How I Became a Fanson

*Hanson has been around for 18 years now this coming May! (2015) That is unbelievable!! I have so much respect for these guys and what they do and how they do it. They are a true inspiration. Hard work and doing what YOU love the way YOU want to do it. Amazing! I give them a standing ovation.*

 

This is my story of how I was introduced to the band that has changed my life in so many ways:

 

I love the show Cupcake Wars. It's so creative and fun! And it's all about cupcakes; baking cupcakes, decorating cupcakes, eating cupcakes, what's not to love? If you don't know what the show is about, click the link to check out the homepage. You can also watch it on the Food Network, check your local listings to see when it's on. Anyway, back in mid-October or so of 2013 I found myself home alone. For me, that is a rare treat. I live in a house with 6 other people so it is rare to find any peace and quiet and "alone" time :) I love it! Anyway, like I said, I was alone in the house and I was excited! I could do whatever I wanted! I could eat what I want, watch what I want, sing out loud at the top of my lungs (I'm NOT a singer) and no one would complain. So, that is exactly what I did. I got myself some food and turned on the TV. I was looking through our list of recorded shows and decided I felt like watching some Cupcake Wars. I looked over the episodes we had, looking for one I hadn't seen yet. When I saw the name Hanson, for some random reason, I was thinking Harley....as in Harley motorcycles or something. Don't ask me why, I just was. SUPER random. There are such things as Harley motorcycles, right? So when I clicked on it to watch, I'm thinking it's going to be an episode all about motorcycles and Hulk Hogan was going to judge (I don't know why I was thinking Hulk Hogan....) and all this other crazy, boy stuff like that. As Justin (the host) began introducing the guest judges he started saying stuff like "They've been around for x-amount of years, multiple Grammy nominations, blah, blah, blah" my mind was just like "Oh, it's some random band. Ok. Wow, they've been around a while, must be some older band." So now I'm expecting some random guys in their mid-40's or so to come out. Once Hanson walks out I was like "What!? Who are these guys!? They are young and good looking, not what I was expecting at all!" Of course all the bakers are like freaking out and gushing over them, one girl admitting to having a huge crush on Taylor. Pretty funny.

 

 

 

Their episode ended up being one of my favorites! And I wasn't even a fan yet, so it's not like I was being biased. I was truly impressed with the guys. They were all so nice and did the best "guest judging" job I had ever seen. Usually the guest judges, in my opinion, are a little awkward.....they just say things like "Yeah, that was good." Or they just agree with the other two judges or something like that. These guys were real, honest and genuine while being absolutely adorable! Zac was cracking me up the way he ate with his hands and was getting frosting all over his mouth while everyone else was using a fork. I remember thinking to myself at the end of the episode, "I'm gonna look them up and see if I know any of their songs." A little time passed (maybe a week or so) and I found myself home alone again. As I was turning on the TV I saw the Cupcake Wars list. Seeing the Cupcake Wars list reminded me of the Hanson episode I had liked so much. Remembering how impressed I was with Hanson I quickly turned off the TV and went to look them up on itunes. Their first song listed was MMMBop (obviously). I clicked on it and was overwhelmed with a feeling of familiarity and nostalgia. I totally KNEW THAT SONG!! But I couldn't figure out where, when or how I knew it! I just knew it was soooo familiar. And I liked it. A lot. I was also really surprised to realize how teeny, tiny they were! I watched the sample of the MMMBop video on itunes and knew I had to watch the whole thing immediately! So, I youtubed it. And I was in love. Yes, I did think it was a little funny that they had long hair and cute little high boy voices....not enough to make me think they were girls though. I knew I had to show my siblings (because that's just what we do. When we find something cool, funny, weird or random we show each other). Now, the reason I had the house to myself was because my mom and younger siblings were out of town visiting some relatives and I couldn't go because of work. My dad also couldn't go because he had work and one of my brothers didn't want to go because he was playing competitive soccer at the time and didn't want to miss his game. But at that time, he was at practice and my dad was still at work. Important back story info.

 

Once my family got home a few days later I grabbed my sister and said "I HAVE to show you something!" I started showing her the MMMBop video and my sister goes "You've already shown me this." I was like "What!? No I haven't, I literally just watched this for the first time yesterday!" Once my brother comes in (it was at the part where they are in their wet suits on the beach) he goes (we'll say my sister's name is Judy) "Judy! This was that video from the bowling alley! Remember, we thought they were girls at first?" My sister was like "Oh yeah!" Coincidence of all coincidences, while my siblings were on vacation they went to this old bowling alley and it happened to be playing the MMMBop video! So random!!!

 

Ever since then, I have been hooked! I started listening to some of their older music (older as in age wise) and was genuinely enjoying what I was hearing. Penny and Me was one of the first "older" Hanson songs I really got into. I will admit, I was kind of obsessed with 90's Hanson for a while. I thought they were adorable and I thought it was amazing how they had so much talent at such young ages. I remember youtubeing them and watching their Jenny McCarthy performance (the way she runs over and starts kissing Zac at the end of the video is hilarious!). I watched a bunch of their 90's interviews and performances and such. I loved it! I loved how genuine, sweet and down to earth they were (and still are). I remember watching their "Cooking with Hanson" segment on Nickelodeon (on youtube) and on the side seeing another video called "Cooking with Hanson" but they were a bit older. I clicked on it and that was when I truly embraced "older" Hanson. It was from their Christmas Special of 2010 I believe (when Taylor is making sugar cookies). They were cracking me up and I just really liked them. From there I found a bunch of their FUTY'S (the truck stop ones being the BEST! Also, Zac's remake of the Redwood Tour....he is such a nerd and I LOVE it! "I like to think Ewoks once lived in these trees.") and I was in love! Zac grew on me the most (if by a very small margin), I love funny people and he is about as funny as you can get in my opinion.

 

I continued to get more and more into Hanson, looking them up on Pinterest and visiting their website. I remember watching their documentary "Strong Enough to Break" on youtube. At the very end, the song SETB starts playing and I was really liking how it sounded. So I looked it up and that is when Hanson's music changed me. I honestly listened to that song about 3 times in a row. It spoke to me in so many different ways. I have never felt so overwhelmed with emotion by listening to a simple song. I was in awe. I was so touched. It was what I was meant to hear. I downloaded it immediately after. That song will always be one of my very favorite songs EVER! I will never forget that first time listening to it and the way it made me feel.

 

I spent November 2013 - November 2014 slowly being consumed by the Hanson mania and on November 15, 2014 I became an official Hanson.net card holding, fan club member. I remember thinking for the longest time that it was kind of lame that you had to pay to be a "member" and that there was no way I was that crazy of a fan. But, I quickly learned my lesson :) And it is totally and completely WORTH it! I feel ok about shelling over $40 to a band that I love and want to support. Totally worth it. I mean, I created a freaking twitter account (something I swore I would never have!) for them! Just so I could use the Hanson app (and possibly have them answer one of my questions for a live stream)! Yup, I'm definitely turning into one of "those" fans. And that is just fine with me :)

 

 

Well, there you go. That's the story of how I became a Fanson. It's random and a little silly but I'm so happy it happened!

 

Tell me about how YOU became a Fanson in the comments below!