2020 may be the worst year of your life, but at least we can rely on one great thing; music. On one end, musicians have been able to put out new music and even do virtual concerts during this pandemic. And on the other end, many fandoms have enjoyed staying connected to their favourite artists through their music.
I have had the pleasure to be on both ends and it has been a great experience. For the last 7 years, I have been producing covers on YouTube but I never had a posting schedule until this year. Being at home during the pandemic made it even easier to stay on this schedule and grow an audience. I went from less than 140 subscribers at the beginning of 2020 to over 200+ subscribers in just months. My turning point was when I posted a cover of a song called “Oh Carol” by Neil Sedaka and it blew up in a way I never expected. People of all ages, races, genders, etc. have been able to come together and appreciate this one cover. It now stands at over 7.9K views and is still continuing to grow. Another turning point was when I posted a song called “I Should Probably Go To Bed” by one of my favourite artists Dan + Shay and they actually happened to see it on my Instagram (@brenessaroach) and commented on it! Having my cover blow up and being noticed by someone I look up to has only kept me motivated to work harder and continue to stay connected to my little fanbase. If you’d like to see the cover of “Oh Carol”, here it is:
Switching to the fandom side, it has been an amazing journey for me during this pandemic. One of my all time favourite artists is 7 member K-Pop group BTS.
I was supposed to see them at Rogers Centre back in May but it got postponed due to Covid-19 but I didn’t feel that emptiness as one would because they have put out so much content that has kept their fans “Army” so happy and positive. The main thing that kept me connected to them and to other Army was their online concerts. I was lucky enough to experience 4 online concerts. The main ones being “BangBangCon: The Live” in June and a 2 day virtual concert in October called “Map of The Soul: One.”
The whole virtual concert was such a different experience for me as I had to wake up at random hours in the night because of time difference. But, it was completely worth it as I got to see songs performed from their early days that I might have not seen at the concert. Not only did I feel connected to BTS but, I made friends with an amazing group of girls who have become lifetime friends of mine now. Despite the age range of 13-22, we have all used BTS as a way to connect.
Having said all this, if you would like to experience a virtual concert whether it is free or paid, Billboard has a list of all concerts happening in 2020 and it is updated weekly. You can visit it here: https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/9335531/coronavirus-quarantine-music-events-online-streams
Stay safe and stay groovy!
