SB19’s fandom, A’tin, just had a two-peat victory in the global Billboard Fandom Army (BBFA).
They bested the fandoms from all over the world with their sheer love, dedication, and commitment for SB19, and for themselves as a global team.
I never understood how tough a journey it was to take the top prize of this much coveted award until I personally witnessed the virtual voting marathon from start to finish.
The BBFA contest is a full month of voting for their preferred artists. It started on July 23, 2024 and ended midnight into Aug 23, 2024.
In each round of voting, the fandom is given about a week to produce online votes for their artist which is pitted against another.
The winner moves on to the next round and pitted against another until they move to the quarterfinals, then semi finals and then the finals. In each round, they start with a clean slate although the total votes from start to finish is also tallied. A’tins, to my astonishment, clicked in an eye opening total of over 2.4 BILLION votes.
SB19 was matched against Sza in round 1, against Karol G in round two, against Lana del Rey in Round 3, against Dua Lipa in the quarter finals, against Taylor Swift in the semifinals and against Rihanna in the finals.
Each round had its own nail-biting moments as A’tin either tried to catch up with their opponents, or them trying to widen their lead.
In Rounds 1 and 2, they helped knock out their strongest opponents, the KPop fandoms. Just as I thought that the quarter finals against Dua Lipa was going to be a breeze, the other fandoms who want A’tin to be eliminated in the race voted against them.
This constant tug’o war kept nerves high for those involved in the game either as a voter or as a mere observer. The simultaneously running Paris Olympics and the constant bashing against them matterrd little in their world. They were laser focused on voting even if it meant having sleepless nights. For A’tin and other fandoms, this is the Fandom Olympics.
The last day of the finals turned out to be the most exciting. In the early days of voting in the finals, SB19 took a big lead holding 98% of votes. Then towards 10 a.m. Manila time, the votes for Rihanna started growing and fast! The other fan bases ganged up to eliminate A’tin to prevent a second win.
By noontime, Rihanna’s votes caught up and reached more than 50%.
This round really showcased the mettle and strength of A’tin because up until 9 p.m., Rihanna was still in the lead. I was too tired to stay up and wait for the final winner.
I woke up so delighted to see that SB19 and A’tin actually won the finals!
It turned out the other fandoms stepped up to help A’tin.
Among them were
1. HORI7ON / Anchors
2. ALAMAT / Magiliws
3. G22 / BULLETS
4. KAIA / Zaias
5. YARA / Cocoons
6. Cup of Joe / Joewahs
7. Swifties
8. Army
9. New:ID / Lapillus
10. Evies
11. BarDa
12. Labsjules x JAmantes
13. Blinks
14. Reginians
15. TFN Pinas
16. Kim Nam Gil Fans
17. Deep Thoughts
18. Annyeong Oppa
19. Jeff Benjamin
20. Vixies
21. Juanitas
22. NINANGS of SB19
It was a sweet victory for a global group that displayed so much strength, resilience, determination, focus, positivity, and love for their artist.
Congratulations, A’tin! You all fought hard and strong. Your dedication and commitment as a fandom is unparalleled.
Cheers to A’tin! HEPHEP, HOORAY!
May your unity not just be the strength of one fandom, but the strength too of our nation and the rest of the world.
N.B.
This feat according to BBFA ties with Super Junior’s E.L.F., who also won twice. Only T-ara’s Queens have won the title thrice.
