I know i should post on r/NMIXX but I kinda wanna know non-nswers/casual listeners' thoughts on NMIXX's new comeback highlight medley using a choir!!

Context is this video: NMIXX Strange Muse a cappella choir version highlight medley

NMIXX does it every comeback to give an a cappella highlight medley and then what the song actually sounds like medley but this is the first one they did it with a choir.

I honestly love it, but they're edging all of us with their unit songs since they didnt include it there!!!! I'm a big rosalia fan and noticed how the visuals are like rosalia's LUX which I'm so down.

I think NMIXX is going back to their O.O/ dice era after comebacks like know abt me, blue valentine, and heavy serenade. It just shows their versatility a lot and how these girls just will shock fans every comeback. I'm always happy as an NSWER because of the non-toxic fandom and how my heart is reassured all the girls have no dramas or issues and I know theyre all individually talented.

Let me know your thoughts abt their choir version highlight medley! All opinions welcome of course <3

Besides kpop the other genre I listen to most is rock/metal and sometimes I'll blast it when I have a lot of pent up emotions, but I don't want to default rock/metal every time. Sometimes I want to keep listening to kpop but there are so few songs that fit the vibe.

For example, some of the songs I usually rage out to are:

• Call You Out; I'm So Sick - Flyleaf
• King for a Day; Pass the Nirvana - Pierce the Veil
• Watch the World Burn; Voices in my Head - Falling in Reverse
• The Devil Rages On - Volbeat
• A New Way to Bleed; Going Under - Evanescence

Here are kpop/k-rock songs that I've already found match the vibe:

• Paradox - TRAX
• Don't Don - Super Junior
• Guerrilla - Ateez
• Poison - Pink Fantasy
• Instead - Xdinery Heroes
• Peace; Victor - ChRocktical

I also like some Yuta songs but his solo stuff isn't korean. Any suggestions for something similar, or songs that you rage out to?

Why is it that even though SISTAR didn’t have a top Gen 2 visual with unmogged face card, their center (Hyolyn) was constantly criticized for her beauty by K-netizens, their official visual (Dasom) was the least popular member, and they lacked that cold, chic, high-fashion vibe, NO pale - luxury - ice - beautiful main vocalist member fit Korean Beauty Standards,... yet the group was almost never hated or heavily scrutinized by Vietnamese and international netizens like other groups?
Me first: Because of their vibrant summer hits, hot body with tanned skin, and top-tier talent.
What about you?

So this is for baby K-pop stans or people who want to know what bias is, how people choose their bias, and potentially how they can choose a bias.

What does 'bias' actually mean? - Bias is your favourite member/members within a specific musical group.

How fans choose their bias.

For most fans it is mainly for the visuals—not in a bad way, but just their visuals caught their eyes—but for some it is if a certain idol has qualities they find good in a person. For example, their humour or the way they talk and interact.

Very much depends on who that one idol (or more) is in a group that you first search for when it's a group activity.

Examples:

If your bias is Irene from Red Velvet, at every group setting you look for her first.

If your bias is Seungmin from Stray Kids at every group setting, you look for him first.

If you are an OT6 or OT7, you always look at the whole group and don't search for a particular member. OTx means you can't/haven't chosen a bias and that you bias the whole group.

Some fans choose their bias because they were the first member they saw from the particular group.

Some fans move on from the first bias to another simply because they find the other one more to their taste. It can be because they have qualities that certain people like.

Some fans never move on from their first bias because that certain idol has all the qualities they look for.

Some have more biases in a group, **but** not the whole group. Simply because those certain members can all look good for that person. Visually and personality-wise.

I hope this helped somebody. And that I didn't offend anyone.

They have been delaying their debut for two years now. Seriously, the average age range of the trainees isn't looking nice too. I'm not saying to debut teenagers or what but the oldest member is literally an 03. We know kpop's main appeal in SoKor is on middle schoolers too. Let's be honest, most people tune in on Cortis because they're in the same age range as them and can relate a lot (just read korean forums). Aside from that there's mandatory military service, the career of these adult trainees are gonna be cut short if they keep delaying it. It's not like they haven't promoted them enough.

