Slayyyter @ the Echo
Stan Twitter being used for good.
Pride Month 2019 pulled out the big guns for the end of the month. This past weekend, Lil Nas X came out, Kylie Minogue attracted possibly record-setting crowds at Glastonbury, and Megan Rapinoe scored two goals to score the US a spot in the FIFA semi-finals. On a much smaller stage this past Saturday, a fledgling popstar spread her sequined wings for her first LA show.
To the mainstream, she remains relatively unknown, but to a specific subsection of the internet, Slayyyter might as well be Britney Spears. A mix of juicy couture, David Guetta’s “Who’s That Chick”, and meme humor topped off with chemically blonde hair, she checks all the boxes for a modern-day stan, to whom she says she owes much of her success.
Like Slayyyter, Stan Twitter exists just outside of conventional pop culture. Scrolling through accounts can show you an echo chamber of humorously bad Photoshop, queer slang, and sometimes terrible behavior. In the case of Slayyyter however, this online adoration leads to real-world success as evidenced by her sold-out shows in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco.
Her performance at LA’s Echo bridged the gap between online and the IRL by bringing the songs stans dance to in their bedrooms to the club at last. It’s affirming to hear a song like “Platform Shoes” or even “All I Want for Xxxmas” in an event setting when you know most venues won’t play CupcakKe, Loona, or a Charli XCX song not named “Boom Clap”. More importantly, it validates the often hard-to-see positive side of Stan-dom and the communities who participate in it, largely queer people, femmes, and women.
Every good popstar knows the importance of their fans, and Slayyyter obviously valued hers. She posed for their pics, hit their Juuls, and took their gifts, which included a tiara. With a little help from Robokid and Ravenna Gold, she gave a shimmering, decadent tribute to pop music.
Slayyyter’s talent and sharp sense of self-awareness allowed her to find a niche and fans among stans; this fandom then helped lift her from Missouri to both coasts over the course of a year through their support. I saw plenty of Slayyyter shirts in the LA audience, featuring far more designs and cuts than she offered at the merch table. A generous performer, she knew what they wanted: chromed out logos, pounding synths, and the ~lewks~ of yesteryear. Being an independent artist presents additional challenges for performers, but Slayyyter’s tapped into a fanbase willing to pay for her product.
She’s already slated for another grander performance at the El Rey Theatre in July. The bigger the better, baby, especially when it comes to popstars.