Three boys with matching bowl haircuts smile innocently from 37-year-old Ma Huiliang’s* work computer screen. The same faces adorn photos and cards strewn across her desk. But these young boys aren’t Ma’s children. They are members of China’s most popular band: TFBoys (‘The Fighting Boys’).
TFBoys are a trio of teenagers – Karry Wang, Roy Wang and Jackson Yi, to use their English names – hailing from Chongqing and Hunan. Since the band’s debut in 2013, the boys have been singing, dancing, rapping and even beatboxing their way into Chinese hearts. They are often cited as the biggest Mandopop band of all time.
Now aged 16 and 17, the teens were prepubescent tykes when they first started out professionally. In spite of – or perhaps because of – their youth, the band have amassed millions of fans in China and worldwide. These fans, officially named ‘four-leaf clovers’ (the ‘leaves’ represent the three band members and fans’ joint relationship), are known for their excessive displays of passion.
It’s easy to see the band’s appeal. They are young, cute and wholesome in every way possible; natural talent has been sculpted and manufactured to pop-perfection by entertainment behemoth Time Fengjun Entertainment (TFent). As Ma says: “They go to school and don’t dye their hair like Korean bands. We like our stars to seem ‘local,’ as if they could be a classmate or neighbor.”
Ma’s devotion to a group of boys is a little surprising considering her age. However, a recent survey by Sina shows Ma is not alone. While 35 percent of TFBoys fans are 19 or under, the bulk are in their 20s (42 percent). People aged 30 to 39 years old make up a further 14 percent, with the remaining 9 percent aged 40 or above.
Although former UK boyband One Direction also had a pack of older followers (a survey showed 46 percent of fans were aged 35 and above), its band members were already well into their teens when the band formed.
“Most [TFBoys] fans are older,” Ma confirms during a visit to her Haidian workplace. The financial manager has seen the band live in concert twice and knows the lyrics to all of their songs.
“I’ve been a fan for the past year but I’d actually already heard about them before,” Ma explains, sipping on a watermelon juice. “I wasn’t interested in them back then because I don’t like young boys. But last year it seemed they’d become young people, so I thought that was more acceptable.”
Married with a 10-year-old son, Ma belongs to the TFBoys ‘mother fans’ subgroup, a title the followers use online (another self-proclaimed subgroup is ‘girlfriend fans’ because they are of a similar age to the band). Older supporters see themselves as surrogate mothers or sisters of the boys. According to Ma, “they’re the type of kids all women want as their children.”
Indeed, Ma possesses a mother-like affection for the boys. She admits to crying at their concert and being moved by band members’ recent solo efforts (“this year [band leader] Karry released his own solo songs for the first time – it’s so nice to see”). A strain of longing, however diluted, persists. “Karry stood out to me because of his cuteness. Seeing him brought back memories of a first love,” she says. “Like puppy love feelings.”
Still, Ma is quick to differentiate herself from the band’s other admirers. “At concerts, I just want to listen to the boys sing but all the young girls shout ‘Marry me! Marry me!’” she says, annoyed. “I’m not that crazy.”
Listening to our conversation, Ma’s male colleague interjects. “I think you’re crazy.”
On the scale of one to crazy, Ma would likely fall somewhere in the middle. But there’s another C-word that is often used in conjunction with the band’s obsessed fans: Cult. A Weibo message written by Karry on his birthday last year was reblogged almost 43 million times, breaking a Guinness World Record for the most reposts of a Weibo message.
But fans pay tribute in a literal sense, too. Becoming a paid-up ‘VIP’ member of the TFBoys’ official apps makes it easier to score the band’s limited-edition merchandise. The ‘clovers’ also raised millions of US dollars to celebrate Karry’s 17th birthday with public advertisements, including 11 flashing billboards in New York’s Times Square. From Seoul to Iceland, ads wishing him a “happy 17th” appeared at subway stations and in major newspapers. Similar displays have since been carried out for the other members.
A teenage fan from Henan named Yuan Zhimin sees these acts as necessary, telling That’s Beijing: “If fans have the opportunity and want to help spread the message around specific areas, they should respond to the call of action.”
Outsiders – non-clovers, that is – declare these outrageous expenditures a waste of money. The Times Square ads alone cost RMB10 million. Others claim that it’s a reflection of China’s soft power, which uses the band to trade cultural capital.
For university student and TFBoys superfan Zhang Qi (pictured below), it is neither.
“Maybe it will help enrich the world’s perspective of China, but I think it’s an exaggeration to say it elevates China’s power,” the self-titled TFBoys’
‘sister’ says. “It’s a personal choice [to spend money]. If fans feel happy to, and they can afford to, we can’t judge or even blame them for it. At least it doesn’t harm anyone.”
Whether birthday demonstrations cause harm is debatable – a train in Guilin was reportedly temporarily shut down earlier this year due to TFBoys fans’ zealous poster-plastering. But some fan behavior does cause damage, such as the well-documented culture of bullying between fans.
Everybody has a favorite TFBoy. Karry’s devotees wear blue, while Roy’s favor green and Jackson’s red. The division is clearest at the band’s concerts, where specks of red, green and blue flicker from a sea of fans. But sometimes the path of devotion can take a dark turn, with hateful messages about different fans’ idols often hurled online and in real life.
Zhang admits the combative fan behavior is problematic.
“You can see [fans] fighting during the live shows. They say ‘my idol is the best one.’ It can get really fierce. One time I tried to reason with a fan online, but she sent me a flood of personal messages – really aggressive, dirty words. It was horrible.
“But that’s the difference between the various groups of fans. The older ones try to persuade us to be more rational.”
Call infighting a sign of immaturity, then. And as fans mature, so do the boys themselves. The trio have already begun to pursue other interests in the entertainment business – alone. Both Roy and Karry starred in big films this year. Plus, despite appearing young still, it’s clear the boys are fast becoming TFMen. So, what does this mean for TFBoys fans?
Zhang is trying to be positive. “[Sideline interests] help the boys develop and also satisfies our wish to see them more,” she says. “But it may distract their attention from making better music, which is the very reason I got into the band in the first place.
“They are still young and have new ideas every day. And when I’m older, they’ll be in their prime, which is the best period of a man’s life.”
The band’s future is uncertain, though Zhang speaks of a “ten-year promise” made between the band and their fans: “Ten years after their debut – in 2023 – when they have more mature songs, we’ll all still be there for them.”
We believe her. One doesn’t just abandon their brother (or child, in Ma’s case), after all. Still, in ten years’ time there will likely be another band of kids vying for public attention. These may well emerge from TFent’s ‘TF trainees’ – a set of talented pre-teens already in training to be the next big thing.
According to Ma, the so-called second and third generations of ‘trainees’ have already racked up 700,000 fans on Weibo despite having not officially debuted. “They’re too young for me though,” she adds.
Whatever happens, fans can be reassured that – as in the lyrics of TFBoys’ hit song ‘Heart’ – “the four-leaf clover will bloom beautifully in the future.” But, ever the concerned mother, Ma can’t help but fret over The Fighting Boys. “I worry about their future,” she says, singling out Roy’s noticeable shortness compared to the other two.
“It’s best to be taller for things like acting.”
* Name has been changed
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