Reminding myself why I can’t quit.

I just bought Red Velvet's Chill Kill, brand new and factory sealed as far as I could tell, and I was so excited by the packaging. It looked very polished and the box felt sturdy. Unfortunately, 30 pages into looking through the photobook, a chunk of pages fell out. That was sad, but fine, until another chunk of pages fell out, and cover disconnected from the pages entirely. The entire book just seemed to be bound with incredibly shitty glue. I've never had this issue with any other album, and this is the only SM album I've bought that even has a photobook (the copy of RV's Cosmic that I bought only had a fold-out poster), so I have to wonder- has anyone else experienced this?? I really would have expected a company as successful as SM to be able to bind their photobooks in a way that's at least as durable as my albums from smaller, less established companies. submitted by /u/odd3yesquare [link] [comments]

I was thinking about how disappointing it is when a good group has a unsuccessful comeback with a bad song. I always feel bad for the group, because you know they worked hard preparing (recording, choreography, promotion, etc). Also, they usually don't get to pick the song that gets released. Obviously, the staff at the company didn't intentionally choose a bad song. It has to be a hard job trying to guess what their audience wants to hear next from a group. Which brings me to what Modhaus is doing with TripleS. Their album sales have been constantly on the rise over the past year. Now I'm not really talking about doing the NFT Photocard side of it, but the fact that they let their fandom vote on what the title tracks will be for the upcoming releases. That has to be the smartest move anyone is doing right now. Because their fandom gets to choose, they already get a sense of what their audience wants. Also, when the song is released they already have a built-in fanbase to support it because they felt apart of the album making process etc. So what I'm saying is I think all companies should look at a similar business model that involves being able to get a vote/survey from their fandoms on possible title tracks. It would increase the chances of idols having successful comebacks and create a buzz before it gets released. I don't really see a downside to it. I'm not saying do a photocard nft system, but do something that gets the analytics on what song is best for the comeback, etc. submitted by /u/legendarymethod [link] [comments]

I saw on twitter somebody posted some things ILLIT’s creative director Serian Heu(previously accused of plagiarism by Min Heejin) worked on before ILLIT and I can’t help but feel really bad because you can really tell she put ILLIT in her exact vision all of these were done before 2022 she must’ve been really upset when she was falsely accused I can’t imagine how angry I’d be submitted by /u/EarlyRip5967 [link] [comments]

I feel like from maybe around 2018-2019 up until right before the start of 5th gen, a lot more people were "kpop fans", and more so captured by this whole novel new thing of kpop, eager to follow everything that was going on, watching all the awards shows, learning about the various groups on the scene and so on. But as of now things seem like they've shifted to people more being only fans of specific groups, only following what those groups do, rather than consuming kpop as a whole. I don't really have anything to base this on other than myself and the people I follow on different socials. So mostly I'm curious if other people have noticed this or feel there has been a similar shift in the way people consume kpop-related things. submitted by /u/enmicks [link] [comments]

Honestly, I am surprised by the amount of negative reactions to the "Love Yourself" campaign led by BTS in collaboration with Unicef, and I really don't understand it, because isn't it all about helping people in need? The fact that many people label the campaign as "pure facade" or "scam" makes me think that you guys don't care about people, you care more about validation, and that is performative. Honestly, there is nothing about that campaign that I would call "fake" or "PR" because BTS never talks about it, or brags about it, or uses it to aggrandize themselves, they are simply helping thousands of people around the world in some way by funding a campaign like that. The campaign has been active for 8 years... So I don't understand where the backlash towards the campaign is coming from. How is it possible that actions like stories, trending on social media, appearances at awards galas or "likes" on Instagram are rewarded with support and celebrated? But real help is harshly criticized? Do these other celebrities do anything else besides that? beyond showing they are in the correct side, the support isn't real. Because, let's face it, all the noise being made on social media is useless. All that attention given to celebrities doesn't help anyone. What do people do other than all that stupid discourse they have in different forums? People in a vulnerable situation may value symbolic support, but that doesn't improve their quality of life, they don't meet their needs with trends or hashtags, they don't eat "likes" or improve their housing or health services with "likes", they need tangible help. Your social media "activism" is barely activism if you don't do something else. All these discussions about which idol drinks more Starbucks, which idol doesn't consume this or that brand, are a silly discourse that doesn't change anything. Not consuming certain brands doesn't help, you're punishing the brand for being on the wrong side of history, but beyond that you're not doing anything else because you're not even affecting the brand. It's fine if you do it, but again, it doesn't offer any real help to people in need. So why isn't all of that labeled as performative? If you get angry about a campaign that helps people around the world, then you are not the humanitarian you think you are. At some point, you need to reevaluate yourself and think, "What am I really doing to help these people?" Because most of you are just making useless noise and spreading hate in the name of criticism. I think campaigns like that are necessary and for BTS to run them is amazing. It's not about worshiping the group , it's about recognizing that the campaign is good. Put aside your hatred and appreciate something that actually helps people and improves their lives in some way. Also, i know Unicef isn't entirely good but they still help a lot people around the world. Let's just recognize something good. A humanitarian campaign abouta violence and bullying shouldn't be surrounded by all this negative discourse. submitted by /u/kat3dyy [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/impeccabletim [link] [comments]

