Who’s in Blink-182’s Social Media?

Sara Mekinc

Nov 8, 2019

Say what you want about Blink-182, but this is a band that carved their name into both Pop and Punk scenes so deeply, their sound is still instantly recognizable almost two decades later. Case in point #1: this 2019 fan-made treatment of Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy”. Case in point #2: their latest album “Nine” debuting as a US chart-topper in September 2019, selling over 94k units, with almost all the tracks making it onto Billboard’s Hot Rock Songs chart. 

This impressive show of popularity proves that despite Tom DeLonge’s 2015 departure and focus on alien-chasing, the band’s going as strong as ever, impressing fans both older and newer.

But who are their more famous fans? And who do Blink-182 follow in Instagram and Twitter? We took a peek at their music network on our Viberate platform and an interesting, star-studded network started to unveil. The band is followed by Post Malone, Avril Lavigne, Cypress Hill, and even Boy George, because why not. Then there’s this interesting mutual follow: 

THE CHAINSMOKERS.

Yes, one of world’s hottest duos is a die-hard Blink-182 fan – if that wasn’t already obvious from their “Closer” lyrics: “Stay and play that Blink-182 song that we beat to death in Tucson." The Chainsmokers and Blink-182 recorded a song together in the beginning of 2019, with Drew and Alex even stating that the song would be released only if it’s a perfect fit.  

They teased the collab for a couple of months, and as it wasn’t released on Blink-182’s latest album, we can assume it will either be a part of The Chainsmokers’ upcoming album or didn’t turn out perfect enough. Here's hoping for the former scenario.

Going further into the Blinkstagram, we couldn’t go past:

LIL UZI VERT.

It’s no secret that Blink-182’s drummer Travis Barker loves collaborating with rappers, and we’ve already established that the band is a major source of inspiration for the young Hip Hop generation. Most famously, the late Lil Peep covered their “Dammit” in 2017 and sampled their riffs in his music, and then, to complete the circle, Travis remixed Peep's music this year. 

In Uzi’s case, though, it turns out that another Blink EP is on the way! The guys apparently went into creative overdrive this year and, along with the “Nine” album, recorded a collab track with him and Pharrell Williams. What will come of it remains to be seen.

Here’s another example of bridging the generational divide:

SKRILLEX.

In 2017, Skrillex reunited with his old Punk band From First to Last to celebrate his birthday and release a track with them. “Make War” featured Travis Barker on drums and sparked rumours of a reunion. Fast forward to today and it seems this particular Emo revival never happened, but the shout-out to Skrillex's early influences remains.

However, Skrillex is not the only SoCal artist who grew up loving "Enema of the State". Another such example:

WAVVES.

Before they toured America in 2017 together, neither side was shy about expressing their love for each other. No, literally. In a fine example of networking, Blink’s bassist and vocalist Mark Hoppus once interviewed Wavves’ frontman Nathan for a guest Billboard editorial, proclaiming himself a fan of the up-and-coming Indie surf rockers. Nathan was quick to suggest a joint tour, ending the interview with: “I love you,” and, well, the rest is history.

Browsing through the other “usual suspects” such as Steve Aoki and Gwen Stefani, who covered Blink-182 (who hasn't?) and/or played gigs together (again, who hasn’t?), two more names catch the eye. First,

LELE PONS.

The YouTube-star-turned-musician seems like an odd follow, until you remember “She’s Out of Her Mind”, the infamous 2016 remake of the “What’s My Age Again?” video. The premise is as simple as the band's love for wiener jokes: let’s switch the genders and have naked ladies running around instead of us (also, Adam Devine will play the nurse). The idea yielded mixed results but was a welcome springboard for Lele Pons’ musical enterprise.

Last but not least:

TWENTY ONE PILOTS.

Sure, staning the band who snatched the “Most Streamed Album of all Time” title just this year seems natural, but the guys are actually friends in real life. Following a series of wholesome Snapchat and Twitter selfies, and a semi-viral reimagining of a Twenty One Pilots song in Blink-182 style, the Pilots’ Josh Dun lived out his teenage dream this summer, when he joined his heroes onstage and smashed out “Mutt” on drums. 

Seeing so many genuine connections in celebrities’ feeds sometimes makes me realise my mom never signed a permission slip to go on these feels trips. At the same time, it’s finds like these that answer the universal question: how does a band that’s been world-famous for longer than some artists have been alive keep relevant, especially in such an unforgiving industry? I believe the answer is in staying honest and humble enough to not only gain fans, but support and champion them whenever possible. And that’s the real power of networking.

Cover photo:  Christopher Andrew/Riot Fest 2019

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