#no because one time i compared a western full album to a kpop full album

[resizura]

the new nayeon album is an Album on spotify but theres only 7 songs plss

[struggle-but-its-all-ocean-floor]

I’m sure jungkook already had ideas about this going in, but I can’t help thinking about how much better all of the rappers in bts are compared to Jack Harlow and central cee. It says a lot about who gets elevated in the music industry. Like jungkook was so spoiled with rap line 😭 I wonder if it’s something he noted. Tbh, and I don’t know if this makes sense considering how much more recognized they are, but being a western pop star doesn’t seem like all it’s cracked up to be success-wise. There are a lot of people that make music that’s played heavily on the radio and heavily listened to, like kid laroi maybe, but idk if I’ve ever met a kid laroi ‘fan’ or if people really go to his concerts or physically buy his albums. Most likely he’s taking pennies from Spotify, and that’s probably what most of them do if they’re not Taylor swift. K-pop fan engagement is a different beast bc the fan culture is very much about actively engaging with the artists - going to concerts and buying albums and hyping them. You’ll more directly receive the love from your fans, which boosts you up more. Since most people aren’t going to be successful in either industry, I think I’d rather be in kpop since it might feel more rewarding in the moment

Yeah, the BTS rap line is infinitely superior to Central Cee and Jack Harlow - from flow to lyrics to looks to charm lmao.

It's true that success in the West a lot of times seems to mean people knowing who you are because they heard of you or heard one or two of your songs on the radio and not even by choice. Those artists make money from ads, performances, their label, but may not really have that many real fans. The Kid Laroi is famous, everyone in a given age group knows who he is, but he probably wouldn't fill a stadium in a heartbeat like Jungkook would, no matter how big the stadium. Even in a market like Europe, where The Kid Laroi is way more mainstream, Jungkook would still sell out any stadium over him, even if all the seats were filled with foreigners who flew in to see him. It's a bit unfair that, despite this reality, Jungkook will probably never be mainstream the way a lot of American artists are.

But American artists make a lot more money than kpop artists, work less in general, and often have more creative control and personal freedom. I wouldn't say that it's better to be a kpop artist. If you think The Kid Laroi is being paid pennies, than how much do you think most idols make? And he's just starting out. There's also a question of trainee debt, harsh beauty standards that male pop artists at least can probably evade, a grueling workload, less creative and personal freedom in general, etc. It's one thing to be BTS and another thing to be anyone else. Even Exo are all leaving SM and they're at the top of the industry. The pop industry is also exploitative, full of controlling executives, and ugly inside out, but I'd be willing to bet it gives artists more opportunities in the future. Music wise, I'd rather be an idol, and agree that the bond idols and fans share is much more interesting than what Western artists and their fans have, but I doubt that, as far as personal happiness and fulfillment go, being an American artist, pop or not, is less fulfilling than being an idol. Plenty of American artists have really solid fanbases and It opens a lot more doors too.

I don't know, both industries suck for sure.

Thanks for the ask!

[ohoshi]

budget is one thing, but please consider: time is different. no amount of money is gonna give you more hours in a day. realistically, it takes a whole day for a photoshoot like that, including getting everyone (members, muas, stylists, directors, photographers, staff) to the location, setting everything up, getting styling and makeup done, taking however pictures there’s needed for a photobook of 13 members, etc. if they moved locations for every version, the whole thing would take them 5 days at the very least. that would be kinda wasteful, don’t you think? especially when their schedule is already so full? idk i’d rather they spend more time on filming the mv, preparing performances, practicing choreo, working on music, resting, rather than have their pics taken. i understand the teasers are not to your liking and that’s totally fine, you can be critical ofc and i’m not saying need to love them. but let’s be a little realistic here and also not dismiss the hard work, time and effort everyone put into them…

i appreciate the sentiment !!

first of all i did not say a thing about svt's hardwork. or anyone else's who's involved (ie muas, stylists etc.) i did not ask for more work or effort from these people. i did not complain about their jobs. i think you completely missed my point. i only complained about the teasers as these are basically photobooks. actually these are two separate album versions w identical photos?? i'm sorry that's robbery

the way i see it.... i don't pay for a music video? or their performance ? yk jsgsj i don't own it it's not staying on my bookshelf i am not using it or watching it ever after it's released lmao, i might rewatch performances sometimes but that's about it, i don't pay to see it. you may value performances more, and that's cool !!! but me, i value albums. i value the art of photobooks, i value concepts. i ADORE that in kpop albums are cool and fun and have a lot of inclusions compared to western pop albums where you only get a cd. i think albums are a great opportunity to be creative as fuck and deliver something cool and crazy, this can be so much fun for members too, imagine how much fun they could have if the concepts were actually yk ..... thoughtful ..... ????? at this point they're just existing waiting for the flashes to blind them lol and when you're having fun at work it's like you're not working so this is in favor of members too jsgsjsgs

when i pay i'm gonna complain, sorry.. like this is their job? they're being paid to take nice photos... with my money btw and yours too so like ???????? 😭😭😭😭 AND STILL I SAID NOTHING ABOUT ???? THEIR POSING OR WHATEVER SJSGSJG i pay to collect and own this album i want it to be as pretty as possible, companies w lower budget than pledis(HYBE!!!!!!!) do more for album designs than pledis, i care about this lol you may not give a fuck and that's okay but i do not want to spend my money on an ugly low budget photobook? i just think this is a basic example of rational spending yk jagskag you people mass buy anything which allows companies to invest as little into albums as possible because they can clearly sell you anything so lol why invest more

sorry you got so heated up about a simple comment i made lmao but this basically sums it all up

[luvdsc]

miss cat you're so brave for speaking up about ptd sksjwks honestly, they aren't the first kpop group to release actual english songs and not just eng versions (the only one that comes to my mind is monsta x when they release a full english album) but i think the makerting strategies that have been around all the releases since dynamite kind of shows that they don't really care about the kpop industry or being labeled a kpop group, at the moment at least. I mean, sure there was the BE album, but they didn't even promote it properly (life goes on deserved better, and the fandom moved on way too quickly from it by simply saying that "the music industry is racist since dynamite was a hit while lgo floped", which agreed but they could have fought for it and streamed it more like they did to the other mvs).

to be honest, it's not that i miss the old bts, because as artists they are free to try new stuff and reach new places. i just fell out of them because they seemingly let go of the kpop essence and became a westernized mess. all i miss it's them going on music shows and doing encore stages and all of that again. the last one we have is for "on", like can you believe it? dynamite won like 283782 times and the poor mcs had to stand there and smile while the track played and credits rolled up every single time

the irony that I’m in the car and am about to answer your question and ptd comes on the radio djdjjdjdjd I just changed it to another station and olivia rodrigo is playing 🥰 yeah, monsta x did a whole english album, but i don’t think they promoted it on Korean shows? or did they?? bts isn’t really doing promotions in Korea anymore and are focusing solely on promoting in the US now, which shows in their drastic musical change in singles. wait also I actually enjoyed life goes on ??? I listen to that single often, and I did enjoy the other bsides on BE. blue & grey is my absolute favorite, and I listen to it regularly and it makes my heart happy because taehyung took part in writing it and the lyrics hit hard for me 🤍 but yeah, it seems like there was less promotions and hype around lgo compared to dynamite ):

exactly, lovebug !! artists are supposed to express their creativity and try new things, but their new direction just doesn’t suit my style anymore, so I’m no longer as interested in them as I was before, and that’s perfectly okay. I agree, they became more westernized, and I do miss the variety show appearances and weekly music shows (although, I’m not really watching those anymore for any group or artist, besides taeyeon). I also just don’t see how dynamite can be considered a kpop song and nominated on Korean music shows still ?? and yes, it is lowkey awkward seeing the mc’s like that sbhdjdjdjckc

[lesbiancarat]

PREACH IT!! SAY IT LOUDER FOR TH3 PEOPLE IN THE BACK!! *stands up and claps*

Just your comment, please I want to tattoo that entire response on my forehead so people could understand some stuff fjshdhsh. I very much agree with everything you have said, like I do think the bighit deal was more so with the help of say with western connections (which again does NOT mean pledis could have done this without bighit. They clearly could but I saw a theory on a YouTube comment where someone said they focused on the core fanbase aka in Korea which is their main market and it paid off imo) from helping with buisness side of things like we do have merch to buy directly (which I have my opinion on some merch ideas like why the fudge is bighit selling us water!? Bro you thought that worked with bts doesn't mean it will with seventeen) which wasn't common in the past or being able to film concerts with ease during the pandemic. Bighit clearly acknowledges that seventeen is a monster group in their own right I mean as you said, they break records and are 2nd behind bighits own group. They are EXTEMELY big in Japan. They are their own song makers, bang pd confirmed this when pleids was first announced in a press video so the fact people brush all of their achievements and statements because why, their streaming numbers are low?

