#Waiting for that skrillex collab - Crack

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[mermaidinstereo]

Mermaid Speaks Her Mind: Let’s All Quit Kissing BTS’ Asses Already

Any ARMYs here?

That's a question that's become something of a meme amongst K-Pop fans on the internet. It stems from the phenomenon of BTS stans completely derailing the comments section on nearly any YouTube video, even if it's not even remotely related to the group. Even if you just comment on a YouTube video, saying anything at all, with BTS referred to in your username or icon, expect to have about a billion replies in your notification box screaming about Jimin's jams, or lack thereof.

It's part of the phenomenon that has risen around BTS--or Bangtan Sonyeondan, or Bulletproof Boy Scouts, or whatever it is you may call them. In just four years, the septet have risen from a group of nugus on a no-name label to one of the biggest names in K-Pop. That is, if you ask their fans.

Sure, there's a lot that BTS can be proud of. Their second full album Wings holds the record for the highest chart peak for a K-Pop album on the Billboard 200. They're the only K-Pop group to ever win a Billboard Music Award. They're the incumbent winner for Mnet's Asian Music Award for Artist of the Year. They even ranked at #5 on Forbes Korea's Power Celebrity List, which isn't bad for a group of dudes averaging around 22 years old. Their international fanbase is one that many groups can only dream of (and takes up a rather large portion of western K-Pop fans). There is no undermining the fact that they've made great strides in such a short amount of time.

But for one second, can we stop acting like BTS invented the very concept of K-Pop as we know it? Can we stop pretending that the 2008-2011 era of peak Hallyu never existed? Can we stop acting like BTS were responsible for bringing K-Pop to the forefront in the west? Please?

We seem to forget BTS' forefathers (and mothers) in hallyu. The roots of K-Ppo can be traced back to traditional Korean trot music of the early 20th century. K-Pop as we know it started to take shape in the early 1990s as groups like H.O.T., g.o.d., S.E.S., and Baby VOX rose to prominence. K-Pop, and  hallyu in general, began to make its presence known in the west in the early 2010s. Around that time, Girls' Generation, Super Junior, and SHINee began going viral for their stylish videos, catchy hooks, and breathtaking choreography. The wave moved even further as groups began doing one-off shows in New York and L.A., and in 2011, S.M. Entertainment held its first SM Town Live concert at Madison Square Garden. From there, groups began scheduling regular tour dates in the States, and in 2012, Los Angeles hosted the inaugural KCON, a convention dedicated to all things hallyu. (BTS themselves would be guests of the convention two years later.)

Since charts seem to be super important to Stan Culture, I'll lay some knowledge down on that, too. BoA actually holds the record for being the first K-Pop artist to chart on the Billboard 200 with her self-titled English debut, but BIGBANG's Alive EP is the first album to chart on the Billboard 200 that's actually fully in Korean. Before BTS, 2NE1 held the title for the highest Billboard 200 peak, for 2014's Crush. As far as Korean charts go, they still can't hold a candle to first-generation groups like H.O.T., Seo Taiji and Boys, and Shinhwa (who are still around today!).

And don't even try to tell me that BTS were the first group to try to crack the Western market. Many groups have tried, with, admittedly, not a great deal of success. BoA's aforementioned self-titled US debut never seemed to make it out of the lower reaches of the Billboard 200. Girls' Generation's US debut bombed as well, unheard of for a group touted as The Nation's Girl Group. The Wonder Girls' stints with the English-speaking market didn't really stick either--from a touring stint with the Jonas Brothers, to a made-for-TV movie on Nickelodeon, to an actual English-language single featuring Akon. It greatly affected the Wonder Girls' presence in Korea, which may have been a factor in their disbandment. Something similar could be said for 2NE1, who got locked in the basement laid low after Park Bom's drug smuggling scandal. As 2NE1 lay in wait, CL sprung for the US of A in search of her big break as a soloist. Even under the wing of Justin Bieber/Ariana Grande impresario Scooter Braun, and despite collabs with Skrillex, Diplo, and Lil Yachty, she still hasn’t quite made it. But hey, she got James Corden dancing at least.

Sure, PSY was successful, but only in the way that he's perceived by Americans as a novelty. We don't get him the way Koreans do (FYI--"Gangnam Style" was a satire, and a damn brilliant one at that). Plus, the fat old Asian man doing the silly dance is no threat to the vaguely attractive young white boys on the charts already. We enjoyed PSY for what we thought him to be. Can a foreign language song top American charts? If "Despacito" is any proof, it probably helps if a white guy is singing. (And that’s a remix! I didn’t even know that there was a version without Bieber, which says a lot, I think.) Zayn might be the most high-profile Asian pop star we have now (he’s half Pakistani, which is still Asian, y’all), but I’m thinking there’s a reason why he’s not up there with Bieber and Shawn Mendes. Hmm.

“But their YouTube views!” This is only something western fans seem to care about. Every year there’s some fandom trying to get their artist to break the record for the most-viewed video on YouTube. YouTube views are only a small factor into what charts on the Billboard Hot 100, and I don’t believe it plays a part in the Gaon or Hanteo charts at all. Sure, PSY holds the record for the most-viewed video of all time, but again, we don’t treat him like the serious pop star that he is. The truth is that it’s really just western fans who put stock in YouTube views. It’s really not as big a deal in the Korean industry. It’s not extremely detrimental, but I wouldn’t really call it significantly helpful either. Let’s take my girl Christina Aguilera for example. Her music video views pale in comparison to most current artists like Ariana Grande. But it’s Xtina who Ariana considers one of her biggest influences, and not just Ariana, but many of her contemporaries as well. In fact, most girls who can sing (and a lot who think they can) consider her an influence, as well as Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, who made their mark in a time before YouTube existed. (Also, YouTube views are easily manipulated by auto-refreshers, so I really couldn’t call that a good indicator of success, with a good conscience.)

While BTS are an extremely hardworking group of good dudes who have a lot of accomplishments to be proud of, gassing them up like a lot of stans tend to do erases the work of the first and second-generation acts that paved the way for them. Remember that you can be a "stan" and still be objective. I'm reminded of a quote by Key of SHINee: "My goal is not to be 'the best,' it's to be someone that I'm not ashamed to be." Your fave doesn't have to be the best. Who cares? At the end of the day they're your fave for a reason. They probably saved your life. That's what matters, right there. If charts and sales figures are what attract an artist to you, then I can safely assume you may be in it for the wrong reasons and will probably bounce once they stop racking up Perfect All-Kills or Billboard No. 1s.

That said, if one more person tries to tell me something BTS apparently invented, I might have to write another angry blog about it. Until then, I guess I’ll just keep stanning flops.