#5050 kpop

[angryorbit]

Update on FIFTY FIFTY's new Instagram:

PLEASE BOYCOTT ALL MUSIC BY FIFTY FIFTY, INCLUDING ALL VERSIONS OF CUPID.

[taievieu]

cupid twin ver 5050 lyrs w/ either dl or liml scott.. my vision

[maxsix]

Favourite KPOP Songs of 2023

So I am 3 days late posting this but I wanted to do it to keep up the tradition. It's fun looking back at old lists. My criteria isn't so much based on technical merit but rather the songs that I wanted to listen to over and over again for whatever reason.

Cupid by Fifty Fifty. No doubt, this is social media's song of the year. I have never seen a song that is actually good become so organically viral, only to be reduced to absolutely nothing because of abysmal management. Not even New Jeans was this widespread this year (to me). Cupid was playing at my local supermarket and even people who know nothing about kpop loved this song. It ranks low for me because I'm definitely sick of hearing it by now. Regardless, it is still a very well written pop song.

Ayo by NCT 127. Okay, hear me out: NCT is like durian. You either completely understand why it is called the King of Fruits or you think I should be put in jail for saying that. If you are a brave connoisseur who refuses to be confined by societal pressure, then know what it's like to open your third eye and consume NCT for what they are: completely weird but never boring. It's an experience. If you don't get it, I don't know what to tell you.

Tinnitus by TXT. Temptation is my least favourite TXT album from the last 3 years but I think that is mostly due to how much I hated Sugar Rush Ride. I've been re-listening to a lot of their material again and okay, I'll give this one a pass: it's a mood. Thanks Kang Taehyun. I don't know if it was very intentional but his voice is all I hear on the final version. Man, that dude's voice always gets me somehow, I don't know how he does it.

Rover by Kai. It's not even that good of a song and yet, it was everywhere and I was gaslit into liking it. The viral dance made it the hit it became but to be fair, much of this was really down to his star power and ability to make really good choices that suit his strengths (dance first, vocals second). This is EXO Kai we are talking about after all; when he delivers, he really delivers. New Gen boys can take some notes.

Drama by Aespa. This is like Asian Junk Food. It's objectively so terrible, full of empty calories, no nutritional value but they took the Terrible and sprinkled MSG on it, so now it's TastyTerrible. As someone who wants to learn film editing, the MV is excellent and an example of top tier editing without choppy cuts. I have not noticed editing this neat and time consuming since Seventeen's 'HOT'.

Back To Me by The Rose. A group with solid talent and well written songs. I wish every success for them to be honest. I am posting the live video because they are one of those groups who are better live and won't give you The Fear watching it. I wish I could've seen them because I genuinely just love their voices and sound. They've filled the void left behind by Day 6.

Hard by Shinee. It's just your typical weird and perfect Shinee pop song but with a distinctly 90s flavour in my opinion. They are just all so talented that it's virtually impossible to ignore them. SM production is always so slick but with Shinee it is something to gild the lily rather than hard carry the entire song and group. Onew vocals never takes a day off, he was flawless even in the raw recordings.

Kitsch by IVE. It's just so cute and comforting in the way a harmless little pop song can be. It's like a fresh breeze. There's no pressure to do anything but enjoy it. In the absence of Blackpink, they are definitely my favourite girl group at the moment.

This World by Ateez. I do actually prefer it to Bouncy because it has that dystopian and almost gothic feel to it. I don't think it would've made a good title track because it's not as explosive as Bouncy but it 100% would fit into a movie or montage sequence. It absolutely goes so hard in the car, especially at night.

Flower by Jisoo. I think this was just a very smart choice for her and her team. It did not have anything too complex or overly dramatic. It suits her elegance and brand perfectly. It was also very pleasant and kinda of prettily boring? The dance was very popular and cute without being obnoxious. She is very much a Great Gowns Beautiful Gowns and "Go on girl, give us nothing!" idol but I have a soft spot for her. I can't believe we live in a world where Jisoo has the best Blackpink solo song.

3D (Alternate Version) by Jungkook. I did not like it when it was released (with that awful rap feature) but the purely Jungkook and performance versions of it really improved everything. I am really happy that Golden is as good as it is, because I think most Jungkook stans from 2013 lived in fear he would only release Mid Tier pop songs. I think most features on the album are unnecessary. Jungkook has presence and star power on his own. Everything else diluted what we all came for.