And oohh such an interesting point as well! Very much i think the current mindset of kpop fans (or at least some) is that streaming is what equals success which to some degree, yes but as you said, many ignore the casual side of listening. People that find the song due to it being viral for whatever reason, a fancam getting popular like in the cass of hani from exid or whatever reason. Dwc is a great example and I saw those comments under their recent performance of that song and it makes me proud that the boys have a song like that. That it has its own "fanbase" quote on quote with how well loved that song simply is and well known. You don't have to have fans doing crazy streaming to be considered "popular", I mean I could give more examples but I don't wanna make this too long nor cause unwanted fandrama lol. Those casual listeners are extremely important and powerful I mean brave girls is a great recent example of that I think! It very much does seem like that when looking at the views, its mainly the core fanbase which isn't bad nor should we feel bad for not having crazy numbers. They seem more organic if that makes sense? Plus I agree, we can stream and can explain how it works, clearing up confusion about it like no emojis don't take down views and yes youtube does take away views but that is due to it making sure it isn't bots only viewing the video. Explaining that streaming should be done with a chill mindset and its ok if you don't stream. But hey, maybe we're too weird of fans to think like this fjajdjajs.

But some few updates! Seventeen is back on Instagram, fully everyone is posting away. Makes me happy hehe m, a bit funny it took so long for them to comeback but am happy nonetheless. The interactions that seungkwan does makes me super soft. Seventeen are also back with doing proper promotions so yay (also pledis is S Wording people over the mingyu issue finally so bless). As for me on the personal side of things. I have OFFICIALLY finished that video game ^_^ it took me a while but I have finished it, my last goodbye was completed and am at ease so to speak? Lowkey am planning on beating all the trophies in the game cx also may I ask about your thoughts on the album? Favorite songs, have you bought the physical cd?

ok finally getting around to this lol!!

and yeah that's absolutely true, pledis focused on kr promotions/fanbase first and foremost (and then expanded to Japan and is now looking toward the US/western promos in general). which i agree was a good thing. i think some companies get too greedy with wanting a group to be ~internationally famous~ that they ignore their Korean fanbase a bit too much and I've seen groups that have failed bc of it, so I'm glad that didn't happen w SVT

and yeah in terms of merch I'm genuinely grateful as an american that for this cb at least there was a US distributor which made things super convenient but wtf is going on w hybes merch those water bottles are not it TT it just sucks to see bc it's clear that at least as far as merch goes hybe doesn't have an interest in like. doing market research to figure out what carats want. which is funny bc they don't even have to start from scratch they could literally just ask pledis?? and tbh what's sad is i don't think hybe is like. purposefully trying to sabotage SVTs merch from my limited perspective i get the feeling they treat all their groups merch like that :( but since us carats have seen in the past what kind of merch we're capable of getting it's disappointing to see such a downgrade. and like tbf pledis's merch decisions were never perfect like that time they tried to sell replicas of the SVT rings and carats were rightfully pissed bc those are something the members earned, not something to be bought. and i also don't think hybe never has or never will make good merch, I'm sure they're fully capable of it. but it just seems obvious that they've put WAY less if any effort into understanding both the market (ie carats) and seventeens brand compared to pledis so like of course most carats aren't gonna like it :/ i really hope they step up their game and do better research or bring ppl onto the team who better understand svt's brand

and yeah i very much agree with everything u said about streaming! tbh i think this mindset isn't as uncommon as you might think, I've actually met a fair number of kpop fans who are critical of streaming culture but as u know there also are a lot of ppl who are really into it and those ppl tend to have the loudest voices. and unfortunately part of streaming culture is that if you question the methods or don't participate you must be a bad fan or secretly an anti or something ridiculous like that. so ppl who aren't into streaming culture end up learning to not be too vocal about it bc of how bad the backlash can be

yes! I'm glad to see insta line (+ now dk!!) active again. i still wonder why pledis made them stop using their ind instas, like I know all the theories people have as to why but honestly none that I've seen seem to fully make sense. it will probably be one of those things where we'll just never know the full story. but i digress!! regardless of the reason I'm just glad to have them back after all this time ^^

congrats on finishing the game! I'm glad it was able to help you work through your grief a bit and that you feel more at ease now ;-; and good luck with the rest of the trophies if you end up trying to get them!

as always I'm answering this a bit late so you may have seen already but i did get the physical album! it was a birthday gift so i only got it the other day, but according to my mom it arrived almost immediately after the album was released so as i said before, I'm very grateful for the US shop this time around ;-; as for the songs usually it's easy for me to pick one or two favorites but this time around it's genuinely a 4-way tie between heavens cloud and all the unit songs TT (i also love anyone and RTL, they're just slightly lower on the list in terms of preference if u get what i mean). i really hope some time in the future we get some kind of performance or special video or something for heavens cloud, since so many carats and the members themselves seem to really love it. i also think it's a song that brings up such beautiful imagery that it would be a shame if it never got any type of visual representation, you know? I'm also really curious to see a performance of wave, since iirc the members said the choreo is a lot more laid back/different from other perf unit choreos?? + that song also evokes such great imagery for me that like... makes feel like it needs some kind of movement so I'm just itching to see a performance. kind of like... even if i didn't know it was a perf unit song i would think it would be great to choreograph to if that makes any sense dhfkf. but yeah overall i think it's just a really solid album, as expected from summerteen ^^

[popculture-etc]

Kenny Rogers, Adam Schlesinger,...coping with 2020

Worst year ever although there were some good.

It’s too early yet for me to do a quick look back on what 2020 is like here as we’re only going to be in the first of December tomorrow (it’s Nov 30 here) but I just have to as two losses this year broke me. Kind of, well, especially the second one.

You see, before East Asian pop, Jpop and Kpop, Western pop culture was my thing. It still is and this pandemic has made me go back to that recently starting with...the Beach Boys (their westcoast sound caught me, hook, line, and sinker and I wasn’t very fond of the Beatles to begin with...to be completely honest) I’m currently chillin’ to right now, as I write this post. I’m really weak to the westcoast sound. Beach sound/s in general, rather. I’m a big fan of the beach where nature goes, for one. Since some time, a few years ago, deep chill and tropical house music has been my go-to when I want to chill or calm myself down after an outburst of sorts and I put them on when I just feel meh, especially on Fridays. When I dream of being by the sea, the beach or in some island on my own. I live in a country with a lot of beaches and the Visayas here is basically island region Philippines, lol. Like most people, I listen to music according to mood just like the way I dress according to mood. And...it’s no wonder, really that I’m so into the Beach Boys now. RIP the Beatles. My dad played some songs of theirs on the guitar or so but the hold they have on me waned later on and I just think now how overrated they were back then. They did have good songs but when talking of good music, as in really good that it retains the same sound style or so, it’s the Beach Boys for me. Brian Wilson is the man despite his issues and personal struggles.

Anyway, we’re going quickly off tangent. I’ll save the Beach Boys fangirling for another day. lol.

I grew up with western pop culture rife all around me thanks to my American, cowboy country and folk music listening dad, my Carpenters-loving mom and then, college-aged aunts who’d made me see the Titanic film more than my fingers could count---the third is clearly an exaggeration but well...some of it is true and they were why I got into American films like Pretty Woman (we have this in good ol’ VHS in our family home, my grandparents’ in Jasaan), Mannequin, Ghost etc. in the late 80s, coming into the early 90s. So, tired of all the kdrama and uninteresting kvariety shows on tvn and the rebranded local channel, Kapamilya (long story for what we formerly know as ABS-CBN, the nation’s a mess right now and our gov’t’s just...ick!), I’d retreated to my cave and got into old tv shows I’d watched as a kid instead like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed and it’s been, well, moving on from there. I’m checking out Twin Peaks later. I’ve been watching old Hollywood films too. Some revisits on this include: Casablanca, Gone With The Wind, and especially A Streetcar Named Desire will always and forever be my favorite. Very young and cute and good looking Marlon Brando, ugh. I have some others in the stash which include Bonnie and Clyde I’ll be getting into much, much later, maybe over the weekends and holidays. In sum, I have a long history with western pop culture, especially America’s, more than I have with Japan’s and South Korea’s. The latter being very, very recent so it doesn’t really compare as much.