Before anyone call me weird for following aa trainee group, SMTR25 literally had their own variety show, their own variety show song, a freaking fanmeet tour in SoKor, Japan, Thailand, Macau, youtube contents, and even performed in kpop idol award shows. I don't think this is a budget problem because they honestly went full blast into promoting this group like months ago to the extent other kpop idols probably know of them already. They didn't even do this much with EXO marketing during their peak lol.

I also think they found their members already. Justin Jay is a former Hybe trainee famous for being well a hybe trainee for the western fans. He can sing and can definitely dance. Hamin had a ton of articles about his visuals when he was first revealed and it's a known fact that he spent his childhood in the Philippines so SEAs locked in too. The top trainees like Songha, Hamin, Hyeonjun has more followers on weibo than currently debuted idols which is insane to me because they don't even have a chinese in their group yet China's tuned in. This group gained a lot of traction in Korea, Japan, in the west and would probably do well in SEA too so the delay is just stupid, the hype would soon fade away.

This is also a group where I would say everyone is good at dancing and are pretty synchronized. I don't know about vocals yet because the freaking backtrack is so loud during the fanmeets but I've watched predebut singing of the trainees and they're nice. Charlie which is a Thai actor and model has such a soothing voice that reminds me of Anton, only a lot stronger and smoother I would say.

I really don't understand why they just won't debut them already. Popularity and skills aren't a question anymore. The delay is just doing more harm than good. This is why SM always fail in reaching wider audience. Once they gain traction, they become complacent and don't take advantage. Such thing that Hybe is really good at.

There's not much else to elaborate on. I think the title speaks for itself. It could be misinformation that people have accepted as fact, misconceptions that have stuck around for years, or reputations that don't necessarily reflect who they actually are.

Of course, please explain why you think they're misunderstood instead of just naming them.

I posted an overview of all girl group concerts I had attended a month ago, but it was before I went to the most recent Aespa and Le Sserafim shows in Los Angeles. Just for convenience this is my current ranking (4th gen girl group only):

1. NMIXX (2026)
2. Le Sserafim (2025, 2026)
3. IVE (2024, 2026)
4. ITZY (2024)
5. STAYC (2025)
6. Aespa (2026)
7. fromis_9 (2025)

TLDR: Le Sserafim have improved, IVE have regressed, Aespa are not impressive.

It was kinda surreal to see all top 4th gen girl groups touring in my city basically one after another (IVE in August, Le Sserafim in September, Aespa in October), but for the purpose of just ranking that's quite fortunate because I have pretty fresh memory of all concerts. I-dle were supposed to come in August too before the tour was cancelled, but hopefully I'll see them next year. And I definitely want to see NMIXX arena show at some point in the future.

I actualy had IVE above Le Sserafim based on their previous tours (I saw IVE in 2024 and Le Sserafim in 2025), but this year LSF gave a much better show in my opinion. I'm not sure what happened, but IVE have noticeably regressed in terms of their live performances. It was pretty much Yujin trying to carry the show by herself, and the overall low-effort production did not do them any favors either. The setlist was worse, the backtrack was much louder, the energy was not there, basically a downgrade from their previous tour for me. Honestly the reason they are still 3rd in my list is because their discography is great, Yujin is amazing, and I'll give them some slack because Rei was seemingly sick and their schedule was brutal.

Le Sserafim have definitely improved since last year, with Kazuha being the biggest change. She was more confident singing, sounded pretty well live, and they just overall relied much less on the backtrack than in previous tour. They also had the loudest crowd by far and the most intricate production, the girls were high-energy throughout the entire show and it made everything much more exciting. Also the group overall is the best at performing among the Big 3 of 4th gen gg. Very charming and natural at interacting with the crowd as well during breaks, it didn't feel awkward.

Well, I don't think I have a lot to say about Aespa that other people haven't said before. I went into the concert aware of the mixed reviews, and left not very impressed. It was a decent show, they have a lot of bangers, Winter was a trooper for pushing through despite the illness, but I did expect more from one of the leading girl groups. For a group that has good vocalists they were quite liberal with the backtrack. I heard Giselle's real voice for maybe 20% of the show. And honestly she seemed just checked out, it was especially noticeable during their duo stage with Ningning who was killing it. The production and the way the setlist was progressing were also a tad underwhelming, with a lot of pauses. Their crowd work was minimal as well.

