#if ur not asian …u don’t get to debate 🦭

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Ok I know this is a tired topic but I’d like to your thoughts on whether BTS and BP are comparable to each other. Specifically on what makes them appealing to audiences considering that they are two of the most popular kpop groups today. A lot of it is marketing of course but the material for that has to come from somewhere.

i wouldn’t say they’re super comparable to each other, especially in terms of “success.” they just happen to be the top groups in the genre rn and i’d argue bts is more popular on a general scale (in the west) compared to blackpink. the most they have in common is that they’re 3rd gen groups and that’s about it. bts is always marketed as a group (its all or nothing that’s the appeal) while bp is always marketed individually with each member having their own brand.

for bts, their appeal has always been the group dynamic. everything is about 7, the 7 is sacred. bighit always markets them as 7 (members don’t have individual brand deals..although they def could). for me, as an old (retired) stan, bts used to offer a lot of their old fans something new in contrast to the content of the big three and their copycats. with bts and hyyh (later love yourself), they were the first to offer complete, committed world-building in visuals+music . in 2015, bts stood out from the rest with their trilogy album and continuing storyline (it was an Era), but that isn’t really apparent today with newer fans (a lot of fans who liked them during that rise to popularity dont really follow them anymore). bts getting massively popular in the past two years was very much about time and place (it could’ve have been any group in their position) and now it’s obvious that bighit has found the right “formula” in the west to keep them moving up.

for blackpink, me and a few (asian) friends have had a convo about this but their appeal to the west has always how that they’re the least “asian” group of most kpop girl groups. i feel like this aspect is more understandable if you’re asian+grew up in the west(+grew up with asians). bts still get the asian treatment from the west, while blackpink really don’t especially from pop stans. me and lot of ppl have always noticed that blackpink have a lot of western pop music stans that only like them and no other kpop group (often they’re the only asian artist in their stan list too). it’s an interesting phenomenon tbh (blackpink isnt technically kpop to them) and it relates to how asian diaspora here always feel more comfortable admitting they like them (bcuz they aren’t cringe and super asian like the other kpop groups). blackpink are asian, but marketed in a very westernized manner that makes liking them less “corny” than admitting you like kpop (like growing up if you were asian and admitted u liked kpop…it was just embarrassing ...). like idk if i’m truly explaining right, but they’re essentially your cool asian girls who don’t remind the consumer that they’re asian all the time.