Let’s get right down to it...

So 2020 had us lose Kenny Rogers to natural causes on March 20 in a hospice and after, Adam Schlesinger to COVID 19 complications on April 1. I know the latter as the songwriter of The Wonders’ That Thing You Do from the film sharing the same song title. I know Kenny Rogers well because my dad listens to him over and over in the car. In pretty much the same way, I know the words to Islands in the Stream by heart and I accept and revere it as one of the best, if not THE BEST country-pop duet songs of all time between Kenny and Dolly Parton...as far as country and pop music in the US of A’re concerned, of course. Miley and Shawn Mendez’s cover of it I’d seen recently was alright but nothing still beats the OG one, as always. With music, it’s just, really always the case.

Kenny departing from us March this year was alright. He was well cared for in a hospice and at the right age too, to leave us and this mess of a world behind for the afterlife. Sounds grim but not really. Heh. He died of natural causes so we know he was at peace and accepted then that his time has come. Fans and long-time listeners of his should also be at peace with this knowledge. I don’t consider myself a fan but since he’s been around so much because my dad plays his songs in the car often, I’m the same. I’ve accepted his passing away early this year. He’s lived his life well and given us good music to listen to should we like to remember him and his works and celebrate his life and legacy doing so.

Schlesinger’s case was way worse because, well, COVID 19. And it’s well...I guess we all saw it coming, me included, that I’d just learned, watching the one of many national English news on ANC that ‘pandemic’ is the word of the year according to Merriam-Webster. Timely, huh? Yep. Predictable, really. Sarcasm noted here.

So if someone ever asks what 2020 was about, we only have to say that according to Merriam-Webster, it’s the global (COVID 19) pandemic. Short, not-so-sweet, succinct, and grim. Yep.

This one, Schlesinger’s case, is something I still find difficult to accept. He was only 52 years old! He was at the prime of his life and had some projects still he was working on at the time of his passing so WHY?! I suppose that’s all of us who followed him and his extensive work on tv, film, the stage and his own band, Fountains of Wayne when we heard news he’s passed away due to COVID 19 complications. It’s definitely me now though I learned of it late. Heh.

To cope with the sadness of losing Schlesinger, gone too soon at 52 years old and with an impressive Hollywood tv, stage, film resume to his name since and his own band’s, Fountains of Wayne (FoW) really good discography, by the way, I’ve been listening to FoW’s Welcome Interstate Managers---all of the contents of said album/record---and That Thing You Do’s OST with the Beach Boys’ Sounds of Summer Best of in between. My favorite song on Welcome Interstate Managers is the sarcastic take on real life as an everyday worker in sales, Bright Future in Sales. As much as I like chill sounds where music goes, I like me some music with lyrics jolting us back to grim reality in much the same way I like films (indies, mostly, or lesser known short and full-length ones) that tackle social issues not frequently discussed in public or so but we are aware are there, still plaguing much of today’s society. I live for cynical, satirical, ironic, and even hyperbolic stuff about real life actually. It may be why I’m so entrenched and attached to the era where we all hated ourselves---the 90s. Although one would say much of that sentiment or feeling did carry itself to the 2000s, though. I don’t know about you, but until now, I still hate or have heavy dislike for myself and everything else around me, especially our gov’t or current admin here in the Philippines, and people in general so I don’t think it ever really goes away. And going off tangent again for the nth time today.

Anyway, my 1996 was That Thing You Do on HBO in our household...on and off along with other 90s films like The Craft, Clueless, Jawbreakers (I think this still plays in Cinemax from time to time) so of course losing Schlesinger also was...rather, is hard. He’s done so much and he was supposed to be working on more and he’s left such a deep mark here for us, avid fans of American pop culture...I suppose, even the casual ones. Aside from his That Thing You Do, I’d also seen Josie and the Pussycats at some point. I don’t remember when, where...though I did watch some episodes of the cartoon on Cartoon Network (CN) so of course, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen the film of it as well. He worked on a track or some tracks there, too. 

2020 sucks. COVID 19 sucks. This global pandemic sucks. But at least there’re films, tv shows, music, stage musical plays turned movies (Jonathan Larson’s Tick, Tick...Boom! is coming to us soon with Andrew Garfield in the lead---I’m wary of Garfield being a forgettable actor since The Amazing Spider Man because Dane Dehaan was what made that for me, to be quite honest so I’m not so sure of him being Jon here and as a self-respecting Larson fan since Rent, I’d rather they casted Neil Patrick Harris/NPH since he was in the London stage for this way back anyway...) to keep us entertained and fine until then. What would it take for ‘rona, and I’m not talking about the American Corona beer here that’s really popular in the west coast, to go away? I, like the rest of you in self isolation or quarantine, tend to think so but I don’t think we’ll have any answer to that until the vaccines are well underway by spring next year. Or at least, that’s what health authorities and scientists tell us anyway. I get reminded of it often in the news and I only tune in to that once in a while now because even that, following that daily, breaks my mental faculties down due to stress and pressure and all and I can’t have that when I still have so much, at the back of my mind, to do.

But anyway, time to conclude this one with one of my favorite The Wonders songs, All My Only Dreams just to end on a good note, better than the last paragraph’s ending at least and to remember Schlesinger as well that we’d lost this year along with plenty others we’d met in passing who’ve also left this world especially due to COVID 19 complications. I know we know a lot of those. For me, it’s a distant relative or family member I’d known since young but don’t have particular fluffy bunny feelings for because of some things that happened between the guy and me growing up in the NCR/Caloocan City to be exact. There’s also my good friend and former co-worker’s only remaining parent, her dad and a few more, I’m sure. So I hope 2021 would be better but I doubt it...very much. It’s still looking pretty dim, grim and bleak from here, where I’m currently standing in 2020.

Before we really end though, COVID 19 is definitely not a hoax. It hasn’t been since the first cases started in Wuhan, China. It’s just, only been getting worse and still continue to claim lives and spread to more people even those at home. So as someone who comes from a household of mostly medical workers or health care workers here, we should really be very careful about and around it. Let’s take the necessary health protocols seriously like wearing a mask out and maybe the face shield too and always keeping the sanitizers, alcohols in our bags among others---hygiene and sanitation, disinfection. It may come off really anal of me and I am not anal (I don’t like people with Type A personalities in the first place, lol...I’m just a very cautious Virgo, really, and a Type X---mix of Type C and D personalities) but seriously, SERIOUSLY, I can’t stress this enough, COVID 19, the virus SARS-COV2, that causes it is real. Very real and once it’s in your system, it can go the fatal, deadly way or just the mild and you’ll recover later anyway way. It’s not picking which people should die next and which should not, really. It’s really just there making a mess of things that are already messy since the beginning. My point being, it’s just better if we don’t spread it or are careful enough not to contract it with following health protocols set by health experts, scientists to help us get by this...pandemic. 

Well here’s to 2020 being over soon and 2021 creeping in on us soon enough. 

P.S.

Billie Armstrong of Greenday upped a cover of That Thing You Do as a tribute to Adam and the youtube live of the Wonders coming together again to pay tribute to and celebrate Adam’s life may still be up on the ‘tube. I have yet to see the latter but enjoyed the former. They are just so...sweet and precious. Ugh. Adam Schlesinger, gone too soon indeed. :(

PPS

Another songwriter/contributor in the TTYD OST passed away last year, too. Rick Elias. Cause of death is brain cancer. I had a friend from college, young and so full of life and dreams, who passed away due to the same thing so I’m kind of aware how this goes. Ugh. Cancer sucks. All of these are just so...sad. Depressing, actually.

[songsorter28]

Blackpink: The Album Review

Okay, this is the first time i’ve done this and the truth is i don’t know how, so i’ll just try my best.

First of all: I am a Jennie biased blink. That means I have no trustworthy sense of criticism when it comes to them and if you do, this is probably not the place for you. I will try to talk about this album with a sense of criticism, but sometimes, i’m just gonna like a song because it’s blackpink and y’all just gotta deal with it.

BUT, I am not afraid of saying i don’t like things that the pinks have said it to like, which is actually how i’m starting this review. So, if you guys are all about loving the girls and emotion and “think about how they must feel” this is a decision made by the girls, this place is also not for you either. I am a blink and i share a lot of love for those four women, but i am also a consumer of their work as artists. I will complain if I didn’t get something I thought was necessary as a viewer and listener for my money and attention to be spent. I will not, of course, hate on them in any way.