Blue Blood by IVE. It's an unexpectedly more mature sound from them and I loved it. I think the driving backing track makes this one of the best driving songs. It has this dark eloquence to it, which I always vibe with. One of their best B sides for sure.

Off The Record by IVE. This was the best track off their album this year. That title track was heinous. OTR was so calm and comforting and there is something about it that reminded me of Gfriend and OhMyGirl where it's just a good song with any histrionics. I do not think IVE suit that bad girl crush concept at all. They always had this expensive High Teen aura and it really took at hit with Baddie imo.

Ring (Unplugged/Acoustic Version) by TXT. This isn't cheating, they released this one on a July 2023 album. Even if it was cheating, I would've still put it on here. It's well written, well produced, well paced and suits everyone in the group. But personally, I always saw this as a Kang Taehyun song (even though he didn't even write it). His aura is all over it. Controversial opinion but I think this has one of Yeonjun's best rap verses because the slower tempo works so much better for his voice and flow.

Crazy Form by Ateez. Ah the Male version of Junk Food with MSG. I don't think it's anywhere near their best song but it's a good fun time and after the tough year(s) we have all had, it's nice to jam to something silly. It's very SKZ adjacent but in my opinion, with much better production and editing because the team behind Ateez are better at it. I'm also including this because it made me really see Jeong Yunho. If you know you know.

Roll With Me by Hyungwon/Shownu. Technically The H/S version of Wildfire is my favourite from them this year but since it wasn't official, I'll go with my second favourite release. It once again proves that Hyungwon is my favourite man (musically) in Monsta X. I like his style, tastes and instincts. It's true that he is my overall favourite in MX but I'm mature now! It's not just the visuals, I truly put his musical output as the number 1 reason I like him.

Standing Next To You by Jungkook. Listen, listen, listen.....I have been following this dude since 2013. I always KNEW he could give more and be more. Even though SNTY isn't even 100% of what I think he can do, it was enough for me to feel all these 10 years were not wasted lol. This deserved this stop purely for the instrumentation and production value alone. Granted, it is very westernised but good music is good music. This is the only time where a feature (remix) actually added something.

Silver Light by Ateez. The sister to Cyberpunk. It is really like its title: a sparkling God Ray of light that cuts through the darkness. It's mysterious but also so hopeful and comforting. They just scraped in with this at the last minute but it is already one of my absolutely favourite Ateez songs. Instant love from 1st listen. The type of song I wish I was more conscious and present for so I could go back to experience it again for the first time. Park Seonghwa supremacy because this is now a song I associate with him. He's not even my Ateez bias but he is my favourite and the most important Ateez member to me. How that works, I do not know.

My favourite song of 2023:

Chasing That Feeling by TXT. They achieved the trifecta in 2023 for me: favourite song, favourite lyric, favourite choreography. I'm not even going to link to the official MV because the choreography needs to be seen unobstructed and undiluted. This is the type of song that I barely have any critiques on (and if I did, they would all be minor). The type of song that I would put as my bio. The type of song I want my best friend to play at my funeral. This era was also the one that pushed Choi Soobin into my life when he knew damm well that my heart has been closed for business for the last 12 months. The power this song had on me was all consuming and cannot be overstated, ok?

[d4myeon]

fifty fifty - cupid m/v icons

[beautifulpersonpeach]

Im really getting sick at how kpop stans are downplaying Dynamite just to lift up FiftyFifty’s Cupid’s achievement as an ‘organic hit’ like we weren’t all bombarded with Dynamite in 2020-2021. I get being excited by Cupid’s success but this history erasure is annoying as fuck, acting like Miss Dynamite wasn’t a breakout hit and was the song of the summer EVERYWHERE!!!!

But what do I expect from kpop stans lmao

**

I'm guessing this was a vent post/ask. Anyway, don't expect much and you won't be disappointed, as they say. Personally, nothing about the wider kpop fandom's response to Fifty Fifty is surprising to me. They're behaving exactly as predicted. You didn't ask, but I suggest you focus on BTS, remember why you're a fan of their music, and invest in rediscovering the joy of being so fortunate to see this for free.

*

I actually don't mind Fifty Fifty, by the way. I wish them luck though with their well capitalized backing, they don't really need it.

[sageistri]

They can scream "GLOBAL POP STAR" as much as they want, but Jungkook--so-far--has failed to capture the imagination of the public they way BTS did. He's not a household name--can people even pronounce his name? And the Taco Bell logo isn't going to help.

