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BY VOTE: ARMYS PROMOTING BTS AND NOT KPOP? DUH! THAT'S HOW POWERFUL FANDOMS ARE *SUPPOSED* TO WORK! -- A THREAD
So, I've been meaning to talk about this topic in detail for a MINUTE, but other poll results won, topics came up, etc.
As many ARMYs know, we are *constantly* being shaded or ranted at for failing to promote Kpop because we instead focus our energies on BTS.
As many ARMYs know, we are *constantly* being shaded or ranted at for failing to promote Kpop because we instead focus our energies on BTS.
I know some of you are like, "Wait, didn't the Kpop Community 'kick us out?' Why do they care if we only care about BTS then?"
Well, it's complicated. Stupid, and complicated. But don't let them fool you.
This stupidity didn't start with BTS or ARMY.
Well, it's complicated. Stupid, and complicated. But don't let them fool you.
This stupidity didn't start with BTS or ARMY.
I. BEFORE BTS THERE WAS PSY (AND NOBODY CLAIMED HIM)
I mentioned this in an old thread, but there's a reason Americans compare BTS to PSY and PSY alone 99% of the time (I mean the general public), and that's because he made an impression.
I mentioned this in an old thread, but there's a reason Americans compare BTS to PSY and PSY alone 99% of the time (I mean the general public), and that's because he made an impression.
Kpop fans were mad about PSY for a variety of reasons. Some felt he presented the wrong image of Kpop. Some people felt that he was a laughing stock. Whatever the case, after "Gangnam Style," his reach in the US was allowed to erode.
But if PSY had come back with a non-"Gangnam Style" song (Gentleman was more of the same, though slightly catchy), he probably would have seen a longer window of US fame. He also wouldn't be remembered here as a one-hit-wonder here.
Being a fad or one-hit-wonder is looked down on in the US. And a large part of the reason that happened is he didn't really have the international Kpop world's support. No one encouraged Americans to look at his whole music discography. Kpoppers just abandoned him.
But Kpoppers are typically foreign; they don't represent the Korean general public, who were (and remain) VERY proud of PSY's unique achievements. He's still highly thought of domestically.
But what's VERY interesting is that there was an argument against PSY I hadn't heard, but totally feels familiar as a BTS fan. This is an excerpt from a rant about how Kpop fans felt about PSY at the height of his success. This rant was written in 2014.
This is the rant that quote was lifted from. I've been talking about it all evening. Please read it if you somehow missed my other tweets!
http://kpopranter.blogspot.com/2014/08/rant-from-korea-to-america-why.html
http://kpopranter.blogspot.com/2014/08/rant-from-korea-to-america-why.html
But isn't it funny how the same Kpop fans using PSY's achievements as a stick to beat BTS with were HATING ON PSY HIMSELF FOR THOSE VERY SAME REASONS?! The audacity is mind-blowing, isn't it?
So the situation with Kpop fans being loud at us for only promoting BTS is nothing new. And in seeing how they dogged PSY years ago (I told yall!) we already know that if the US public only wanted BTS, they'd let BTS flop...because it's all of Kpop or no one.
II. NOBODY REALLY CARES ABOUT KPOP EXCEPT KPOP FANS, BUT THAT'S NOT OUR PROBLEM
I've been trying to be polite about this, but as a genre, Kpop is viewed as garbage in the eyes of most non-Kpop fans. The style and sound were DATED until *very* recently, and even now, it's just behind Western music trends.
It's a hard sell, that's all there is to it.
It's a hard sell, that's all there is to it.
This is why SO MANY Kpop idols who came to the US flopped. Kpop fans want to give people a participation award for showing up. As I said in a past rant, you can show up every day of the week and flop in the US. Our industry doesn't work like that. https://twitter.com/odiegotablog/status/934283499531534336
So while Americans don't care about Kpop as a genre, BTS has caught buzz as a group. We see over and over again that the reaction to BTS differs from the reaction to the Kpop genre. Look no further than Fine Bros' most recent Kpop react video
No other Korean group has made the impression BTS has in the US. NONE.
They are the only ones that have videos that trend consistently in the US no matter the topic. They are the only ones that had thousands of Americans waiting in line to buy merch. https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/k-town/8078612/bts-kpop-line-friends-bt21-collab-draws-thousand-to-times-square-store-korea
They are the only ones that have videos that trend consistently in the US no matter the topic. They are the only ones that had thousands of Americans waiting in line to buy merch. https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/k-town/8078612/bts-kpop-line-friends-bt21-collab-draws-thousand-to-times-square-store-korea
BTS fans made up half the audience (if not more) for their history-making AMAs debut. PSY, by comparison, did not have that kind of support. BTS has had high-profile artists acknowledging them and wanting to work together. Again, not something seen with previous Korean acts.
Talk show appearances, news reports, Vogue photoshoots, record-breaking sales all benefit BTS and BTS alone. Their fortunes dont extend to the rest of Kpop. That's why haters won't shut up about how BTS achievements are no big deal or nobody really cares.
They're mad & lying.
They're mad & lying.