Ok, before anything:

1) English isn’t my first language, so I apologize for any mistakes. 2) Here, we’re gonna talk about the cover, pre-release single choices, writing credits, tracklist and my honest opinion about the album as a whole.

a) The Cover:

There’s not a lot to talk about but the fact that it’s gorgeous, but simple. I didn’t understand why a crown if the name was The Album (something unoriginal to be honest, but i’m not 100% against it) and there’s no reference to royalty throughtout the album besides maybe Jennie’s rap “didn’t want to be a princess”. I did find the cover visually pleasing tho, could be much more embarrasing.

b) Writing credits and Track List:

This one is quick. I’m extremely glad Jennie and Jisoo were credited as songwriters (Jennie as well as a composer) but Teddy gotta give Danny Chung to god. He hates rapper Jennie and he’s the reason Lisa doesn’t write. He’s always in charge of the raps so teddy gets confortable and Lisa doesn’t get a chance to write her own verses, which is something the sure thing cover showed us she can do. Also, he hates rapper Jennie to the point where she had to write her rap on the title track (wich is good, but, you know what i mean) and wasnt even given a chance to write more than 8 seconds. Melanie I hope this is the last time you were here. Loren you can stay. Tommy and Ryan yall were cute we had fun but it’s over let’s move one (seriously, these producers really made me appreciate Teddy more lmao pls sir never leave us). Okay that’s it. Now, to the track list.

I will be talking about the fact this shouldn’t even be called a full album on the My Honest Opinion About The Album As A Whole topic.

1. How You Like That

I say my opinion more detailed on the next topic but at at essence. Cute. A good opener to the album and what is to come, but too much of a bside to even be a pre release single.

6.5/10

2. Ice Cream

Again, my opinion it’s on the next topic. Cute song. Loved Chaennie’s high notes and wish i didn’t know english so the rap didnt sound that silly. Not as bad as blinks and non blinks make it out to be. 

6.12/10

3. Pretty Savage

I kinda also talked about that in the next topic lmao. It has everything a blackpink song should have. There’s been some controversy about Lisa “born skinny bitch” but Lisa was talking about herself since she has been body shamed through her whole career. She was right and she should say it. You’re entitled to feel uncomfortable but that’s just the thing she wasn’t talking about me or you. She was taking her pain and wearing like an armor. This was a diss track for the haters. Taking that away from her because of our own issues it’s kinda mistreating hers.

8.82/10

4. Bet You Wanna

Yes you guessed it right I talk more about it next topic. It’s a bop. Loved Jennie here. She has such a versatile voice I was very proud to hear her. And Cardi was also good. Just hope Lisa will get her rap part live cause she didn’t have much lines here. But I loved Jenlisa’s brigde. Rosé’s adlibs peak perfection and Jisoo’s chorus and english that’s what i’m talking about. The chorus can be a little repetitive and it kinda ends a bit suddenly but it doesnt bother me much.

8.37/10

5. Lovesick Girls

WHAT TO SAY ABOUT THIS MASTERPIECE OTHER THAN BEST BLACKPINK TITLE TRACK? Love that for me. It was so different than anything they’ve done so far, the lyrics were AMAZING, the message behind it also, the visuals in the MV, storylinne, RAPPER JENNIE OMG, she got the most memorable line “didn’t want to be a princess, i’m priceless” i love her tf the shade to the yg princess title and her scene in the car and in the mental hospital(will not touch on the controversies cause that was annoying) also Lisa’s rap/singing with a flow in the begining her voice OMG I WAS SHOOKEDT. Jisoo’s high note in the brigde? Rosé?? perfect.

10/10

6. Crazy Over You

Rapper Jennie for the last time with a 8 second rap again but LET’S BE POSITIVE. A bop. I loved the i. went. crazy. over. you. I love the lyrics. It bother a bit this much english but it’s bp’s idendity so i’m fine with it.

8.5/10

7. Love To Hate Me

This was a predictable song in the best possible way. Easily one of their best songs. There’s honestly nothing left to say. Also. Lisa’s rap. Maybe Danny Chung deserves some points. It even felt like she was a feat in the song like her flow yall just perfection.

9.4/10

8. You Never Know.

Great song I left with depression.

I like how this album talks with haters and blinks, it really shows a different side from the pinks. Only a few know the emotion Jennie starting off “but you never know unless you walk in my shoes [...] cause everybody sees what they wanna see, it’s easier to jugde it than to believe”. It was written by Loren, a close friend from the girls and the boy who’s Jenlichaeng  boyfriend in the LSG’s MV and Bekuh Boom, a producer who’s been with them for really long, but if anyone got a conspirancy theory that they were involved in the songwriting process of the song, sign me up. You don’t need proves. I believe you. ALSO JISOO GOT MOST LINE ON THIS ONE and we got singer Lisa. After a while, it become my favorite song from the album. Now, it’s my favorite song from their discography. Debate your mother.

9.62/10

c) Pre-Release single Choices: 

I can’t stress about this enough. Whoever was in charge for the single choices needs to go to jail. Not that HYLT is bad (at all) but comparing to the rest of the songs, it look MUCH more like a powerful bside than Love To Hate Me and Pretty Savage ever will. I will lecture later how Pretty Savage was the perfect choice to first release single, just wait. Now, to the controversial Ice Cream. To be honest, i found the song super cute and i think the MV was one of their best. It was different and refreshing, love that for me. But the whole sequence of events that turned out to that disasterous twitter timeline, with constant attacks to the girls especially Lisa over things they cannot control such as line distribuition and a sabotage from antis on yt comment section, was something I kinda already saw it coming. Ice Cream is Blackpink’s most successful single to date, but it was a bad choice from the start (I will talk about that in a second). For starters, YG decided not to promote the song well. While announcing the single, they gave us a poster with pictures from a summer package released months before. And each week they kept doing that, only using actual teaser photos in the release week. The hype was pretty much out. I can’t say my timeline is 100% blink because i have way too many fandoms that i’ve been following for longer than i’ve known kpop, but compared to the HYLT hype, they were pretty down and that’s on YGE. Also, ever since coachella, it’s been antecipated by fans and artists the possibility of a Blackpink x Ariana Grande (one of the most popular singes these last couple of years). The idea of an Aripink collab got blinks (who were already with an eye wide open after Blackpink was seen with Tommy Brown, Ari’s basically oficial producer, who has been producing for her ever since her second album and was reponsible for many hits of her latest project, Thank U, Next, such as 7 rings and Thank U, Next) even more hyped when YG announced (one of those old photoshoot posters. I’m sorry I will never let that go that company is so trash) that Blackpink’s second release was going to be a collaboration with a western artist, and Ariana herself like Jennie’s instagram post about the next single. I cannot put in words the reaction of my twitter timeline when YG confirmed that the collab was actually with Selena Gomez. 

Now, on a more personal note. 

You see, I actually like Selena. I like her songs, besides the critics. Perfect is pop perfection. Waverly Place is the best disney show ever since That’s So Raven. But, to a collab made to the US market, and besides the success of Rare, Selena isn’t a sales force like Adele or Taylor Swift, nor a streaming force like Ariana Grande. Nothing takes my theory that this was supposed to be an aripink collab but, for some reason, she dipped and then interscope (blackpink us label and selena’s label) picked her. Selena showed us a good time and promoted the girls more than YGE did but, it wasn’t a surprise when the song didn’t get a top 10 (a top 13 is really good tho, don’t get me wrong). 

Now back to the story telling

Selena was more than a feat, she sang the whole damn song, getting more vocal lines the the entire vocal line. She’s only a few seconds behind Lisa, who got the most lines in general. I understand that it is a collab, but this is the girls’ single. Why would they want to listen to them for only 16 seconds, the amount of time Rosé got? That set a bunch of solo stans (something that exists more in this fandom than everywhere else) to boycoitt the release, a huge fansite even taking out their funds for the full album (that was low, even for a solo account. JisooBar, you aint seeing heaven). Did i think it was a little of overeacting? As someone who’s an army that had to handle Not Today’s line distribuition, and especially since we’re talking about the main vocalist, someone who will for sure have more lines in the future (as she did), kinda. But, like i said, it was a bomb getting ready to explode at any minute. If it wasn’t that it’d be something else. That being said, NOTHING will ever justify the nastyness y’all did with Lisa and even Jennie’s comment section. Nothing. That was ridiculous even for solo stans. BUT for people who got worried about Lisa’s lack of posts after the release, don’t worry. She didn’t post a lot because Thailand is going through some stuff and I don’t think she has YGe’s permission to talk about it (when I catch the ones in power on that company istg). 

