JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Some weeks, there's a main character - someone or something the internet has decided they're obsessed with. Our producer Mia Venkat keeps an eye out for this character, and she is here with us now. Hello, Mia.
MIA VENKAT, BYLINE: Hi, Juana.
SUMMERS: All right, Mia. I'm excited. Who is it this week?
VENKAT: All right. You're in for a treat this week.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MR FANTASY: Welcome to my studio. My name is Mr. Fantasy.
VENKAT: The main character is up-and-coming pop star Mr. Fantasy.
SUMMERS: OK, Mia. I actually do not know who this person is, so I'm feeling a little out of touch here.
VENKAT: Listen, you're not out of touch, Juana. I mean, maybe you are, but it wouldn't be for this. Mr. Fantasy just came out onto the scene a couple months ago. He wears tight, colorful bell bottom jeans, funky sunglasses, has shoulder-length black hair, and he's very silly and eccentric.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MR FANTASY: And I haven't been online in quite some time, and it's driving me mad. (Laughter) I'm back, baby. I'm back.
VENKAT: He's high energy, and he's got a real, like, Jim Carrey, David Bowie, Russell Brand vibe. And the catch is, he looks exactly like New Zealand actor KJ Apa from the TV show "Riverdale," just with a wig and fake teeth. He's even got the same tattoos as many fans have pointed out. Now, Mr. Fantasy has consistently disavowed any connection to KJ Apa, and he would not take any of our questions about this. And when I reached out to his team, his manager said, I only represent Mr. Fantasy, and I have no idea, nor do I care, about who that TJ Apple actor boy is (laughter).
SUMMERS: OK, I am intrigued. So could this be, like, a Hannah Montana double life situation? Mr. Fantasy, like, sounds like definitely a character, for sure, but what makes him this week's main character?
VENKAT: Well, people just love him, Juana. He's got this infectious energy, and he posts a lot, and he engages a lot with his new fan base in the comments all the time.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MR FANTASY: Because I love you. Each and every single one of you, I love you. I've been reading all the comments. I've been looking at your profiles.
VENKAT: He's also done a ton of press recently. He was on a billboard in Times Square. And in every interview, he has this bit where he brings up his obsession with actor James Franco randomly. Anyway, all in all, Mr. Fantasy has just really popped off this week, and I've even seen a ton of Mr. Fantasy Halloween costumes.
SUMMERS: That is not what I'm dressing as, to be clear. But I do have an important question. Is Mr. Fantasy, like, actually a musician?
(SOUNDBITE OF MR. FANTASY SONG, "MR. FANTASY")
VENKAT: Yes. He is actually a musician. He's released two songs, and, honestly, they're good. At least I think they're good. His first song is called "Mr. Fantasy." He released it last month, and it has almost 5 million streams on Spotify now.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MR. FANTASY")
MR FANTASY: (Singing) I can be your Mr. Fantasy. I see you looking my way.
VENKAT: Then he released a song called "Wayuwanna."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WAYUWANNA")
MR FANTASY: (Singing) I can't believe it, the way you want to feel me, the way you want to feel me tonight, the way you want to feel me.
VENKAT: And I had the honor of interviewing Mr. Fantasy over Zoom yesterday, and I asked him to describe his music to our listeners.
MR FANTASY: I am the mosquito flying around in your room. I am the thorn stuck in your shoe. I am the voice in your ear whispering, don't shoot. I am the voice of truth. And my music, I hope, encompasses all of those emotions. I hope it makes you groove.
SUMMERS: Mia, this man is a poet for our modern times.
VENKAT: I mean, truly.
SUMMERS: So Mia, here's the question I have, though. Like, what is he going for with all of this? Does he want to be a fully fledged pop star, or are we going to see this come up later that this is just a huge publicity stunt?
VENKAT: I mean, here's the thing, Juana. We don't know right now. And maybe it is all a wild marketing campaign for a project that KJ Apa is working on. But the thing is, Apa has done this kind of alter ego thing before. He had a TikTok character called Fifi once. And he's also released music before as himself. It's just a different sound. And so maybe Mr. Fantasy is just a character he's created as an outlet to release more music and kind of tap into this creative and theatric side, separate from who he is as the actor KJ Apa. And as you know, I can't confirm any connection between him and the popular actor, but Mr. Fantasy did leave me with this.
MR FANTASY: If there's one hope that I have that my music can give people, it is to inspire them to reach into the treasure trove that they have inside of them and pull out whatever that interest is, that compelling activities that they have that they are drawn to, and to tackle it with no fear and to express it and not to suppress it.
VENKAT: And, Juana, he actually gave NPR the exclusive that his next song is coming out next month on November 28 called "Catapult" (ph). So please be sure to look out for that.
SUMMERS: All right, I am marking my calendar right now. Y'all heard it here first, the words and music of Mr. Fantasy brought to us by ALL THINGS CONSIDERED producer Mia Venkat. Thank you, I think.
VENKAT: You're welcome, Juana.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MR. FANTASY")
MR FANTASY: (Singing) And what to do. I don't really see the need to prosecute, no. Just like a moth to a flame, I see you looking my way. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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