Nobody else in Kpop is near BTS's level and they damn well know it. The next best thing these lames can do is try to convince us we owe their faves for BTS's fame.
Its hilarious.
BTS owes them about as much as PSY did -- which is not a damn thing.
Its hilarious.
BTS owes them about as much as PSY did -- which is not a damn thing.
These same pressed people continue ranting at us about "X paved the way" like that person/group or anyone else had *any* impact on BTS's history-making success when all logic says it was BTS, Big Hit, and, of course, ARMY.
The Kpop fandom neither helped or was needed.
The Kpop fandom neither helped or was needed.
It's so rich that the "paved the way crew" is mad at ARMYs for doing what every major fandom does: Supporting the one group to which they're attached. It's only because ARMYs are so argumentative that they don't realize they already showed their hand.They need us. Badly.
III. ARMY IS NOT CRAZY FOR SUPPORTING *ONLY* BTS -- THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO DO!
I am a fan of all kinds of music genres. I listen to a lot of groups. Someone tried to get me to name all the rock groups I like and it's a struggle. But then, that's not surprising. There are thousands of rock artists out there.
There are many rock fans, and quite a few have a favorite group or artist. And that's not unusual.
As I've said, Grateful Dead fans, known as "Dead Heads" would follow them around the country. They became a famous subculture in their own right.
As I've said, Grateful Dead fans, known as "Dead Heads" would follow them around the country. They became a famous subculture in their own right.
I'd argue that until fairly recently it wasn't common at all for fandoms to have names.
There's marketing potential when a group of people has a shared identity. It's way easier to market specific products to Little Monsters, Beliebers, or Arianators or ARMY than to a "genre."
There's marketing potential when a group of people has a shared identity. It's way easier to market specific products to Little Monsters, Beliebers, or Arianators or ARMY than to a "genre."
Again, not a revelation to ANYONE outside persistent I-Kpop fans. Korean Kpop fans tend to support one group at a time. In fact, I'm pretty sure "multi-fan" is still used as a slur there. The disconnect continues. https://www.soompi.com/2015/12/02/why-there-can-only-be-one-multifandom-in-korea/
I have to thank the anons asking me about my rock tastes (and I'll get to that, I promise), because you helped me understand why Kpop is flopping and will continue to flop: Kpop fans are determined to overwhelm non-Kpop fans with a bazillion choices from a subpar genre.
I-Kpop fans continue to praise the superiority of Kpop in a way that most Koreans do NOT. And if the Korean public doesn't see it for Kpop, then it stands to reason that something in the milk ain't clean. https://twitter.com/odiegotablog/status/944368653889351680
But let's look at WHY Kpop artists, when pushed by Big 3 companies, have failed time and time and time again in the US. Returning to that poignant Kpop rant, which laid it out better than I ever could:
A consequence of being disillusioned with Kpop is that it allowed me to keep my head out of the bubble. I PROMISE YOU that nobody gives a f**k about Kpop as a genre aside from Kpop fans. And the bubble isn't as big as you think it is.
This is why these people keep jumping in BTS-related comment sections and threads begging people to like their faves, too. Not fave, but FAVES. They don't know how to promote their faves if it doesn't mean promoting a bunch of groups in the name of politeness.
The problem is, they don't seem to understand that international fame isn't a team sport. You can't promote a dozen artists that nobody cares about. You can't show up uninvited riding someone else's coat-tails and expects to prosper.
This charity-minded thinking has moved from entertainment companies to the fandoms as well. ARMY isn't a charity; its a fandom. We need to stop giving free promo to irrelevant artists and even more irrelevant fandoms. That includes jumping on every bit of drama that floats by.
Once ARMYs, universally, realize we only ever have to give a f**k about BTS and that when we say nothing to other fandoms or about their artists, they dry up and fade away. We are that damn powerful; we just need to act like it.
IV. NO FREE PROMO FROM ARMY -- THE CONSEQUENCES
So what happens when ARMYs stop engaging other Kpop fans in petty wars, stop caving to pressure about mentioning other artists and stop giving a damn about anything outside of BTS altogether?
Well, that means that other fandoms will be forced to do their own heavy lifting. They'll be forced to promote their artists on their own. They may even try to figure out which Kpop group or artist they should all work together to make famous.
The problem is that Kpop fans are so immersed in their bubble that they really don't know how to promote properly. I'm not going to help them by telling them what they're doing wrong. That counts as free promo.
ARMYs are entitled to only focus on ourselves and BTS because in the end, what happens to the Kpop genre is none of our business. We only are ever obligated to focus on BTS; we DON'T need to prove ANYTHING to people who've offered us nothing but contempt & salt.
/Thread
I hope that whole "no promo" thing sticks. We really need to stop giving a damn what salty haters think.
Promoting BTS also means NOT promoting fan wars and drama. Just because you have an opinion doesn't mean everyone needs to hear it or that it's a productive one.
I hope that whole "no promo" thing sticks. We really need to stop giving a damn what salty haters think.
Promoting BTS also means NOT promoting fan wars and drama. Just because you have an opinion doesn't mean everyone needs to hear it or that it's a productive one.