Wow, that was long. At essence, it  was a bad choice for several reasons, but i enjoyed the song a lot. Can’t wait for the live performances with chaesoo’s lines.

Now, back to HYLT. It was greatly promoted, it stopped Zico’s (huge in korea) releases and a bunch of other big artists in South Korea. Got 7 Perfect All-Kills and would’ve gotten more than 12 if the charts weren’t reforming at the time. It also broke a lot of records, and repeated Sour Candy’s position on the bb100 on #33. It’s another very Blackpink song that  I enjoyed but kinda aged. Many non blinks didn’t like it but it’s not like they were ever going to admit they liked a bp song. They’re annoying. The song’s biggest problem is probably the 2015 edm in the chorus. Like. Teddy. You gotta let that go. It’s time. He kinda heard us in the album. But, these kinds of songs are very liked by the general public, especially the korean one. An interview was made asking the general public if blackpink should change concepts and they said a bit fat no. So that tells what you need to know. And that it why i think Pretty Savage should have been the first pre release single. 

Okay, let me tell you another series of event. Back on november 2019, when we were starving because YGe does not like money, BlackpinkBar, a big fansite, payed trucks to be sent to YG building during a whole day demanding for better treatment to Blackpink. You can find all the demands online, but at essence, when it came to music related, blinks always mention: Jisoo’s lines, screen time and blackpink in your area, Main Rapper Jennie, Lisa dance break, Rosé’s high note. On HYLT, we got nothing. And everyone had to shrug it off saying it was just a pre release single, BUT it would be better hyped by blink and the hype to the second pre release would’ve lasted longe if PRETTY SAVAGE, who has basically all of that, was the pre release single. It would’ve assured us of so much. Jisoo said bp in your area twice, she RAPPED, she was singing, she could’ve had more screetime and center time especially bc she’s on all chorus. Jennie Main Rapper would go back and we wouldn’t have to be blue balled (which caused the ice cream meltdown)every single release and only having to wait till the title track and only to have a 8 SECOND RAP. I won’t talk about that now. Moving on. Rosé wouldn’t get a high note, but she would’ve gotten the brigde all to herself and the next pre release single, bet you wanna (wait for it), she would get those incredible adlibs. And Lisa’s dance break. Not only this is bp’s most danceable song and has a bunch of lisa’s raps, it also has jennie’s outro, where for a least 20 seconds lisa could’ve thrived. Yall we were robbed.

Now, real quick, back to Ice Cream. In a perfect world (or just a world where YG’s current ceo) had brains, if they wanted a collaboration to show the pink side of blackpink, with a poppy song and sassy lyrics, the artist not to be in the whole song, and to have an artist who would driven attention from the locals and is a big streaming force, THEY WOULD’VE CHOSEN BET YOU WANNA. My biggest problem with bet you wanna is Lisa’s lack of lines, which could cause stuff and well we just miss her they could have added a rap even for 8 seconds, BUT, seeing her all around pretty savage and knowing she’s gonna have Cardi’s rap during live performances would cool things down. Since we were in the middle of a pandemic, instead of a mv like ice cream where they had to do it separately, they could’ve done something like IU’s eight. A huge part in animation and a few with people. Literally YG why are you so dumb. Bye.

d)  My Honest Opinion About The Album As A Whole:

I did some math (lol) and my rank for The Album is 8.4. It’s easily one of the best releases from this year and I loved it so much, but something were left to be desired and i think i could pass everything and just turn a blind eye at things, except one: the fact we waited for 4 years, watched all ggs and yg groups getting comebacks last semester and only got 8 songs. Loona is releasing a mini album with that amount of songs. Stray Kids and BTS’s mini albums are longer than that. It was bad enough KTL had 4 songs and a remix (a joke) with 2 songs lacking raps and no rapper jennie only for them to carry YG’s dirty name after what their protected boys did. I legit hate it here they didn’t even had 30 minutes, their longest song wasn’t even 4 minutes. Also, before anyone says anything about the girl’s interview about quality over quantity. I’d like to say that i understand them having that when it comes to have one comeback a year and i’m honestly okay with that. But their first full album? 8 songs? Are you kidding me? Like I said, I’m a consumer. I refuse to receive this half assed excuse about quality over quantity when they had more than enough time to produce and write more than 8 quality songs? what, is impossible to write more than one song per moth? these songs have formulas, they can be made more than 8 times. A blackpink album its more than a thousand reals here. That 90% of a sallary. And please don’t come with the “if you don’t want it just don’t buy it” “you can just unstan them” bc that’s not the case. I love their songs. I love the girls. But I’m a consumer of their art and if they want to be takend seriously as artists, they gotta do more than 8 songs on a full album. It’s unfair to anyone that isn’t a diehard fan willing to sell out an overpriced photobook in hours. That’s not the only kind of fan blackpink needs. they need the store locals, the people who are not on twitter or tumblr or instagram. Cause those locals are gonna stay like they stayed with adele and taylor swift. stan twitter is much more likely to leave them with time.

Side note: I’m tired of commenting on rapper Jennie so I’ll just say Jennie deserves better than 8 second raps as the main rapper of the group. That doesnt mean I want Lisa to not rap or to Jisoo not to sing, as many will say bc apparently that’s what people hear when we say main rapper who trained for 6 years to be a main rapper should rap on at least most title tracks even if not on all songs.

But yeah, that’s it. Besides the unfortunate final note, I loved The Album and now Blackpink it’s my second most listened artist of all time. They were top 13 before the album.

[kurou3gi-blog]

But when was Jxk planned? September? Does it coincide with the exo's trip? There were already rumors about the hot sun back then, or was it about she being lazy? I don't think it was through spm. Because rumors said they would end in March, but it only lasted 20 days. What would s * m and y * g's plan really be with a plan that would theoretically last 2 months?Can you please explain explain

I think same like you about jk not for spm. But I think jen is dating preview start on august 2018... Because I saw some anons asked about jk dating on famous social platforms around the world except on netizen places and some western buzz channels on youtube started to trolled a content about next kpop idol dating couple contents along with each bp members X famous male idols contents + most of prediction acc on twitter trolled about bangtxbp and eksoxbp... 

Then... I think they fixed jk around september... And like we see how LQ of dp unfolded things that started about jk to troll the hint with the western couple pic that they deleted it after ppl can catch it.... Then the crack in their love timeline by dp project.... Like they have no time to set up.... We can compare how dp unfolded them with hyundawn case to more know what is real unfolded and what is fake unfolded...

So I think jk is an accidentally just do it in time to cover something than to promote something - -”

Tbh I think how esm & jwhyp confirmed khuntiff is the best all of time....

And if we turn back to 2019 after all of us knew about pre spm announcement until early of this year...

No one say that jk for spm promotion... 

So I still wonder after see some of my anons say jk for spm promotion....

Even like we see how esm manage spm railway from real start at the late of 2019 with high speed establish one day for mv because some of spm should aboard and like we see those clips to show spm members recording the songs and practiced their choreography dance only a bit weeks before debut...

Everything with how spm spawned in real time and what esm said they planed about spm since late of 2018 are conflict.

In the name of staff under the big organization, I think we knew that if we have long term project... It’s mean we just finish it in long term not mean finish it in a few weeks.... We will gradually finish it. aka we have more time to create the best thing to our project...

And if they already knew about the birth of spm since late of 2018 or early of 2019... It’s mean esm should clear most of their spm members’s work schedule for the preparation of spm debut...

But like we see... Only ji was free...

Then....

Think of their first teaser and shooting....

They were the LQ teaser with full of recycle cloths and concept....

esm made spm things like the assignment isn't completed on time.... Like they knew the deadline only a few weeks before the actual date. Work on fire before it burn - -”

Compared with lay’s album or bh second solo album...

Tell me spm is a big project like what lsm claimed...

[homieswithhades]

BTS Analysis;

I don’t even know if I can call this an unpopular opinion bc I know some people agree with this, this is more of an in-depth analysis and personal experience I guess. It’s all about bts... and its lowkey a mess. I apologise in advance for any grammar/spelling errors, and times I may contradict myself a bit. This is something that REALLY bothers me. I just want to clarify that I love bts a lot, and that I was the HUGEST STAN for a good 5ish months. I still stan them but not as much due to the following reasons.

They just don’t make good music anymore.  They love yourself era was when everything turned to shit. The actual core love yourself concept is very good but,,,, it was executed really poorly.

