When IU debuted in 2008, majority of people who saw her debut performance looked down, dismissed, and laughed.
I was one of her first fan from the Philippines, more likely in the first 5. From 2008 to 2012, I actively promoted her, and converted new IU fans. During K-pop events in the Philippines, I played her song loud, no one recognised her. No one cared.
Yesterday, 2024, she held a sold-out concert in the LARGEST indoor stadium in the world, in Bulacan, #Philippines.
The experience of a being fan when a celebrity was still unknown, and no one believed they'll be successful, and you helped them in your way, is indeed far different than being in a fandom.
You can proudly smile and say, “I watched her grow through the years.”
(If only there was a futures stock for celebrities, I would have been a millionaire like IU. :P )
I'm so happy for her. If you see things objectively, you see talent from afar. ^_~
That said. Don't dismiss new talents just because. All they need is time, support, and well, a very supportive agency. IU's actual “first generation fans”, when people still dismissed her, saw her talent and we did not give up on her.
That's what it means to be a true fan.
Promote them. Convert new fans. Watch them grow. ^_^