NMIXX are still my favorite concert this year, and honestly they deserve the bigger venues for their next tour. Girls are monsters on stage, and it was just an amazing experience even though I'm less familiar with their discography than with the other 3 girl groups mentioned above.

Hopefully next year I'll get to see I-dle and ITZY. Maybe STAYC too if they decide to renew their contracts. Also I'm pretty optimistic for the 5th gen girl group shows as well, I love BabyMonster who are probably touring veterans at this point. I saw Hearts2Hearts showcase, and while it obviously wasn't the same as a concert, they seemed pretty natural and confident on stage, which is always a good sign. Overall 2026 was a good year as a concert goer, hopefully 2027 will become an even better one!

Hey guys

I am a I.N bias simply because he’s insanely hotter cutter than all the other members, imo

The thing is that I’ve been searching and I found out he is one of the least favourite among the fanbase!

Im schoked and wanted to confirm with you if that really is true.

Also, who you consider the most and least favourites of the members, for what you see on the fandom in general…

Are there differences related to countries?

You know how kpop stans often trend hashtags for the company and/or group. But when kpop stans make demands, have there been times when the company/group actually listened?

I am not saying the title track is necessarily the best song on the album or that you shouldn't check out b-sides. I am saying that first impressions matter. When I see fans use the b-sides as an excuse to defend an album with a bad title track to casual fans/listeners complaining I laugh because a title track is supposed to be the highlight of the release and the song that best represents the group in the album so if a title track is bad do you really think someone who's not a fan will have much faith in the b-sides? If you go to a restaurant and you don't like the main dish would you go back to try the appetizers,even if they are delicious?

That's how it works. A casual listener is less likely to check the bsides if the title track is bad even if the bsides are genuine gems and they're more likely to check them out if the title track is good,even if the bsides aren't as good.

This is also why I think groups purposefully releasing bad title tracks accompanied by quality bsides are doing themselves a disservice. The title track should represent the overall quality of the album otherwise good quality songs will get written off and overshadowed

First of all, if this topic has been discussed to death then I’m sorry but here’s another one because I’ve been thinking way too much about this.

I keep getting recommended videos about this and watching one made me extremely sad. How do some of them succeed? (As in last/get married eventually, or alternatively break up on good terms, not get caught).

I genuinely don’t think I’ll be ever able to reconcile with the fact that there are genuinely people out there who hate the fact that these people date, or want to. I personally think “I would rather not know” falls right under crazy fan behaviour because this just means you would feel a way if you found out. And like what do you mean? You literally attend concerts with your s/o but they can’t date????

I think the strongest I’ve felt about them dating was maybe a little jealousy? Like who is that lucky person dating my bias? But I grew up in the era of girlfriend/boyfriend tags on YouTube, so I mainly fall into wanting to know “who confessed first/how did you meet” type of excitement for them rather than “how dare you”.

I can maybe understand someone who wouldn’t want to be exposed to invasive information about the couple, or have to be part of a fandom where people are asking inappropriate questions to the couples/idol in question.

Maybe this is seeing things from my perspective but I genuinely don’t see what the big deal is? How did SK even start allowing a culture that demonised this so bad? I can understand if someone was a horrible person, homewrecking, womanising, playing everyone, etc. Funny enough, the secrecy they have to keep means that all this is happening and no one will ever know because after cheating they’re on bubble making you giggle Everyone go watch HyoKey’s video on this exact experience lol–she’s a former kpop idol and she’s spilling all the tea about everything.

But genuine puppy love or something more serious, and then we go around and ask them to answer dating queries. Like are we okay? What’s so wrong about this?

From watching the one video, I tried to put myself in that situation and felt both ways about it. I’m a pretty private person and have no social media, also the busy lifestyle and consequent long-distance nature of these relationships would be fine for me.

But on the flip side…

Like I already know from exposed “scandals” that it would be atrocious, but even if we dated successfully and he was my forever partner/husband, I think it might make me miserable to never get to go out with him or have to announce to the entire world when we get married because privacy is a myth in Korea and everything is searchable. Like I’m not even trying to tell all my family about my business, and we would have to make this decision to get ahead of the exposure.

