writer with China Daily.