Not to be one of THOSE kpop fans but encore stages have never been a place to showcase whether you can hit a note or not. Like back in my days, an encore stage was rappers doing the singing and the singers doing the rapping and sounding like dogshit cause the rappers couldn't hit any of the notes and the singers couldn't keep up with the beat when it was their turn to rap. No one accused them of being talentless. No one accused them of "avoiding" or "dodging" a live performance. I don't know even what a perfect encore stage is supposed to sound like cause the criteria changes every day. I've seen groups put on really good performances but then you go online and it's just everyone harping on one moment where someone was off key or harping on a moment where someone's voice was shaking real bad. Like what are we even talking about anymore? Genuinely? You put on a good performance and people start accusing you of using auto tuned mics. You have an off day where you can't seem to hit a single note and now everyone is calling for you to be publicly stoned to death like what? Like what is anyone supposed to do to please you people? submitted by /u/cocochanelism [link] [comments]

Ok BIG DISCLAIMER: this in no way means ANYTHING about their music or performing or the groups they are a part of. Now... I recently watched Pink Cabinet for the first time when Leeseo and Gaeul went on it, and wow the energy really is a lot lower compared to Star Diary. Eunchae felt like someone who could actually become famous just from being a YouTuber. Minju kinda seems like she wants to give off the vibe that she's not trying. Eunchae also seemed to act more professional and confident than Minju despite being outright younger (not to mention the show starting earlier). I'm curious if anyone else feels this way, or if there are people who prefer Pink Cabinet. submitted by /u/SpecSlayerSC [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/princessgojo [link] [comments]

r/kpop's Top 10 Golden Child songs are: Rank Title Points Voters #1s 1 One (Lucid Dream) 465 23 5 2 Feel Me 448 21 3 3 Wannabe 439 21 2 4 Burn It 392 21 4 5 Without You 391 22 4 6 Replay 348 18 3 7 Spell 294 17 0 8 DamDaDi 290 17 3 9 Ddara 278 17 2 10 Fanfare 272 16 0 ​ r/kpop's Top 10 Golden Child B-sides are: Rank Title Points Voters #1s 1 Spell 294 17 0 2 Fanfare 272 16 0 3 Lately 266 14 1 4 Breathe 261 17 0 5 OMG 198 15 0 6 Eyes On You 194 12 0 7 Round N Round 164 11 0 8 She's My Girl 159 10 0 9 Lady 151 10 0 10 Bottom of the Ocean 149 11 0 ​ Total Respondents: 33 ​ Upcoming Schedule: September 16th: Somi & Sejeong September 23rd: VAV September 30th: FTISLAND October 7th: WEi Want to be notified for specific Top Ten Tuesdays in the future? If there are some Top Ten Tuesdays in the future that you are interested in participating in and don't want to forget about, please fill in the Reminder Form here: https://forms.gle/m4d9gDWPuVc3tgKN9. You can choose which artists you want to be notified for, and what specifically you wish to be notified for as well. Link to the Golden Child voting thread . Google Spreadsheet with all past results and full schedule Spotify channel containing all Top Ten playlists YouTube channel containing all Top Ten playlists Interested in doing more song rates? Come join r/kpoprates, where we have K-Pop song rates on a regular basis! Here are the currently ongoing rates: The Dreamcatcher Rate! TTT lists are always due by Monday, 6 AM Pacific. submitted by /u/Zypker125 [link] [comments]

Domestically, GO just entered Melon’s Top 100 real-time and hit #117 on the daily chart, the highest any BG debuted 2025 song has charted. On Spotify, 3M monthly listeners, GO with 8M streams, and What You Want at 7M. That’s the best streaming performance out of all 2025 BG rookies. Album sales Cortis debut album in one week sold 436K, beating Hearts2Hearts with 408K. At this point Cortis is clearly setting the bar for 2025 BG debuts, leading in every category. submitted by /u/Difficult_Bit_3025 [link] [comments]