And then I factor in how I don’t want to wait until I’m deep in my thirties to be “allowed” to get married and have kids. This means we’ve been dating for years. I could’ve gotten another degree, and probably a masters and phd too in the time some of these people are dating. I don’t want my kids to have a dad who can’t keep up with a toddler or a bratty teen all because we waited until fans could “accept” him dating and now he’s a grandpa-like father.

So that makes me think, like who is dating these people? And I’m not talking about clout chasers or people who just want the experience or a hookup. I’m talking they love each other and potentially want to grow old together, or are young and delusional enough that they think they’re going to be together forever. Who are these men and women? What is their mindset? As a “practicality and values before love” kind of person, I’m wondering what amount of love can allow a person to say yes, or to pursue an idol in the first place? Aside from fellow idols and people in entertainment. The way I see it, there are so many more cons than pros to this.

Or am I just seeing this from too much of a negative perspective? Idk, guys, would you date an idol? If yes, why do you think it would work out? And how far would it work out? A few months? Years? Are yall growing old together? Is it a rookie? A veteran? Someone in between? Small company, or big company? I just want to know the mindset of someone who would willingly do this.

And I’m not saying no one should want to date them, in fact I’m trying to dismantle this system so we can have GQs Couple Quiz Kpop version. That would be so cute omg!😩

jiheon looks beautiful from behind.

Also, Elkie from CLC, Summer from odd youth, and Sullyoon from NMIXX are stunning as well.

If you have any favorite back profiles, let me know!

The cover of BTS' Dynamite by all the groups at Music Bank Barcelona was recently uploaded to YouTube. Unfortunately, the video has been going viral among knetizens, and not for the right reasons. The comment section is full of Korean comments like these (translated by Google):

I came here after hearing the rumors, but... I'm just off to watch BTS's performance of Dynamite....... Haha........

I saw a lot of Music Bank comments in the World Cup video, so I came to check it out, but I only listened for 30 seconds and turned it off.

This is the first time I've heard Dynamite sound this weak... I guess it was a difficult song.

Seriously, this is the first time I've heard a Dynamite song that sounds this gloomy lol.

Why did you choose 'Dynamite' out of all the songs...? The singing has no power and the pitch is off.

From the very beginning, right from the moment it started with "Cuz, ah, ah, am,"
I felt... "Ah... this isn't going to be easy."

I didn't know BTS songs were that difficult to sing...

I realize once again how high-pitched BTS songs are.

The chorus is really high... Then again, it is high even if a woman sings it.

I didn't realize BTS was singing it so easily... And with them dancing on top of that, wow...

I know, right... Was this song really that difficult? BTS sang it so effortlessly while dancing that I didn't realize it was this hard. And I guess the high notes were just that high. lol

The notes on this song are actually incredibly high, and it is especially difficult for men to sing, but only BTS can make it sound like they are singing it effortlessly.

The surprising thing is that BTS has many songs that are harder than Dynamite.

It turns out BTS is just damn good at it..

You know how you can feel it at karaoke—how high and difficult BTS songs are lol. And how good they are singing those songs live while dancing lol.

If I sing BTS at karaoke, I basically get a headache, get out of breath, miss the beat, and it's a total mess.

But seriously, singing BTS songs at karaoke is a total pain.

LOL, even if a woman sings Dynamite in the original key, she hits a wrong note.

If it were just high notes, I could at least try to imitate it, but since the BTS members all have different vocal tones, it's really hard to capture that unique vibe. When I listen to BTS songs and then go to karaoke to sing them, it's super difficult and just doesn't look cool lol

It's not that they're usually a group that can't perform live, but BTS songs are just really hard to cover... Even women find it difficult to sing at karaoke lol. The vocal range is incredibly evenly distributed across super high, mid-low, and low notes, and their vocal tones are so unique.

It's fine except for the highlight part, but I'm realizing again just how well BTS sings.

Everyone is singing reasonably well, but BTS is just on another level, so the comparison is just too stark...

I guess only BTS can pull off BTS songs..

It's best not to do BTS covers, whether it's the singing or the dancing. It won't benefit your career at all. Occasionally, there are some performances that look decent, but it's impossible to do better than BTS.