Dna was my first comeback with them, even though I’ve been listening to them since august 2016. But when actually became a stan in April 2017, I was obsessed with them. I was so damn excited for their September 2017 cb that my standards were through the roof. During the summer they changed the logo and did the beyond the scene thing,,, that’s the first thing that kind of irked me,,, and then they did the highlight reels in the style of I need u and they were redeemed.

When love yourself her started promotions and teasers, the bar was higher than the person who edited the DNA mv. The concept pics were so unfitting??? And just lacked that aesthetic element. I dint like them at all,,,, and the album cover was,,, below standard and looked rushed and lazily designed. But when serendipity came out I loved it (and I still do) so that fuelled my expectations for the music, even though they weren’t really that damaged by the odd first impression of the album. But then DNA came out and???? I was so disappointed?????? The beat was so annoying,,, the mv was so ugly,, the outfits were ugly,,, the lyrics were weird. In other words DNA was just a straight up flop... I hoped the rest of the album would have been better but,,,, it really, REALLY wasn’t.

After love yourself her I lost a lot of interest in bts. I missed their old music so much, and I was genuinely upset over it. I didn’t follow them as closely as I used to. I started to joke about them with my friends who lost interest in bts before me, but I still missed the old bts so much. The whole Ellen show thing, all the western media like Buzzfeed and Billboard making vids and articles about bts, all the rigged award shows, it pissed me off bc they were getting famous in the US bc of their worst album that didn’t display their full potential at all!!!!

Imma just go out and say it, armys are one of the most toxic fandoms ever.

Sometimes they’re just plain disrespectful and starting arguments where they don’t belong. I wouldn’t be able to count how many times I got attacked on Twitter, Instagram and even in the YouTube comments for expressing a different opinion. I remember all the fan wars and scandals. All the mobs at airports, All the times k-fans and i-fans tried to ruin another groups reputation (I’m not saying other fans never did this, bc it was always a thing, but it was never this extreme.) and the fuckin credit card thing oh my god,,,, a huge shitstorm caused by one fandom that lasts for years on end.

When bts got really mainstream, and gained more young western fans, they really ruined bts even further for me. Not to mention all the cringey tweets and memes, they hurt to look at. I absolutely don’t mind the “you got no jams” meme or the “ExCuSE mE” one, bc theyre just pure goof from the members, but when armys took it and overused it, that’s when it started to get annoying.

Some armys genuinely think bts is the only kpop group and that the world revolves around them. They comment “annyeonghaseyo any armys here???!!!” in the most unexpected places, I deadass saw someone on my overwatch team playing quick play with the name “army.FOREVER.saranghae” yall do realise it costs 10$ to change ur blizzard username, right?

Some armys also don’t respect other kpop groups in older gens (or any other ones for that matter) and assume that bts broke through into the western world themselves, which is complete bullshit, without groups like bigbang, shinee, tvxq, shinhwa, h.o.t,  seo taiji boys etc etc (and other ones I don’t know of rip) kpop would have never gotten into the western world.

I never identified as an army bc I knew they were cringey bc of my friends who were HUGE armys back in 2016 and low-key koreaboos, and I knew what the bad stans looked like, so I never associated with them, and just called myself a bts stan. But the whole western situation just got so goddamn worse. I was sick of the Americans plaguing bts for me.

I also wanna say, I know not all armys are toxic and cringey. And I respect the level headed and chill Armys, yall are doing it right.

Moving on from Armys, I noticed a change in bts themselves. Namjoon changed his stage name, which absolutely sent me. I understand the meaning behind it but for some reason I felt that he did it to be fake deep? Or woke, and that he tried to completely cover-up his past self. The other members became cocky and were always draped in all that ugly Gucci and designer shit. I knew they were being forced to act the way they were acting, bc I know them well. I know how they really are. I know that they’re good people. I know they’re very humble deep down. They had that special connection with their fans before, that made u feel like u were good friends with them, and they absolutely ruined that. They’re being forced to put on this fake image to impress you filthy Americans.

I still stan bts atm. But I stan them for their old music and the people they truly are, not who they are portrayed to be. I can’t remember when euphoria came out, but I was kinda annoyed they tried to incorporate hyyh prologue into their shitty concept. And the song was also annoying and too edm-ish (like most of their new songs, idk why their style completely changed). Anyway, when tear came out, I was still kinda off the bandwagon, and I saw the concept pics and I was surprised at how nice they were. I saw the album cover, which was still ugly but better than the previous one. Then Singularity came out and!!!!! I loved it a lot. And then fake love happened. Oof is all I have to say. But some songs on the album, were actually good. Like the truth untold, paradise and OUTRO TEAR. Outro tear will remain the best song in the love yourself trilogy.

I also feel that I have to acknowledge that for all the love yourself albums only the intro and outro were genuinely up to standard (except outro answer).

Then came love yourself answer and idol. When I found out they were collabing with niki minaj I lost it. The concept pics were ugly once again, it was supposed to a controversial comeback???? And??? It wasn’t. I’m honestly glad it wasn’t promoted.

I noticed a repetitiveness with songs on answer. The beat was off with the singing. It was all just a mess. I also noticed the amount of godddamn auto tune in the songs (eg, mic drop, fake love, idol, airplane pt.2 and others I can’t remember atm) all of bts’s old songs all sound unique and different, and they all had this “emotional” element to them, to elaborate on that, compare dna, fake love or idol to save me, I need u or young forever. Notice how dna, fake love and idol convey absolutely no emotion through the lyrics or the actual beat of the song, unlike save me, I need u or young forever, that literally have more sentimental/emotional value in the few English lines that are in the song then all of the lyrics in their 3 new title tracks combined. I think this is my most difficult point to explain bc different songs make people feel different things, but it’s no doubt that you can tell the difference between a song that’s made to appeal to the masses with no unique properties to a song that coveys deep emotion (whatever the emotion may be) through the beat, the lyrics and the sound of the vocals/rapping alike. Listen to intro nevermind, and then listen to go go and just try to tell me that im wrong.

Alos, bts seem to have incorporated auto tune into songs, especially on their vocalists. bts don’t need the auto tune bc they’re good vocalists. Also, I have to mention, the vocal line isn’t the “best” per say. they’re good vocalists but it’s nothing special. Seokjin is the best vocalist period. Jungkook’s voice is generic, and in recent songs he has been straining it to reach the notes. Taehyungs voice isn’t even that special, it’s just deep, and it only really suits ballads and R&B songs like singularity or butterfly. Jimin has a very nice voice, but again, it’s nothing extraordinary. I feel that Jin has the most vocal potential, and he doesn’t get to show it, he has this really unique voice, idk what it is about it that just??? I really love it. But to clarify, I’m not hating on their voices or saying there untalented, because they’re very talented, but most of vocal line gets too much credit. As for rap line, I think they’re one of bts’s strongest points. Namjoons style is so smooth and just overall good? It amazes me that he rapped so well over the years with a breathing problem. Hoseok is a good rapper too, his sound is unique and his adlibs add to that uniqueness in older songs, as for Yoongi, I genuinely think he’s one of the best rappers in the industry, it’s not about the speed element, it’s about his flow, his power, his emotion, everything about his rap is just amazing.

Now I wanna talk about the member’s individual popularity. The maknae line has the most stans, and quite frankly, their stans are the worst. Treat all of the members with the same love and respect. Sure, it’s perfectly fine to have a bias but to disregard the other members is just plain wrong.

Bts are human beings, first and foremost, and then there musicians second. They’re being made into media puppets and clout bait, which they absolutely don’t deserve. They deserve recognition for their good stuff, which they have PLENTY of.

All in all, I’m sick of the American attention. It’s cringey, annoying and unnecessary. Sure, bts deserve recognition but not that much of it!!!!!!

And they were being recognised for the wrong thing for fucks sake!!!! I didn’t like ANY of the new songs on answer. I only liked epiphany. And then I found out it wasn’t written by any of the members. Rip. Fans will unfortunately blindly follow, stream and like whatever they put out like blind sheep because it’s accustomed to them, bighit KNOW that they’ll make more money in America. They know no matter what bts put out, no matter how shit it is, fans will like it and itll be revenue for the company. And all the mobile games and the bt21??? Was so unnecessary?? Capitalism amirite? Quantity over quality. It’s the sad truth.

Armys tend to mix up criticism and hate. Although there is a very thin line between the two, there is a difference. Criticism is the analysis and judgement of the merits and faults of something. Hate is blind and unjustified. Hate is disliking something for no reason, or for a very invalid reason. So for example, saying; “I don’t like this apple because its bitter and im not a huge fan of bitter things” is fine to say, unlike, “FUCK THIS APPLE BECAUSE ITS BITTER, FUCK ALL APPLES” you know? It’s okay to dislike a group. It’s NOT okay to hate on a group. No one’s is going to gain anything by hate.

