Back in 1996, counsellors at Samaritans and Childline were inundated with phone calls from distraught music fans; Mancunian boyband Take That had split up. While many would rightly view the breakup with a sense of celebration, the incident does act as a good case study for the emotional connection many people have to their favourite artists. Music is perhaps one of the most emotional art forms out there, capable of reflecting the complex moods of audiences as well as encouraging certain emotions too.
For years, it had been my personal assumption that the pale-faced goths of the world were by far the saddest of any musical subculture or fan group. Certainly, upon listening to the likes of The Cure and their 1982 album Pornography, it is difficult to imagine yourself ever feeling sadder. However, a certain group of people bedecked in white coats and safety goggles have arrived to set the record straight.
A recent study conducted by the data scientists over at Preply has determined the specific artists whose fans are the saddest of the sad. The organisation tirelessly studied over 200,000 social media posts across 92 fan forums on Reddit in order to come to their conclusions. Although the results should be taken with a grain of salt, as with literally all information gathered from the digital cesspit that is Reddit, the study does seem to ring true, for the most part.
While Preply deemed the happiest music fans, those who listen to the likes of Ed Sheeran and U2 – presumably because those fans are incapable of critical thought – there are some off-the-wall inclusions within the list of saddest fans. Occupying number seven and five on the list, respectively, are the pop giants Madonna and Britney Spears. In fact, pop occupies a surprisingly large portion of the list, with the likes of Avicii, Halsey and Lil Nas X featuring.
Aside from seemingly upbeat pop acts, there are some fairly predictable entries on the list, too. In third place on the list, tied with Metallica, are Nirvana. The grunge rock poster boys often tackled feelings of melancholy within their music, accentuated by the tragic suicide of frontman Kurt Cobain. Meanwhile, emo icons My Chemical Romance join Avicii and John Mayer in joint-tenth position on the list; an unlikely trio, to say the least. It is somewhat surprising that MCR do not feature higher on the list, given that the Gerard Way-fronted group, to an extent, built their career upon songs detailing sad and depressive thoughts.
Topping the list are My Chemical Romance’s fellow emo progenitors in Panic! At the Disco, followed closely by Linkin Park. Explaining the reasoning for Panic’s position at the top of the sadness chart, the study states, “While the music itself sounds upbeat and fun, the lyrics discuss sad moments everyone can relate to, such as a chapter in life coming to an end.”
So that’s that: Panic! At the Disco fans are the saddest of them all, adding further flames to the ever-burning feud between goths and emos. It must be noted that the study is likely skewed by the size of artists, with traditionally depressive groups such as Bauhaus or Joy Division having smaller online fan communities than the likes of Britney Spears. Nevertheless, if you’re attempting to brighten up your days, you are likely best off looking elsewhere when it comes to Panic! At the Disco.