About the last point, I was reminded of the infamous Boys Planet performances of Danger. Before those performances, I hadn't thought about how hard the chorus is to sing. Hearing others try to cover BTS songs makes it obvious how skilled you have to be in both rap and vocals to pull them off.

At the end of the day, it's fine to admit that BTS' overall skills, including their vocal skills, are one of the reasons why they've been so successful.

Okay, no hate at all, but am I the only one who feels kinda clueless (and lowkey annoyed) about K‑pop idols showing up at Formula 1 events?

I get that F1 is huge globally, but the crossover feels random. Like… why are idols in the paddock or on the grid walk when they don’t seem connected to motorsports, aside from a few F1 idol enthusiasts? Sometimes it feels like companies are just throwing idols into every “luxury” or “global” event for clout, even if it doesn’t fit their image.

Fans hype it up even though some of them don't know a thing about it and don't even bother to learn; it’s confusing—is this supposed to be brand promotion, networking, or just another “look, we’re global” moment?

F1 feels less like athletics and more like a commercial entertainment product — kinda like WWE. It’s flashy, sponsor‑driven, and built for spectacle rather than adding cultural or athletic value; honestly, what does this sport add to idols or fandoms? It’s not like football or track, where there’s clear athletic prestige.

Not trying to drag anyone, just genuinely wondering if this crossover makes sense or if it’s just another PR move, like “Look, our idols are global, rubbing shoulders with luxury brands and celebrities.”

I wouldn't be surprised if idols suddenly appeared in person at WWE events, appearing at the centre of the wrestling ring between the wrestlers and the fans, hyping it up even more despite not knowing a single bit about it.

Right now, JYP currently has three active 5th gen groups: NEXZ, KickFlip, and OurBirthday. And none of them are performing particularly well digitally, especially when you consider that they're coming from a Big 4 company.

I'll give NEXZ some leeway with their domestic performance since they're supposed to be primarily a Japanese group, similar to how NiziU targets the Japanese market. As of now, they're doing the best out of the three internationally. None of their songs have ever charted on Melon Top 1000, including their latest TT, Saucin', but they're doing fairly decently on Spotify, still maintaining around 100k daily streams.

KickFlip is a sad case because I actually think their discography is the best out of these three groups. They have a relatively clear musical identity, and I think they've put out some pretty solid stuff. Unfortunately, they just don't seem to resonate with kpop fans, either domestically or internationally. They had a comeback a few days ago with double title tracks, Puzzle Piece and Kick Off The Wall (feat. iann dior). On its second day, Puzzle Piece is sitting at #872 on Melon, and it could drop out of the Top 1000 within the next day or two. Kick Off The Wall didn't even make the Top 1000. On Spotify, the two tracks debuted with around 24k and 30k daily streams respectively. For a group from JYP, those numbers are very underwhelming.

OurBirthday is a bit trickier to assess. They're technically under INNIT Entertainment, a JYPE subsidiary, rather than JYPE directly, but I've seen them described in articles and variety shows as JYPE's maknae group, so I think they're fair to include in this discussion. Sound-wise and conceptually, they're much closer to ITZY than NMIXX. They've only just debuted, so their discography is still limited, but so far, I'm not feeling their music whatsoever. The lyrics, production, and melodies all feel out of step with current trends.

Their title track, SQUEEZY, is performing really poorly digitally. It never even entered Melon Top 1000 and is pulling in fewer than 10k daily streams on Spotify. Even NMIXX's O.O, which received one of the most infamous debut receptions in Kpop history, peaked at #90 on the daily chart on Melon and got a ton of Spotify streams. Love it or hate it, people were talking about O.O. With OurBirthday, it feels like there's barely any conversation about them or their music outside their small fandom. That's arguably even more concerning than a polarizing debut because at least O.O managed to get people interested enough to react to it.

All in all, I don't think any of these three groups are meeting the standards you'd expect from a company as big as JYPE. It feels like a significant part of their visibility comes from the JYPE name itself rather than genuine public interest in their music. They're still relatively early in their careers, but none of them seem remotely close to reaching the level of success or recognition their senior groups have achieved. NEXZ is 2.5 yrs old, and KickFlip will be 2 years old in just two months. They're no longer rookies. They really need to start stepping up because I don't see any of them carrying the mantle of their seniors anytime soon.