So, all the youtubers are reacting to bts for clout, the fandom is a fucking mess, armys are attacking other fandoms for no reason, the members lost their TRUE humbleness and neglected their real personalities and they’ve put out 3 overall bad standard albums over the course of a whole ass year.

But I still have this spark of hope for them. Why? Because I love them, they have a special place in my heart. I know they have the potential to be amazing, unique and just overall good people with their own personalities, and truly special musical abilities.

After their tour I honestly, really hope the attention dies down and they put out another good, original, album like the hyyh albums, with nice concepts, good songs, and a pleasant to look at mv. It’s really all I ask for. The old bts. I know I’ll never get them back, and I absolutely cherish their old stuff, like the bulletproof logo, bangtan boys, rap monster, hyyh, young forever, no more dream, wings, them all goofing around together and not caring about their image, their wholesome interactions with fans, and all the songs and concepts and theories that never have, and never will be recognised.

On a final note, I realise I can’t blame bts themselves entirely for this. This stuff is only partially “their fault”. Its bighit’s fault, the army’s and haters fault and the media’s fault. But, America is to blame the most. That’s all for today.

[randomobsessionsofa30something]

MAMA 2017 was weird.

MAMA is the biggest award ceremony in kpop. That's just how it is. That's why everyone gets so invested. I didn't agree with some of the awards last year but this year was just full of random choices. So here's just a few reasons why watching MAMA awards made me a little bitter.

Just like last year the fact that they hold a vote became pointless since the votes are basically disregarded. The venue was smaller comparing to other years. I guess that happened because this year Mnet decided to do it in three countries: Vietnam, Japan and Hong Kong. Japan was probably the most awkward show and they gave Song of the Year there. They clearly did it because they knew they would give it to Twice and they are the top girl group there. Zico got Male artist  of the year which was a bit odd. I love Zico but not giving it to G.D. was just unbelievable, votes asides. After it was announced I think the whole kpop fandom was puzzled but after today when they gave Best Hip Hop/Urban award to Heze it all made sense. Heize had a great year, she stayed in the top 10 in charts for months but I think the best vocal performance award she got was more deserved. In this case maybe the thing is that MAMA should give an award for Urban music and one for Hip hop specially since those genres are so big in Korea.

There was two big absences in this year MAMA. First, I don't know exactly what's the deal with YG and Mnet but it definitely sucks that we didn’t get to see Epik High or Blackpink or GD or Taeyang or WINNER. Also each year there has been t least one major western artist attending this awards. Not in 2017.

Hong Kong’s ceremony started with Nosedive by Dynamic Duo featuring EXO’s Chen and then a special performance by Mark (NCT), Vernon (Seventeen), Jackson (GOT7) and Jooheon (MONSTA X). I was actually glad Mark got to be there because he has to be one of the most overworked idols of 2017. He did collabs with Xiumin (EXO) and Parc Jae Jung. He was part of School Rapper and he had comebacks with NCT Dream and NCT 127. I was also surprised by Hyukoh winning best rock artist. I actually think from the nominees they are the best but I thought Day 6 was surely gonna get it. Once again proving voting is worthless in MAMA. 

Taemin's performance was amazing as expected and even if the collab with Sunmi was bearly a few moves I enjoyed it. I was baffled by Taemin winning best performance and I love his album and I voted for him but Gashina (Sunmi) and Babe (Hyuna) were so huge in Korea I was sure either one was gonna get it. Something similar happened with Chen winning best collab with Dynamic Duo. I voted for him and it’s one of my favorite songs of the year but actually I think the best collab was Jay Park and Dok2 by far.

Forgive me for going in rant mode but I don't even know what to say about OST I MEAN THEY DIDN'T EVEN MENTIONED THE MOST VOTED OST. If Crush had won I would have gotten it. After all it's with Punch ft Chanyeol the most recognizable song of Goblin but Ailee? I don't get it. Have nothing against her or the song but when you think Goblin that OST doesn’t cross your mind. They should have at least given us a Punch ft Chanyeol performance.

People saying EXO shouldn't attend this awards are kidding themselves. At the end of the day half of the performances were of SM artists including the unusually long NCT x Hitchicker x Red Velvet stage. Red Velvet won Best Female Group and you could say other girl groups did better and they were the only girl group there so it was obvious it was gonna happen but you cannot deny Red Flavor and Peek-a-boo was front and center in this year’s charts. NCT didn’t debut this year but they won New Asian Award . If you ask me MAMA just felt like giving an award to all popular artists so at times it feels like they make up categories to give everyone an award a sort of if you attend you get an award type of thing. Between the Hong Kong award ceremony and the one in Japan they gave awards to N’UEST W, MONSTA X, NCT 127, SEVENTEEN and Chungha.

Then there’s Wanna One performing after EXO. It just felt wrong. I know as an EXO-L I can’t be totally objective but I get even if I don't stan BTS that they perform last. I know they earned that spot this year. And Wanna One had a great year too, they sold a lot but they're not to EXO or BTS level. Just because Mnet is the one who put them together is just too cynical to give them that spot going as far as giving them best male group. Even the camera work was better in their performance. Hell I voted for them for new group but it's just wrong to overlook the fact that they've only been around for a few months. Even if they didn't give it to EXO or BTS, how about Seventeen? They had a great year too! Or WINNER. REALLY REALLY was such a huge song. 

Bottom line: for me, MAMA doesn't represent the variety of what the korean music industry is but it won't give it to the best either. They over think the choices to make sure everyone gets an award (except YG artists of course).

The two awards that seemed more likely to happen did happened. BTS got Artist of the Year and had a big performance just before the two big awards of the night were presented.

EXO won the best Album of the Year. This year I cried when they got it,I never had, not even in 2013 when I started watching MAMA and EXO got their first daesang but Chanyeol started with the waterworks and I just couldn't help it because I think he felt validated and like all the pressure he was feeling throughout the year was worth it. With this award EXO has won this category five times in a row. 

[nobiscuits]

kpop blog sample (best of 2016 - incomplete)

(paragraph now irrelevant) Don’t worry, I’m aware that this is a bit late and that we’re almost a whole month into 2017. I’m aware that every other best-of-2016 list was published weeks ago (months ago, for those people who don’t count the last two weeks of a year as being in the year for some reason – which is ridiculous: what if the historically acknowledged BEST THING EVER comes out on December 29th and it’s NOT recorded in your best-of list for that year and you’re ostracized from the Annual-Best-Ofs-List-Writers Association and you lose all your ranking street cred and have to move back in with your parents, huh? Was it really worth all that just to reach a deadline or whatever?)

Taking that all into account, I’ve decided that January 20th is the perfect day to write this list (I’ve been deliberating over the winners for a grueling few weeks) because a new person is currently being sworn into the most powerful position in the world and my office is dealing with this by serving liquor at 9AM and then marathoning the Harry Potter movies, so as far as I can tell, no one is particularly concerned that I might be thinking and writing about Korean Pop music instead of putting together another competitive power point. Not that I’ll announce it, but considering the VP just spilled beer on her computer watching a Quidditch match, I think whatever I’m doing is probably fine.

I’m of the opinion that it’s borderline impossible to rank songs and releases concisely, so my system is in no actual order from best to MOST BEST or anything like that. Instead, these are my favorite 10-ish releases/singles in 2016, why I think that, and a superlative about them that made them stand out to me. So if your faves aren’t number one, please don’t send me death threats (side-eyeing you here, ARMY) because I’m nobody important and there isn’t even a number one and I didn’t even write them in a particular order. Now that it’s in writing that I’m scared of ARMY, without further ado: The Most Best of 2016.

