Adult Fandom – Dan Molloy

My name is Dan, I’m 24 and I live in the United Kingdom

I first got into KEiiNO during the pre-Eurovision season. My fiancé and I are huge Eurovision fans. Every year we listen to the songs representing each country as soon as they are announced and begin to rank and build our favourites in the lead up to the final. By the time May 18th came around, I was sitting in my front room with Norwegian flags painted on my cheeks. Something about “Spirit In The Sky” ignited me. I loved the “weird quirky bits” from the bald guy (sorry, Fred), the girl who had an incredible voice and the other guy? Well, he was just gorgeous :o)

I was so happy they won the televote but they were robbed by the jury 🙁 

As I streamed “Spirit In The Sky” more and more, I looked into the band and who they were. That’s when I learnt about the individual struggles of Tom, Alexandra and Fred and what the band represented. I quickly realised that KEiiNO weren’t just your average group. They were a movement of acceptance, positivity and spirituality. I learnt of Fred’s Sami backgrounds, of how they were all told no because they didn’t fit society’s idea of the perfect pop star mould.

I identified with that. I’ve been there. Excluded because I’m too tall, too fat, too gay. Stupid reasons that shouldn’t matter. As time went on KEiiNO began to release more music. Next came their version of “Shallow “which I absolutely adored. Followed by the mid-tempo “Praying”, the incredibly underrated “Vill Ha Dig” and the euphoric “Dancing In The Smoke”. KEiiNO were knocking it out of the park with every single release. My golden number for a group is 7. If I like 7 of your songs, I’m a fan. Number 6 was the feel-good “Colours” and by now I was convinced KEiiNO were keepers. Plus I loved that every song felt fresh. It would be easy to just copy and paste the same joiks and melody’s to create ‘their sound’ but KEiiNO achieved this even when making every song unique. 

And then it happened. “Black Leather”! It remains my favourite KEiiNO song of all time to this day. I absolutely love it!! It’s fun, sexy, amazing (and once again, Tom? 😍🤤)

Of course more songs and the album OKTA followed and they continued their perfect streak.

I wouldn’t say my passion for KEiiNO happened all at once but I also wouldn’t say the escalation was slow. Just as more and more music was released I loved them more and more. I’ve been a fan of Eurovision for many years and while I have kept up with the odd song from former contestants I liked, I’ve never attached to any artist as I have with KEiiNO. I knew of artists and their discographies before I associated them with Eurovision (particular ABBA, Celine Dion & Bucks Fizz) but KEiiNO is the only artist whose music I have discovered through Eurovision that I know inside out.

Why is it that you spend so much time and energy on KEiiNO? Don’t you have other things to do?

I spend a lot of time making quizzes for the group, writing articles for the website etc. When I was first made an admin in the fangroup I was going through some things in my life and wasn’t as active but now I’m trying to be more present.

My musical tastes vary greatly from loving some of the most famous artists in history, to loving underdog groups that no one really knows and everything in between. KEiiNO are so amazing and I want them to succeed. I long for them to have that song. The one that suddenly goes viral for seemingly no reason and gets them the recognition they deserve.

It’s also a lot of fun. Music is my #1 passion in life and I find creative projects surrounding it really fun.

How do you feel you benefit, personally, from your efforts?    

For me, there are many benefits surrounding the efforts I put in. Because KEiiNO are such a wonderfully appreciative group, they give so much back to us as fans. They read our posts, listen to our ideas and feedback and we even get exclusive treats like personalised video messages when we order the album which was such a lovely touch. 

They don’t let their success go to their heads and truly do everything with their fans and their vision in mind.

Also, between the fan group and Twitter I’ve made some amazing friends. I speak to Karina almost everyday and we put the world to rights. In such a short space of time I’ve found someone who I could go to for advice, a laugh, a chat, anything. The community surrounding KEiiNO is so so wonderful. All are welcome and accepted.

Finally I just feel that while we are sitting in our homes all day, every day, unable to leave. It’s so important to have a passion. Here in the United Kingdom, the situation continues to spiral out of control so we will be in lockdown for a long time I fear.

But I have my love for KEiiNO to keep me smiling and I am so excited to support them through MGP towards a Eurovision victory. 

What are your hopes for the future of KEiiNO and how would you continue to contribute towards that?

In the future, my hopes are that KEiiNO will continue to be successful and that more fans around the world will connect with their music and message. I also would LOVE new merchandise, I have lots of ideas surrounding that. I’ll continue my work in the group and KEiiNO News helping to entertain and educate fans. I hope one day I get the opportunity to see KEiiNO live and maybe even meet them, so I can shake their hands and thank them for all they’ve given me.

My absolute dream career is to work in the music industry in some way. I lost my job during Covid so I’m looking at new horizons and seeing if I could pursue my passion instead of 9-5. I have qualifications in video production, graphic design and business management so who knows!! One day I might get to design some KEiiNO merchandise, edit a music video or work closely with them which would be so cool!

Ultimately I will continue to support KEiiNO in whatever capacity I can.