I think people severely underestimate what Seven did for him and his solo career and just how far not only this single but his album, reached. Jungkook right now is the biggest name in bts and probably kpop contrary to what people want to believe. Every media outlet was announcing his fan song as if it was this big highly anticipated cb single and people are very much tuned in so much so that i saw blinks fighting eachother because one side finally admitted to being jk solos and the other side calling it embarrassing because of how his fans (armys) treat BP.

No one cares about how he achieved those numbers except for akgaes. General consensus is he ended his own group and is the only non flop member I mean it's insane. Scooter has really done a number for jungkook and this is with just his solo debut and now with his own "brand"? Man oh man💀

Golden compared to face on paper only did better because golden is a full English album and with 2x more songs. They had to release additional us exclusive versions to get him to crack 200k+ units while face debuted with 160k+ without half the versions golden had, and with half the songs too and not even a quarter of the promo because every single jk released prior were English collabs with western acts. Considering after seven all jk's other songs fell back to being dependent on armys and with no significant increase in chart performance despite extensive promo and the songs still being in English shows that there was in fact no actual growth and The next time he has a song that performs as well as seven would be when they bring out "seven level" promo tactics once again. If seven did anything beyond giving him a billion streams, his streams from songs like 3d and snty wouldn't have gone back to being on par with the streams he got before seven.

Look at BTS and dynamite, the streams and chart performance of their Korean songs released after shows that they did in fact gain a ton of new listeners because despite those songs being ballads it still performed significantly better than their Korean songs before dynamite. Also you see how dynamite debuted with 7m streams and then butter with 11m? Snty and 3d had like a 60% decrease from seven, being on par with left and right, so no growth and still dependent on fandom streaming. Also when or if they do decide to release another seven, I wonder if he's going to debut with 30m streams on global Spotify lol.

Also people care about jk as a solo act just as much as other BTS members, meaning no one who isn't into kpop in one capacity or the other cares about him, saying otherwise would be like pretending 5050 suddenly became a household name after cupid. Akgaes love to act like these media outlets talk about their faves the most or that it means they are the most important, when the least popular member of BTS could announce any kind of music and they'd have just as much people talking about it. No one's talking about these songs because he's so important because they don't even do all that for big western acts especially when it's not a come back single, they make those posts because armys are going to give them engagement. Let's not even talk about the ones that were paid for by scooter because we know that's how he rolls and he lurks on social media too.

Also seven isn't the end of their solo careers Is what y'all don't understand. I am not arguing that jk's name has the most pull right now because... duh, but what I do know is that he's not going to have the biggest solo career in BTS, not even close. Doesn't matter what you think is the truth right now.

[silantryoo]

as much as im annoyed by the potential implications of the mhj/hybe drama i do feel like theres way too much speculation rn ... rlly doesn't sit so well with me that everyone is bashing on mhj alone (im not supporting her either though) and not bang sihyuk too. some hybe stans rlly js worship the guy and idk why . its not like he's innocent too. like those texts from him are so annoying too. abt if she's satisfied that nwjns is so popular and also abt trying to rival aespa / bp alone ...

hybe has sm power and r known for their mediaplay so i rlly do wish people would keep that in mind instead of doing their own speculation to bash on mhj . we don't know fs if she's the reason behind seunghan, youngseo, etc .... it seems so forced that everyone just collectively is making stuff up on their own theories and pissing on her. like im all for it when everything's done with but it's giving misogyny to me ughhh idk how to explain it eitherr without sounding like a mhj stan I PROMISE IM NOT TAKING HER SIDE T_T i just cant help but feel like poeple find it easier to hate and bash on women sometimes. even me scrolling x nowadays feels so annoying. literally feel so bad for illit and nwjns rn.

personally i was a teeny annoyed that illit had a similar image to nwjns w their nostalgia/coquettecore (also though just seems like cute/youthful concept is making a cb in general in kpop) but only because their songs on super real me were the exact type of songs i liked most from nwjns (super shy, hurt etc. the softer less peppy songs compared to hybe boy) so it bothered me that there was an implication that nwjns might be forced to distance itself to a more differing concept to keep some contrast btwn the two ... but ik that's not illit's fault at all (literally love the girls sm im a runext fan ^^) i feel like i can understand the upset that illit was getting a similar concept when every other grp before illit in hybe had more defined concepts seperating each other. but once again that's all hybe's doing ...... seeing the choreographers supporting mhj too makes it seem like not even the nwjns team or even all the staff were on board with the references in the choreo either...

anyways i do hope this controversy doesnt impede on either grps promos :( and i rlly hope everything gets sorted out... im srsly hoping this doesnt turn into a 5050 situtation again but with nwjns i was so upset when that happened . was curious on what your thoughts were or if u were keeping up with everything?

the way im coming back to reply to this first thing after my exams is insane, but this nwjns thing makes me so angry for all the idols under hybe. both parties j cares sm ab money that they're blindsided by the potential of ruining their idols careers, mental health and images. mhj is being stupid and hybe does seem to be doing anything to protect nwjns (as far as we know. i could be wrong).