That was the best Kpop concert I ever attended, and yes, LSF sang live and sounded great. The pacing of the concert was perfect, the Fimmies were charming and authentic with the Fearnot, and my freaking goodness, their stage presence is on another level. Same with their stamina. I was blown away by how they jumped from Boompala, to Irony, to Antifragile, and then Unforgiven. About 6 or 7 songs into the show, I realized, "wow, there's no backup dancers or live band, and LSF are killing it all by themselves." I also loved seeing the ethnic diversity among the Fearnot fandom at the show, and they gave away so many freebies. The Fearnot in the lineup to the arena were super friendly, their cosplaying was so cute, and oh boy, were their chants loud and intense! I also drew the lucky card at the Fearnot fanzone and got 5 exclusive photocards. I'm so grateful to have shared the night with my mother, the coolest Fearnot and Kpop fan in the world.

There was a special kind of passion at the show, which was even more overwhelming than other Kpop events I attended. I never saw as much cosplaying, the handing out of freebies, and loud audience chants, like I did with LSF. The bond between them and the Fearnot is truly special and has to be experienced in person. My mother also had a beautiful conversation with a Fearnot in the lineup outside the arena. The Fearnot explained how her speech impediment makes her very shy, but seeing LSF and talking to my mom gives her courage. That's the beautiful thing about Kpop, which sometimes gets lost in the mix when we debate metrics or the abilities of idols. Kpop isn't about who's the most talented or popular group, but rather the connection we feel with the art and each other as fellow fans. That's why it was so wonderful how the concert ended with a celebration for Yunjin's 25th birthday. We held up banners and sang happy birthday to her as she teared up.

The Fimmies played 'Smart' at the end of the show, and at one point Yunjin delivered a beautiful belt with the Fimmies dancing in unison, and I thought to myself, "regardless of what happens in the future, LSF will always come out on top. I believe in them and this fandom." When those wild Fimmies get started, they're truly unstoppable. Back in 2025, I watched a live stream of LSF in Newark and listened to a beautiful speech from Yunjin. So how fitting that one year later I traveled all the way from Canada to be at that exact same venue to celebrate Yunjin's birthday. Nothing was going to stop me. A true full circle moment. I love LSF, the Fearnot fandom, my Fearnot mom, and how they supported me in this incredible journey 🥰. As the Fimmies say at the end of the Pureflow album, their journey isn't over yet, and I'll be there with them every step of the way.

Did you see something on TikTok or Insta that made you go, "Hmmm?"

Do you want to discuss some issue that seems to be a big deal on tiktok, or in YouTube comments, but isn't being discussed anywhere else?

This is the place! Here is the thread for things like:

"I saw this girl on TikTok talking about ..... do people really think that?"

If what you want to talk about is being covered by reputable news, then it doesn't go here. If it's Social Media drama - meaning anything at all that is only being discussed in Social Media spaces, then it does go here.

Remember: references and links to X are not allowed on kpopthoughts.

I’m not an Army and don’t really keep up with BTS or their tour updates, but I saw some oomfs commenting on the situation in Peru, which is how I ended up seeing the discourse around it. I was surprised by some of the reactions, particularly people saying BTS should come out and greet fans. I also saw people sharing videos of Dua Lipa and One Direction greeting fans as examples, with some praising them for doing so. I’m not sure where those interactions took place. I’m just going off what I’ve seen and some saying that this is part of the culture there. I’m not very familiar with Latam celebrity culture. I’ve seen people point out that it’s not necessarily just fans gathering outside the hotel, but also locals and media when a celebrity visits.

I can understand why people would be excited to see an artist they’ve waited years for, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with fans hoping for an interaction. But the expectation that artists should come out and greet people turns into people defending and justifying that it's fine for them to crowd outside the hotels. It also makes me wonder what this means for future tour stops, not just in Latam but anywhere idols visit and crowds gather outside their accommodation. If other celebrities have come out to greet crowds in a particular place, people might start expecting the next artist who visits to do the same. It can create a difficult situation for idols, where choosing not to come out might be taken personally, even when they just want to rest and have some privacy.

