ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book illustrates how the gender fluidity of contemporary boy bands and the artists’ ‘identikit’ personalities express the performative character of postmodern identity. It explores why if fans can see no wrong with manufactured groups, they are regularly maligned by fellow musicians, music journalists and anti-fans, all of whom are vocal in ridiculing and dismissing the artists and their music. The book explains how identity politics influence the production and consumption of mainstream pop. It focuses on fan culture aims to show some of the virtuous qualities of romantic pop music in an era characterized by aggressive marketing of pornography, broken families and challenging labour conditions. As academic studies of popular culture have swung away from their focus on production, there is a need to reconsider how pop music is created, marketed and presented to prospective audiences.