(yawl, jsyk i obv dont have ALL the information. from what ive seen online and the articles ive read, this is what I THINK. ME. youre free to think smthn else, whether i agree or not.)

i def thing that bang hyung sik (bhs) isn't innocent either. although min heejin (mhj), in my opinion, is more in the wrong j based on the treatment of other idols, bhs seemed to provoke her, and on top of that, the company seems to blindly support ppl and give them a platform so long as they make profit for the company. ive been seeing a lot of ppl saying hes j human but youd think theres a reason why mhj got kicked from sm, yk? and you j took her back in w open arms.

hybe is v good at media play fs. its their forte, and ppl seemed to stray from the from the main problem. mhj is using nwjns as a weapon. hybe probably is doing the same thing w their other groups too, dont get me wrong. ppl seem to forget that this entire issue isnt "drama", its a legal battle ensuing between a huge corporation and its subsidiary. hybe has infinite power compared to ador. its horrible on both ends.

the thing is tho, mhj has consistently been showing the public red flags. the lyrics of 'cookie (ik she didnt write the lyrics but shes the ceo. she got them approved)', the portraits gifted to her of naked underaged girls, her obsession w olivia hussey (who happens to look like minji), her treatment of sm employees, her past work w shinee (sexualization of underaged taemin), etc. not to mention her extremely (at least in my eyes) inappropriate relationship w nwjns. the gifts shes gotten them and how she uses their emotions as a weapon. if bhs did that, everyone would be up in arms.

i dont think (for the most part) this is misogyny. i think ppl alw had a weird feeling about her. at least i did.

idt its good to speculate on ppls departure tho. youre def right ab that. the lsfm hate train (esp the coachella one) most likely has nothing to do w mhj. and i do agree that hybe copied or was at least inspired by nwjns, but idt illit copied them. illit and nwjns have a very 'pinkpantheress' sound, the uk early 00's bedroom pop genre. however, nwjns is more y2k and illit is more dream-like, ykwim? hybe was def inspired by nwjns tho. i think a more fitting one would be tws tbh. their sound is v similar to me (emphasis on to me) than illit.

dont get me wrong, it's incredibly shady and the way that a lot of staff are on her side makes me think that hybe was leeching off of the success of nwjns. it referenced all girl groups under hybe tho, lsfm and fromis, but there was def more nwjns references.

what im worried ab the most are the groups, esp nwjns. lsfm has been going thru their own struggles and rn this isnt the best for them, but theyre not extremely involved in the situation, not like nwjns and illit. illit, from what ive seen, has majority of the success and recognition from overseas. however, their success in korea'll take a huge hit. itll def take a toll on the girls mental, considering they j debuted and this happened.

nwjns is the worst off. theres a chance they might leave w mhj if ador does pull away from hybe, which isnt in the groups best interest. mhj's press conference and overall attitude is gonna affect their upcoming release fs, and their proximity to mhj herself is worrisome.

hybe doesnt seem to be doing shit to protect their artists, they're j protecting their name. theres no statement on or for illit, no statement on malicious comments for any of the groups (that i know of).

tldr: min heejin and hybe are both at fault. dont take sides of either, take the side of the idols.

sorry, im j so passionate ab this. the shit ive been seeing online has been making me mad. after getting back from the lsfm hate train too... as mad as i am at mhj, hybe GAVE her that platform. if the things they claim is true, and if the speculation is true, they alr knew from her past employment that she was shady. its their fault for allowing that.

