Public hate is the new success
“Because of change. They hate you because in reality they want to be you, they want the opportunity that you have but they can’t have it so they hate you.” - Giorgio
Spreading hate about a person is clearly a negative sport but is it totally negative if musicians get hated on their rise to success?
Unfortunately it is much more common (at least in the music industry) that women are always being criticised and picked apart for even the smallest gestures or outfit/hair/makeup choices; and funnily enough, it’s always due when that woman is upscaling. The main question I pose to you is: at which line does the public opinion stay behind?
In the music industry, it is completely normal to become known for your music..well that’s what most artists take pride in achieving.. and a connection between that artist and their fanbase is nurtured. The responsibility of an artist is to monitor or regulate how much of their personal life is being shared with the public. There are many instances where the public has heavy entitlement into an artist’s love life just because that relationship is out in the open or because the public does not take the artist’s art seriously in result of always trolling their fans or known for being unserious and wild which is called a ‘parasocial relationship’.
I theorise that public opinion shifts when an artist starts to grow a bigger audience because often times, they are no longer relatable to the initial audience who were there at the rough beginnings. This is common when people feel stagnant in their own life and they connect with an artist who share the same experiences or emotions. Is it a form of jealousy? Perhaps, but why do people hate so much until they can’t hate anymore, resulting in the artist to be successful?
Amongst many other superstar women in the music industry who have faced hate on their rise, the current woman facing the most right now is Tyla. Tyla had a hit with her single ‘Water’ in 2024 and everyone loved her because she was the MOMENT. Tyla was the face of the summer trend and just like most other trends, they fade. Tyla did not intend to fade with the trend, she wanted more and Water was her first foot through the door of success. Now back to the sense of entitlement that the public has over musicians, public opinion controls what is next to go viral or to trend. I don’t think they are fond of change in the industry when newer artists carve their own space between other successful artists and legends. Due to Water’s global reach, Tyla was able to sign internationally and move over to America to pursue her journey further.
Tyla did her upmost to stay within the light. She took Water everywhere, she was booked and busy, participating in trends but also being unconventional as an artist. As that era was coming to a fade, she prepares for another. She changes her style whilst keeping up with her brand. Her budget started expanding and so did opinions.
Many online ‘opinionators’ feel like they can be critics towards celebrities and artists because those successful people should be okay with it as it is ‘apart of their job’ so naturally, opinions will grow with the artists. APOP is the current album and era that Tyla is curating and this is the most she is being hated. From comparisons to Rihanna to judgement of her album being too ‘safe’ or not up to expectations. Oh don’t get me started about her being hated for the way she describes her own racial background.!!
I just can’t help to feel like hate is a stepping stone to success. An indicator. Loads of artists give up at this point and shrink themselves because it is (understandably) unbearable. Then there are some artists who use that hatred as motivation to keep heading down their path and become bigger and better than who they were before artistically. Dismissing the abusive, ignorant hate, hate that is more like judging could be a test for an artist where the artist would go on to build a legacy career/album/performance that is undeniably great and iconic, which would leave the public gagged. And that’s what they want to be! They want to have a reason to have no choice but to call you ‘kunt’.
Maybe it is the conscious transition between a beginner/intermediate artist to a celebrity/professional artist.
Hate and parasocial relationships are not a one layer conversation. This is only one crease of it. Hopefully if you’re an artist reading this and you’re facing a tough period of a lack of support or hate from outsiders, think of it in a different perspective. Think of it as a positive change and use that negativity to be better. Always think back to what type of artist you want to be: one who shrinks themselves into a corner or the one who pursues a great career that goes down in history?