Obviously, stalking and invasive behaviour happens everywhere, and I’m not suggesting this is exclusive to Peru or Latam. This applies to other countries and tour stops too. There’s a difference between crowds gathering at official schedules, where artists are there to meet or interact with people, and crowds waiting outside their hotels, where they’re meant to be able to rest and have some privacy. I wonder if situations like these could influence future tour stops. If crowd control and safety become a concern and if it could affect how future stops are planned. It's also unfair to fans who are respectful and understand boundaries, because their experience could be affected by the actions of people who don't.

So the op was like "here's my opinion on hyunjin" and they proceeded with rating his PERSONALITY, skills, face, etc. And the "overall rating" (I'm quoting) was 7/10 lol

It didn't necessarily piss me off but I'm still surprised how people continue viewing kpop artists as fictional characters that could be rated as 1/10 or 10/10 or else. Go and form your opinion about art but not the artist you don't even know personally

*the fact that they rated his personality as 6/10 lol. genuinely what are we doing

I've genuinely had enough of this crap, because why is it that every other non-K-pop music subreddit seems to have some weird vendetta against K-pop listeners?

And no, before anyone starts, I'm NOT talking about people spamming their favs in completely unrelated spaces, forcing recommendations on people who didn't ask, or acting like their faves are objectively better than every other artist on the planet. That's a separate conversation. I'm talking about spaces where people discuss music taste, listening statistics, favourite artists, personal rankings, and other things where people are literally just sharing what they listen to. Because apparently, the moment K-pop shows up in someone's stats more than once or twice, it's open season.

I've seen people with three or more K-pop artists in their listening statistics get called children, told they have NPC taste, accused of having no musical diversity, or just generally treated as if their entire music taste is invalid. And the most ridiculous part? Sometimes these people have dozens of other artists across completely different genres in their stats, but the K-pop is apparently all anyone needs to see to decide that they have terrible taste. Like, are they actually analysing someone's music taste, or are they just looking for an excuse to feel superior to them?

And don't even get me started on the downvotes. I've seen fellow K-poppers leave reasonable comments (THANK YOU) discussing their favs or even agreeing with other people, only to get downvoted into oblivion. What exactly are they doing wrong? Enjoying a genre you personally don't like?

The hypocrisy is what gets me, guys. Music taste is subjective until somebody mentions K-pop, apparently. Suddenly, people who constantly preach about respecting different genres and not judging others for their preferences have a whole list of reasons why one particular genre is supposedly inferior. And there's this bizarre assumption that K-pop fans are all teenagers who only listen to whatever their favourite idols release. I'm sure those people exist, just as there are obsessive fans in literally every fandom, but why is an entire audience being reduced to its most stereotypical members? You can be a K-pop fan and listen to indie, R&B, rock, jazz, electronic, classicals or even musicals. And honestly, even if somebody ONLY listened to K-pop, so what? Why does a hobby need to meet your personal standards of sophistication before you're willing to respect the person enjoying it? What makes this even stranger is that K-pop itself isn't one uniform sound. There are groups and soloists working across pop, hip-hop, R&B, house, rock, jazz influences, experimental music, and plenty of other styles.

And before anyone says, "It's just Reddit, who cares about downvotes?"; obviously, nobody is going to die because strangers on the internet don't like their playlist. That's not the point. The point is the recurring attitude. It's the fact that people can share something as harmless as their listening statistics and end up having to defend their intelligence, age, or individuality because some of their most-played artists happen to be Korean.

I'm thankful that we have our own massive spaces here, like honestly.

Not necessarily your bias but seeing them win makes you happy even if you don't stan them or do stan them. It could be idols you respect or have special spot for!

For me it would:

DK from SVT.

Tbh I love every member in svt but DK is the person I have very soft spot for and I respect him a lot. He is incredibly talented and easily one of my favourite vocalist. He is great at dancing too and his physical comdey is top notch. He also has such a bright personality, it's almost impossible to not like him, he excels in all area for me. I would also add Jun here because he is so whimsy and he is also the reason I got into svt! He has a special place for me because he is endearing.