[jayflrt]

as much as im annoyed by the potential implications of the mhj/hybe drama i do feel like theres way too much speculation rn ... rlly doesn't sit so well with me that everyone is bashing on mhj alone (im not supporting her either though) and not bang sihyuk too. some hybe stans rlly js worship the guy and idk why . its not like he's innocent too. like those texts from him are so annoying too. abt if she's satisfied that nwjns is so popular and also abt trying to rival aespa / bp alone ...

hybe has sm power and r known for their mediaplay so i rlly do wish people would keep that in mind instead of doing their own speculation to bash on mhj . we don't know fs if she's the reason behind seunghan, youngseo, etc .... it seems so forced that everyone just collectively is making stuff up on their own theories and pissing on her. like im all for it when everything's done with but it's giving misogyny to me ughhh idk how to explain it eitherr without sounding like a mhj stan I PROMISE IM NOT TAKING HER SIDE T_T i just cant help but feel like poeple find it easier to hate and bash on women sometimes. even me scrolling x nowadays feels so annoying. literally feel so bad for illit and nwjns rn.

personally i was a teeny annoyed that illit had a similar image to nwjns w their nostalgia/coquettecore (also though just seems like cute/youthful concept is making a cb in general in kpop) but only because their songs on super real me were the exact type of songs i liked most from nwjns (super shy, hurt etc. the softer less peppy songs compared to hybe boy) so it bothered me that there was an implication that nwjns might be forced to distance itself to a more differing concept to keep some contrast btwn the two ... but ik that's not illit's fault at all (literally love the girls sm im a runext fan ^^) i feel like i can understand the upset that illit was getting a similar concept when every other grp before illit in hybe had more defined concepts seperating each other. but once again that's all hybe's doing ...... seeing the choreographers supporting mhj too makes it seem like not even the nwjns team or even all the staff were on board with the references in the choreo either...

anyways i do hope this controversy doesnt impede on either grps promos :( and i rlly hope everything gets sorted out... im srsly hoping this doesnt turn into a 5050 situtation again but with nwjns i was so upset when that happened . was curious on what your thoughts were or if u were keeping up with everything?

i feel like i've seen a good amount of people bashing them both but we could have different tls maybe !! but yeah i don't know why there's so many hybe stans 😭 it's been this way for a long time + armys idolizing bang pd back when bts was the only group under bighit. i feel like everyone needs to just accept that all these companies are trash and you can't be defending ceos

i do get what you mean because women are often criticized far more when those same things would be overlooked if a man did it,, however i don't think that's the case here 😭 because 1. she has an extensive history of s3xualizing minors back from when she was in sm and 2. it was revealed that she and bang pd bought out source music to debut a girl group so it's not that far-fetched to say that she could have sabotaged the trainees from source music, especially after she said that she didn't want to debut sakura because she was "too old." some of the other theories people are making definitely don't have much of a basis but i think most people also recognize that the main victims of all this are newjeans and illit + the other groups mhj dragged in with her. so yeah i wouldn't call it misogyny that people are going after min heejin, and honestly i'm even more surprised that people just forgot about how she sexualized shinee, red velvet, jisung, and newjeans and only started calling her out after this incident 😭 she's always had a LOT of defenders and personally i've never felt the need to defend billionaires :/ also mhj's a businesswoman who knows how to play the media herself. you can see it even in her press conferences; she's bringing up different groups to take attention off of herself and talking about her "relationship" with newjeans to garner sympathy from everyone

i think hybe definitely was shady for greenlighting illit's concept when it's clear there was inspiration from newjeans. i personally just assumed they discussed this with ador but i guess not?? so weird that they don't act like proper adults in that building. i'll also say that i don't think min heejin's concept for newjeans is original or considered "hers" but since most people associate that concept with newjeans, it's safe to say that illit's creative director probably got it from newjeans anyways. another thing about hybe tho is that i don't think they've been doing strong concepts for their groups. txt did have a strong one initially but bighit just stopped trying for them (probs bc their team got moved to source music 🥲) i think belift did a good job with keeping the vampire concept for enha consistent and i was initially scared that it would stop after hybe fully acquired cj enm, but i think they've recognized that enha just has too much connected to their vampire concept (their webtoon, storyline for their music videos) but enha's also been neglected by hybe a lot so screw them 🚶‍♂️

i hope this issue doesn't mess with comebacks either :/ it's like suspiciously right before newjeans' comeback, which throws me off because i feel like there's always some shit min heejin's pulling right before or during their comebacks (ex: inserting herself in the OMG music video at the very end) and it's so weird to me how she always talks about them as if she's the sixth member 😭

[nyctophilic-rose]

i am so utterly disappointed with how the industry has treated 5050 (and honestly all the other groups). i don’t understand how the allegations against ATTRAKT by the girls are being not only dismissed by seoul courts, but also some fans and people across the rest of the kpop fandom.

stand not only with 5050 but also the rest of the groups across the entirety of the kpop industry. everyone is being taken advantage of and being overworked by large production companies, and fans. your kpop idols deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, and you are NOT entitled to any of their work, nor are the production companies they work for.

anyways, workers rights includes working performers rights, ESPECIALLY idols who are put on such a large stage.

