The bridge between my scrolling on TikTok and attending events has gotten dramatically smaller within the last few months. No more than a month before I was asked to be apart of the social media team for ClexaCon, did I find some new crushes to secretly fangirl over. In record time, I met them and proudly held it together. Kristin (she/her), Sonya (she/her), Mik (they/them), and Kayden (he/they/him/them) were all so incredibly charming and sweet, leading my fan girl tendencies to continue and grow.
BOI BAND, currently with 11ok followers on TikTok, swept the queer community, filling a void: queer musical groups. Not to say there aren't queer bands, but there aren't any quite like BOI BAND. They fill a nostalgia that those slightly older than me had for NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys and those slightly younger filled with One Direction. For me, they have become a pivotal part of my self-discovery journey (and TikTok "For You" Page).
I listened to BOI BAND's debut EP, "Mainstream" on repeat the night it came out. Call it para-social, but I felt like I was supporting friends by listening. As part of their fan community, I saw part of this album come to fruition. When I saw the news of their releasing a music video for "Mainstream", I knew I wanted this to be one of the first things I covered in this new project.
"Mainstream" starts with a trigger warning (TW), which only furthered the respect I have for this group. They have their fingers on the pulse of the queer community and actively take steps, like this one, to respect and care for all. Though their stories are heartbreaking and complicated, just like the song and video, it all ends in hope for BOI BAND.
With clear allusions to MTV, BOI BAND takes their societal expectations and thwarts them to display genuine happiness and self love. Amongst the comments section, you'll find repeated words such as "powerful" and "representation", which is exactly what BOI BAND brings to the queer community.
I'm thrilled to be an early fan and cannot wait for more from BOI BAND in the future. And no, I won't be telling you my favorite member.
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Links to BOI BAND's Social Media Accounts
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