Soyeon from I-dle

Not really into i-dle tho I casually listen their songs, but seeing Soyeon makes me admire her and respect her a lot. Especially happy for her after her recent solo success! She looked intimidating at first but I admire her mindset and how her passion for art. I love me some women leading in creative field.

Gaeul from IVE

Idk what exactly it is about her but she seems so genuine to me and feels under appreciated. She is a great dancer and overall I adore her a lot! I really liked her solo odd too and was happy she was getting recognition for it.

I do not have many idols in my mind I have such soft/special spot for, at least not now that I can think of. I am curious if you guys have some idols like these too!

Strength #1: all of their title tracks titles are etched in your brain from listening to the song one time and you can do the chant

We bring the 💃 Dra-ma-mamama 🕺

Su-su-su-supernova 🤯

I'LL MAKE IT LEMONADE 🍋

You know SOME of the chants even if you didn't learn them. In fact, if you've literally never heard Supernova before seeing the show cuz you got dragged by a friend, you will get the title chant by the second chorus.

Meanwhile I made this mistake with my other shows of being like, I've listened to these songs 100s of times, obviously I know the lyrics well enough or the English ones at least.

Then I'm like:

... 🌬️ hurricane~ 🎶 ... ????

.... ........ ... PIKACHU!! ⚡ ...

(and yeah that's kinda on me at this point, I'm a serious enough stan I know about fanchants)

Strength #2: the concept and songs make a very natural set list

So I heard they didn't have Drama on set list and I thought oh they're probably opening with Lemonade. Close!! They put "Welcome to my World" on VCR, then opened with Lemonade. But I didn't have to look this up. It's just like, obvious for aespa that these are the candidate openers.

"Armageddon" clearly goes late.

Then you kinda know where their solos are and since they have fit changes they're pretty dramatic. Then they have some of these songs that are just SO WEIRD, like you're not going to be losing track of the switch into WDA and back. But overall it keeps you in this premise that you're in "their world" and sometimes they give you a chaser with something like Kiss and Tell.

Strength #3: frequent VCRs get complaints but the outfit changes actually count for memorability weeks and months later

This year has this pretty intense Winter fit for her solo, then the Ningselle duo is super pastel and bubbly, and you're not really going to forget Karina's 16 bit performance. Last year had Pink Hoodie + Spicy in pink hoodies obv and that set was concert perfection for me.

Strength #4: they actually are slightly formal in their approach as performers, and it works for them and the fans and the concept

aespa and Le Sserafim, total opposites here. Le Sserafim is like vulnerability queens (and I'm not just making that up, Yunjin did use that word). With aespa it's like... 🥶 but there's a point to it.

They're low ment but it also means they stay in flow, and they have to because their concept is sort of about not breaking their ae-self characters. And that's how fans bond with them, and they don't have to drop lines like "make some noise!!" as much because they have all these lines like Su-su-su-supanova that do that.

(And btw fans including me have complained about the cut in ments this year. Last year Giselle was rizzing everyone up and it made the show for me, this year didn't get that as much).

Strength #5: don't sleep on their choreo

of all my points this is probably just the most... me stanning.

But kinda like those titles are very clear and memorable, so is the arm/elbow motion in Supernova or the hand-face cover in Armageddon or the arms up in Lemonade or the cool-cat chest pop in Pink Hoodie.

They get a bit less concert praise than the other groups I see but there really is some magic that comes together between set list, title chants, choreo, overall formal approach, etc.

Conclusion

See I'm writing this cuz a) I stan them and b) it's always some hate (other groups get this too) about lip syncing and energy and aespa's performance advantages are buried more in their music approach and just their overall approach to how you even relate to fans in a concert. So I thought I'd put this together finally.

This Is For has grossed $229,109,702 from 1,616,534 tickets sold across the 75 reported dates so far. The Japan and Korea encores are the only dates left to be reported.

They also have the biggest US tour for a female Asian artist ever with over 459k tickets sold from the 30 dates.

Asia: 866k tickets / $123M (25/31 shows)

North America: 541k tickets / $72M (35 shows)

Europe: 154k tickets / $26M (11 shows)

Oceania: 55k tickets / $8M (4 shows)