[ilhoonftw]

kinda hate that jyj are terrible people bc their lawsuit did change stuff but also proved sm is willing to find every possible loophole to still make trainees sign unfair contracts

you know how jyj lawsuit made contracts longer than 7 years illegal? welp. sm delayed filling forms to comply with rules of korea creative content agency that controlled contracts and stuff... because as long as they weren't under them the 7 years ban didn't apply to them. basically they aren't recognized as a company that should abide to that law. they were fined!!! for doing that. and that's why exo contracts were longer than 7 years. even tho it wasn't legal they were signed at the time sm was avoiding adhering to the new law. the lawsuit got messy because sm is able to pull strings. their bargaining chip is 'omg we contributed so much to hallyu, tvxq brought so many japanese tourists etc' 'lawsuits by greedy idols damage the image of kpop!!!'

now you have agencies actively using 5050 lawsuit and mediaplaying how those greedy idols are mean to ceos... to indirectly damage the lee seunggi act. days after it was announced... lee seunggi act was already denounced by korea management federation, korea entertainment management association, recording industry association of korea, record label industry association of korea and korea music content association

[angryorbit]

Stop listening to Cupid by Fifty Fifty oh my fucking god how many times do we have to tell you that they were unpaid and abused and their company is literally using the money against them in court???

[isoobie]

much as im annoyed by the potential implications of the mhj/hybe drama i do feel like theres way too much speculation rn ..... rlly doesn't sit so well with me that everyone is bashing on mhj alone (im not supporting her either though) and not bang sihyuk too. some hybe stans rlly js worship the guy and idk why . its not like he's innocent too. like those texts from him are so annoying too. abt if she's satisfied that nwjns is so popular and also abt trying to rival aespa / bp alone ...

hybe has sm power and r known for their mediaplay so i rlly do wish people would keep that in mind instead of doing their own speculation to bash on mhj . we don't know fs if she's the reason behind seunghan, youngseo, etc .... it seems so forced that everyone just collectively is making stuff up on their own theories and pissing on her. like im all for it when everything's done with but it's giving misogyny to me ughhh idk how to explain it eitherr without sounding like a mhj stan I PROMISE IM NOT TAKING HER SIDE T_T i just cant help but feel like poeple find it easier to hate and bash on women sometimes. even me scrolling x nowadays feels so annoying. literally feel so bad for illit and nwjns rn.

personally i was a teeny annoyed that illit had a similar image to nwjns w their nostalgia/coquettecore (also though just seems like cute/youthful concept is making a cb in general in kpop) but only because their songs on super real me were the exact type of songs i liked most from nwjns (super shy, hurt etc. the softer less peppy songs compared to hybe boy) so it bothered me that there was an implication that nwjns might be forced to distance itself to a more differing concept to keep some contrast btwn the two ... but ik that's not illit's fault at all (love the girls sm im a runext fan ^^) i feel like i can understand the upset that illit was getting a similar concept when every other grp before illit in hybe had more defined concepts seperating each other. but once again that's all hybe's doing ...... seeing the choreographers supporting mhj too makes it seem like not even the nwjns team or even all the staff were on board with the references in the choreo either...

anyways i do hope this controversy doesnt impede on either grps promos :(((( and i really hope everything gets sorted out... im srsly hoping this doesnt turn into a 5050 situtation again but with nwjns i was so upset when that happened . was curious on what your thoughts were or if u were keeping up with everything?

this has been all over my tl so i don’t need this in my inbox rn smh 🙏🏼

[jiminsass-istant]

https://www.tumblr.com/jiminsass-istant/741783172809900032/httpswwwtumblrcomjiminsass-istant74093410630?source=share

I want to talk some points abt new jeans

They really just came out of nowhere like literally no teasers, no nothing. Directly released 2 songs with tons of videos on 70M subscribed hybe channel and those 2 songs are super catchy. 1 song is a ballad. Kpop world loved them like really really loved them and they released another title song along with releasing all the songs digitally and while that song was catchy, the lyrics are controversial (that the company gave am absurd explanation it's really laughable) The songs were hit on the korean side but I don't know much abt charts and how they impact their variety shows so I won't talk abt k- side but internationally their songs were on all popular playlists (both AM and spotify) and ofcourse all kpop playlists. So even if you are not a hybe Stan or doesn't engage much in kpop spaces online you will someway or other listen to their song and get hooked. They have 14 or some songs and had 6 songs reach 33M ppl so yeah. Without TTH, their latest comeback single made 1.4M or less than 2M (almost an year after debut) and had the peak of nearly 5M after adding to tth and tiktok heating and that song has like 5% korean so there's that.