Kisum – No Jam

Released Jun 22, 2016

“Most Slept-On Song”

Uh, more like Yes Jam?? One of my favorite rappers to come out of UPRS (South Korean rap elimination show, bafflingly called Un-Pretty Rap Star despite most of the contestants looking something like this) , Kisum’s fun and light style of spitting rapid-fire, upbeat and energetic advice like ��steal your mom’s car keys and let your friends hop on” fits perfectly with the upbeat piano-driven boogie, shouts and chatting in her track. A repeated, yell-able English hook bumps up my enjoyment of any k-pop song exponentially; having it be in English but make NO SENSE is even better and you’re a liar if you say you weren’t chanting along to “NO JAM NO JAM NO JAM NO! OKAY OKAY OKAY” after the first chorus. “No jam” is a phrase used in Korean slang to indicate someone being no fun, boring, or terrible on variety shows (the greatest of sins). I have actually refused to look up the origin of the phrase because I want to believe it originated from my husband BTS’ Rap Monster telling his group mate, Jimin, that he’s “got no jams” on their way to LA (I also highly recommend watching the video from the beginning to hear perhaps the cutest pronunciation of “extra-terrestrials” ever recorded). But let’s get back to Kisum before I turn this article into “top ten times I wanted to jump Rapmon”. “No Jam” didn’t do particularly well in Korea; Kisum didn’t promote it on music shows (there’s 4 or 5 broadcasts a week where artists perform their recent releases – think Korean TRL if TRL wasn’t the worst), which I understand as the fun of the song (and the music video) is its chant-along, casual, have-a-beer-on-your-rooftop-with-your-attractive-friends summer vibe that wouldn’t be super compatible with the slick-black-stage-and-strobe-lights feeling of music shows. Despite not charting super well domestically, the video only 2million views on youtube, which is still pretty damn good for an un-promoted track from a non-winner of UPRS, but by no means great. As far as I can tell, I’m responsible for about 500k of those views, as even international fans seem to have forgotten about the track, which makes it my “Most Slept-On” award winner for 2016.

Younha – Get It? (Ft. HA:TFELT, CHEETAH)

Released Jun 12, 2016

“Collab of The Year/Girl-Power Of the Year”

Internationally popular power-vocalist Younha sets a new precedent for collaborations and bad-bitches all at once with this incredible song featuring Yenny of the massively popular Wonder Girls (her stage name as a solo artist is the baffling HA:TFELT for some reason, I don’t know) and UPRS Season 1 winner, Cheetah. The song has a killer synth base that plows into a rock-y, poppy and upbeat 80s sound and layers the vocalists’ three unique sounds into a punchy, girl-rock chorus based around the line “you say you’re innocent and I’m fuckin’ crazy”, using the censor sound as a part of the instrumental. In general, actually, this song has probably my favorite English of the year: besides “I’m fucking crazy” and “you better watch out” in the chorus, Yenny purring “just beg for mercy” is overwhelmingly fine, and Cheetah’s rap includes the line “Catch me if you can? Fuck boi, I’m Frank Abagnale”. The music video continues the 80s girl-band feel, where certified bad-bitches Yenny and Cheetah teach tiny, innocent Younha how to be one of them, wear fishnets, apply neon makeup, and disregard men. The song didn’t do particularly well domestically or internationally; the ladies not promoting it and Yenny not using her actual name probably hurt its chances. K-Pop seems to be coming back around on inter-label collaborations after years of sectionalized stagnation, so I’m hoping that other tracks like this continue to be produced, because the world needs more bad-bitches standing together, rolling their eyes and more Yenny holding a lollipop.

Red Velvet – Russian Roulette

Released September 6, 2016

“Best Music Video”

If I’d written a Most Best of 2015, SM’s youngest girl group, Red Velvet, would’ve had the best music video with their incredibly produced and performed colorful, visual stunner and musical banger, Dumb Dumb. If I’d written a Most Best of the first half of 2016, the award would go to Red Velvet’s haunting ballad (and subtle tribute to the Sewol Ferry Disaster), One of the These Nights. BUT I wrote neither of those. Fortunately, ReVel has my back and released ANOTHER visually fascinating, hella aesthetic video along with a 100% certified bop. Musically, I actually prefer some of their earlier tracks and found Russian Roulette’s album a little disappointing, especially compared to their incredibly stacked first full album, The Red, released in 2015. The song is still a blast, and I definitely rock out to it, but what gets this on my list is the music video: the girls are tricked out in the bizarre outfits, geometric hairstyles, and aesthetic makeup that have become associated with Red Velvet and dance and sing to the cutesy, sweet song with their trademarked creepy non-smiles. Compared to Dumb Dumb’s bright, contrasting colors, Russian Roulette is muted and pastel, replacing slap-bands with frills and trippy 90s geometric transitions to Strawberry Shortcake-esque borders and Itchy and Scratchy animations. The video starts out innocuous enough, but within the first minute, it changes from a cutesy 80s-tennis-players aesthetic to a cutesy-80s-tennis-players TRY TO MURDER EACH OTHER aesthetic. The sinister undertone grows and grows as the stone-faced girls’ pranks escalate to fatal: Seulgi drops a fridge on Joy via Rube-Goldberg machine, Yeri feeds her members nuts and bolts instead of cereal, Wendy lights Seulgi’s sweater on fire and pushes Yeri into a drained swimming pool, Joy and Yeri bury Irene in tennis balls, Irene and Seulgi push Wendy’s bed in front of a speeding car, Seulgi and Wendy drop a piano on Joy and Irene, and the four girls team up to knock a row of lockers on Seulgi. You know, normal tennis camp stuff. The girls have stated that the murder-pranks are because they’re all in love with the same man, but in my PERSONAL view, because that’s stupid, it’s just how tennis is played in Korea.

Jonghyun – She Is

Released May 23rd, 2016

“Best OohAhhs” / “Best Misheard English”

This would obviously be a top 10 release just for being the day before my birthday, but fortunately, it has merits on its own as well. Jonghyun, the lead vocal of K-Pop super group, Shinee (no wait, their name is super cute: like how the person who gives a gift is the gifter and the one who receives it is the giftee, they’re the ones who receive the shine! Come on, that’s cute as fuck.) Jonghyun debuted as a solo artist a few years ago, and is known for his soulful, powerful vocals, powerful abs, and powerfully open-mind. In the past, his solos have been more soulful or ballad style; “She Is” is his first fully fun, fully funky release, and it knocks it out of the park. This song is such an unusual groove that I actually literally have no idea how to describe it. Just watch it. The second reason it’s on the list is that the English in this song is phenomenal. The chorus is “Oh, she is” but sounds like Jonghyun is exclaiming “Oh, SHIZ” before ooh-ahhing like a pro, putting this on level with “I don’t wanna cry, destroy my ass” for innocuous-English-misheard-as-profanity. The other stellar English line is when Jonghyun interjects, “I like this bridge”…not really during the bridge of the song, at all, nor while standing on or near a bridge. It’s wonderful, and the way he sort of purrs the sentence has become an excellent addition to my observations, and I appreciate bridges much more. Thanks, Jonghyun, and I’m sorry I can’t pronounce your name.

Bulletproof Boyscouts – Blood Sweat & Tears

Released October 9th, 2016

“Best ‘Comeback”

A unique and rather confusing aspect of K-Pop for Westerners is that every time a group returns to promote a new release, they refer to it as a “comeback”, despite the group not disbanding or quitting or anything. I’ve decided to recognize BTS for not just their song or their music video or their Rap Monster, but for the comeback as a whole. BTS stands for Bangtan Sonyeodan, which means Bangtan Boys, and Bangtan can be translated to “bulletproof” and therefore “Bulletproof Boyscouts” is not only a hilarious name for a group, it is a perfectly acceptable translation. One of my all-time favorite groups (I just spent pretty much ALL of my money buying pit tickets for their show in Chicago), BTS are massively popular both domestically and internationally; this music video is currently sitting at 82 MILLION views on youtube right now since its release 3 months ago, and they’ve sold out multiple shows in the US. Other than making it now possible to watch “a BTS BST BTS”, Blood Sweat & Tears wins comeback of the year for several reasons other than featuring Rapmon repeatedly pronouncing “realm” as “rehl-um” and daring to look at the camera like this. The hype for the comeback started roughly a month before, and featured seven individual short films, each starring one of the members and using samples of their solos from the album. The films included references to their previous trilogy of interconnected music videos, collectively called “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life”, and leading to hundreds and thousands of interpretations and theories shared and postulated among fans as they tried desperately to understand how the two universes connect (although let’s be real HYYH [Chinese title of TMBMiL] is about the boys learning how to deal after Jin dies, adoyee) and what the parallels meant for BST. Instead of a grand connection between the two, BST took its own route and introduced us to a dramatic, sexy, and almost Latin-insfired jam accented by visuals of opulence, temptation, and formal pajamas as it relates car door guy’s descent into temptation to the eponymous character of Herman Hesse’s bildungsroman, Damien, succumbing to the charms of the fallen angel Abraxes. Surprisingly heady stuff for a k-pop video, but what else can you expect from the group whose leader is a mensa member (pictured here far left). Other than the wonderful story and visuals, the era also gave us Jin kissing V and Rapmonster and V recreating it, and there is nothing more perfect and good in the world.