The fan-tasy league: Swifties, Beliebers and other terms

Often pop singers have referred to fans with terms of endearment and fans also refer to themselves as fan collectives. From Smilers, Directioners, Beliebers to Lovatics, Bey Hive, these fan collectives have been hugely popular with fans as well as the celebrities.

It isn’t just the fans of pop singers who go out of their way to idolise the artistes. Every once in a while, the celebrities, too, return the gesture, making sure their fan base remains intact. For instance, recently, Taylor Swift helped the boyfriend of a female admirer make his wedding proposal a memorable one.

This is just one of the many times Swift has reached out to her young fans, who proudly call themselves Swifties. Like Swift, several other singers — Lady Gaga, Justin Beiber, Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus, among others — also enjoy huge fan followings, and each collective comes with a specific name.

Taylor Swift (left) with her fans. Miley Cyrus with the Smilers.

Smilers:
From cloning her pixie cut to installing replicas of a ‘Wrecking ball’ (from the eponymous hit song) in their backyard — Cyrus’s fans have gone to extreme lengths to prove their loyalty to the artiste. They call themselves Smilers, and love to pull off the singer’s quirky yet controversial antics in their personal lives.

'Selenators' click selfies with Selena Gomez (left). 'Directioners' wait for their favourite band- One Direction.

Directioners:
They follow the music and lives of the members of the all-boy pop band, One Direction, with a vengeance. So much so, that often some of them are seen making marriage proposals via posters for the artistes at their concerts.

Selenators:
Whether Selena Gomez wallows in self-pity over her ex-boyfriend, Justin Beiber, or writes a new song dedicated to her personal life — the Selenators stand by the singer through it all. They make it a point to stay updated about all information about her, right from her acting projects to her musical compositions.

Beliebers:
These Justin Bieber followers claim to know the lyrics of all the singer’s songs by heart. Bieber does his bit for them by posing for selfies when he can, and interacting with them at events. He recently visited a seven-year-old Belieber in Utah, US, who is suffering from a terminal disease.

Lovatics:
The fans of Demi Lovato are generously pampered — be it meet-or-greet sessions with the singer or getting to be part of every update in Lovato’s life. She was not even shy to share herproblems of struggling with an eating disorder, substance abuse and a bipolar disorder. The fans continue to support her through this all.

Rihanna Navy:
Fans of Rihanna are so proud that when her latest music did not top the charts, they took a petition to Obama. They wrote to Obama saying that all the radio stations should be forced to play the artiste’s single, ‘American oxygen’. They reasoned that she is a victim of racial discrimination.

Little Monsters:
Fans of Lady Gaga are used to her crazy stunts, but she never fails to surprise them. Recently, she even expressed that she is feeling frisky over a social networking site to her fans. But then there is this other side of her where she gets customised pizzas delivered to her fans waiting outside her hotel room.

Other popular fan collectives
Simpsonizers: Cody Simpson has released only two singles so far, but that does not stop him from enjoying a dedicated following of fans who, call themselves the Simpsonizers.
KatyCats: Katy Perry fans proudly go by this very feline nickname.
Mahomies: Austin Mahone’s fans don’t call each other homies, but mahomies.
Animals: Kesha’s wild antics gave way to her fans being called as Animals.
Sheerios/ Sheeranators: You belong to one of the two categories — Sheerios or Sheeranators, if you are the singer’s fans.
Bey Hive: Beyonce’s troupe likes to be called the Bey Hive.
Breezies: Chris Brown’s nickname is Breezy and his fans call themselves Breezies.
Britney Army: Fans of pop sensation Britney Spears call themselves by this nickname.
Lambs: Mariah Carey’s fans call themselves Lambs.
Barbz: Nicki Minaj’s fans call themselves Barbiez.
Harmonizers: The fans of girl-band Fifth Harmony are known as Harmonizers.