Newjeans and 5050's cupid reminds me of "you think you got taste, oh baby how do you know" because you can't escape their songs even if you don't engage with kpop because it was that crazy

and when it comes to jk

he had more or less same things happen BUT he also happens to be a part of world's biggest band's popular member who was teasing solo music for years so he reached craaazy heights like fastest to achieve 1b on spotify

Thanks for giving insights on New Jeans! I really appreciate it.

I have a small task for those who are reading this in the end of this answer, so please read-

The points you made are totally valid. New Jeans songs are definitely very catchy like i said in that post. And their label definitely invested in playlisting too. + Tiktok heating because those songs are indeed tiktok friendly.

As for Cupid song, it was exposed that their CEO paid some million won to Tiktok to push that song. (The song definitely had viral potential and they recognised that). This news actually changed my entire perspective on tiktok heating. Sure, some songs are just organically viral, but I realised tiktok had reached that level of power and influence that labels are now paying tiktok (like they pay for streaming platforms and radio) to push their songs. So I won't be surprised if Hybe did something similar for Super Shy or other songs. (Again, i repeat, these are songs with viral potential and that's why the push was successful, even without remixing the original song)

It's true, Jungkook's high numbers came not only from the playlist, radio and tiktok push, but also as a result of the already present massive army fanbase. But it's also true, that the songs got some local acceptance BECAUSE they are in English.

That's why in that post I said that BTS's fanbase comes mainly from the story and concept they sell. One needs to invest their mind and time. There are not a lot of BTS songs that a local will listen to and think - oh let me put it in my playlist quickly because their songs are simply soo different from what the west grew up listening to. And I still believe that b-sides have a bigger potential than some main tracks.

Okay, fuck it. Let's try to name some BTS songs or parts of BTS songs that have viral potential on tiktok-

1. Blood sweat and tears melody, sped up (thank you jimin) - sexy dance challenge

2. Disease bridge (thank you Jimin) - anime edits, nightscape edits, racing cars/bikes

3. If i ruled the world chorus - shopping haul, daily life, hustle

4. Coffee chorus - couple themes

5. Just one day chorus- already viral in the kpop side

6. Outro: love is not over

7. House of cards (instrumental in the beginning)

8. Pied piper (ooh I'm taking over you part) - thirsty edits

9. 134340 (intro instrumentals)

10. So what bridge + drop ( for transitions)

11. Serendipity vocal run (sped up)

12. Black swan orchestral instrumentals

Do you have more ideas..?

Audio editors that make mashups can bring so many more ideas. So much potential. It will be difficult to make bts songs viral without some editing- mashup, speed up, drops, adding beats etc

[sjyuns]

as much as im annoyed by the potential implications of the mhj/hybe drama i do feel like theres way too much speculation rn ... rlly doesn't sit so well with me that everyone is bashing on mhj alone (im not supporting her either though) and not bang sihyuk too. some hybe stans rlly js worship the guy and idk why . its not like he's innocent too. like those texts from him are so annoying too. abt if she's satisfied that nwjns is so popular and also abt trying to rival aespa / bp alone ...

hybe has sm power and r known for their mediaplay so i rlly do wish people would keep that in mind instead of doing their own speculation to bash on mhj . we don't know fs if she's the reason behind seunghan, youngseo, etc .... it seems so forced that everyone just collectively is making stuff up on their own theories and pissing on her. like im all for it when everything's done with but it's giving misogyny to me ughhh idk how to explain it eitherr without sounding like a mhj stan I PROMISE IM NOT TAKING HER SIDE T_T i just cant help but feel like poeple find it easier to hate and bash on women sometimes. even me scrolling x nowadays feels so annoying. literally feel so bad for illit and nwjns rn.

personally i was a teeny annoyed that illit had a similar image to nwjns w their nostalgia/coquettecore (also though just seems like cute/youthful concept is making a cb in general in kpop) but only because their songs on super real me were the exact type of songs i liked most from nwjns (super shy, hurt etc. the softer less peppy songs compared to hybe boy) so it bothered me that there was an implication that nwjns might be forced to distance itself to a more differing concept to keep some contrast btwn the two ... but ik that's not illit's fault at all (literally love the girls sm im a runext fan ^^) i feel like i can understand the upset that illit was getting a similar concept when every other grp before illit in hybe had more defined concepts seperating each other. but once again that's all hybe's doing ...... seeing the choreographers supporting mhj too makes it seem like not even the nwjns team or even all the staff were on board with the references in the choreo either...

anyways i do hope this controversy doesnt impede on either grps promos :( and i rlly hope everything gets sorted out... im srsly hoping this doesnt turn into a 5050 situtation again but with nwjns i was so upset when that happened . was curious on what your thoughts were or if u were keeping up with everything?

☺️ sorry i don’t keep up with kpop politics i just stare at hot men all day… pls don’t bash me lol

[beautifulpersonpeach]

Hey bpp!! I hope youve been doing great 💜

With skyrocketing amount of albums being sold by kpop acts-like ggs have become million sellers and seventeen and skz have achieved almost 5m preorders-i feel like predictions of kpop reaching a ceiling or peaking is exaggerated??? like obvs their reaching a whole new audience right? Esp china. Not to mention the tour numbers.Whats the basis of the peak that people are saying??? Cuz it does feel like the peak isnt there at all yet. Like 5050 Cupid is still doing well in the charts too not to mention new jeans debut last year. Its like the interest in kpop is being sustained still by these amazong achievement even outside bts’ and bts solos

These groups streaming numbers not matching album sales is sus tho i admit. Achieving bts 2020 album numbers-and bts only had 4 version lol-but not streams or tour numbers confuses me a lot bec the demand is there but it aint all adding up in balance. why are their fans not streaming the albums theyre buying???! Cuz not all of them have cd players so online streaming should be there lol like people clown armys for mass streaming but i can say that the mass streamers streaming for number achievement arent even half of the fandom lol

***

Hi Anon,

I personally find the whole thing amusing. But all this is the dress rehearsal for 2024, which will be only more outlandish with more ridiculous stream/sales/concert capacity ratios as each group tussles to establish themselves as the dominant group before the 2025 deadline.

I'm also looking forward to ARMYs losing their shit during awards/Grammys season over the next couple of years.

[bywons]

as much as im annoyed by the potential implications of the mhj/hybe drama i do feel like theres way too much speculation rn ... rlly doesn't sit so well with me that everyone is bashing on mhj alone (im not supporting her either though) and not bang sihyuk too. some hybe stans rlly js worship the guy and idk why . its not like he's innocent too. like those texts from him are so annoying too. abt if she's satisfied that nwjns is so popular and also abt trying to rival aespa / bp alone ...

hybe has sm power and r known for their mediaplay so i rlly do wish people would keep that in mind instead of doing their own speculation to bash on mhj . we don't know fs if she's the reason behind seunghan, youngseo, etc .... it seems so forced that everyone just collectively is making stuff up on their own theories and pissing on her. like im all for it when everything's done with but it's giving misogyny to me ughhh idk how to explain it eitherr without sounding like a mhj stan I PROMISE IM NOT TAKING HER SIDE TT_T i just cant help but feel like poeple find it easier to hate and bash on women sometimes. even me scrolling x nowadays feels so annoying. literally feel so bad for illit and nwjns rn.

personally i was a teeny annoyed that illit had a similar image to nwjns w their nostalgia/coquettecore (also though just seems like cute/youthful concept is making a cb in general in kpop) but only because their songs on super real me were the exact type of songs i liked most from nwjns (super shy, hurt etc. the softer less peppy songs compared to hybe boy) so it bothered me that there was an implication that nwjns might be forced to distance itself to a more differing concept to keep some contrast btwn the two ... but ik that's not illit's fault at all (literally love the girls sm im a runext fan ^^) i feel like i can understand the upset that illit was getting a similar concept when every other grp before illit in hybe had more defined concepts seperating each other. but once again that's all hybe's doing ...... seeing the choreographers supporting mhj too makes it seem like not even the nwjns team or even all the staff were on board with the references in the choreo either...

anyways i do hope this controversy doesnt impede on either grps promos :( and i rlly hope everything gets sorted out... im srsly hoping this doesnt turn into a 5050 situtation again but with nwjns i was so upset when that happened . was curious on what your thoughts were or if u were keeping up with everything?

👌 YES VV TRUE !!