This is not a criticism on the idols themselves, I think the company/management is more to blame. But I hate the subscription social media apps that fans pay for in order to get "exclusive" interactions with idols - namely Bubble is the only one that I am aware of. I have nothing against the free apps like Weverse, but I feel like adding the subscription adds so much unnecessary pressure to both the idol and the fans. If you're an idol, so much of your time is dedicated to creating content for your fans. That's fine, because it's their jobs, and usually it's in the form of songs/performances, which is what they're hired to do. But then they're expected to also essentially become influencers and be posting and interacting with fans on their downtime? It feels like way too much stress. Not to mention the pressure of knowing that these fans are paying MONTHLY for virtual interactions. As well they have to keep the content engaging, because otherwise they'll be accused of being boring and not providing fans with their money's worth. Personally I don't think I could enjoy the app because I'd be too aware that it's just adding pressure to the idol's life. I think it's also unfortunate for the fans, because it gives them unrealistic expectations. If I pay a subscription for Netflix or whatever, then I would expect to have 24/7 access to it, or daily updates or something similar. But obviously an idol cannot be on a fan app every single day. I think I would inevitably feel disappointed with the subscription, even if the idol did interact a lot, because expectations will always be high if you are paying for something. I've also seen cases where fans are paying for their bias' bubble, but the bias just isn't online a lot. I don't think that's an idol's fault because 1. They're really busy people and 2. Not everyone likes to be on their phone or text a lot. Not to mention that most Bubble updates seem to be uploaded to other social media as well, so really they're only paying for the slim chance the idol might reply to their message. At the end of the day, if someone is having a positive experience with Bubble then that's great and I'm happy for them. But ultimately I think the whole service is a cash-grab from the companies that just leaves both the idol and the fan at a disadvantage. submitted by /u/Important-Tax-3852 [link] [comments]

i've been wanting to go to a txt concert since it's taking place on my birthday, and i've been waiting for ticket prices to go down... the concert is in like 2 weeks and nosebleeds are still over $90. VERY few tickets are sold and my experience with txt since i was... 14 has been being unable to get tickets because they sell out so fast. how long do yall think it would make sense to wait for the price to decrease further? bc i am NOT paying that much bro submitted by /u/Temporary-Train-5620 [link] [comments]

Personally, I feel like more as more foreign fans take interest in K-Pop, they seem to think that K-Pop should and seem to revolve around them. Over time, this has led to complaints, hate messages, unrealistic expectations that just makes no sense. Firstly, people forget that K-Pop is literally just Korean Pop. It's like how American Rock is American music, and European Rock is European music. Just because K-Pop has some English lyrics does not mean that it was primarily made for the American market. So when people complain about members not being able to speak English, or their English pronunciation sounding wrong, it's incredibly ignorant, as Koreans do not expect American artists touring in Korea to be fluent in Korean. Second, fans that complain about the "corporate" side of K-Pop are absolutely unaware of how competitive & expensive the K-Pop market is. Companies have to spend easily upwards of a million USD in today's market just to be able to train and debut a group. Even groups that are making it into the music ranks in Korea are not profitable unless they have massive advertisement deals. Artists/Groups that perform exclusively in Korea are often operating on a loss, which is why a majority make a fixed rate per performance. Performing internationally is also incredibly expensive because of the international management, travelling fees, staff fees, additional taxes, etc. So unless groups or individual members completely own the rights to their music, they are not self-sustainable outside of Korea without their companies. So please, the next time you think you know better than the "corporate' people, you try putting up your million dollars or stakeholders on the line. Lastly, K-Pop idols should not have to completely cater to international fans. In particular, the Siwon-Charlie Kirk incident, carries much more weight amongst international fans than Korean fans. There were MANY international fans calling for Siwon's head, calling him all sorts of names, making hateful posts about Suju because of his political/religious beliefs. Yes, as a liberal Suju fan, it felt weird seeing a Korean celebrity post about Charlie Kirk, but when you consider that Siwon is a 40 year old, Korean man, raised in a wealthier, Christian household, who has been a part of the conservative Korean broadcast system since the early 2000s, it would seem normal to post about a young man who was murdered and had similar beliefs. When you look at him as an idol, he was a major part in idols starting brand deals with luxury brands, he donates to good causes, he's worked with UNICEF since 2010, and he's a well rounded performer. As a business, there is absolutely no reason to fire an employee for his political/religious beliefs much less posting about the death of a controversial political speaker. At the end of the day, K-Pop is a business, and fans need to realize and accept that. I know fans care and passionate, whether Korean or international, but sometimes they aren't educated enough to be truly passionate. submitted by /u/LooTeRgetLooTeD [link] [comments]

We can always name SO many things that were a thing back in the days that no longer exists today in the industry but Is there anything that exists today that was never a thing back then? submitted by /u/Which_Mammoth9402 [link] [comments]

What do you think about ZEROBASEONE's latest release now that you've had time to digest it? What are the standout tracks? How has your opinion changed since its release? What do you think about the sales numbers? How did the release stack up to your expectations? I thought it would be fun to have a two-week-later album discussion! However, I did not include information on the digital chart. I'm sorry, but I do not follow it closely enough to post. If you do, you're welcome to add it in the comments! Overview Artist ZEROBASEONE (ZB1) Type 1st Full Album Released Monday, September 1st, 2025 Album Discussion Thread Physical Sales Album Sales Total Hanteo 1,514,370 Source: https://x.com/koreansales_twt/status/1964716350754246935 Album Credits & Streaming STREAM ON: Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music Track Lyrics by Composed by Arranged by 1. ICONIK / Audio Rick Bridges, SAINT, Kang Eun Kyung, Jo Eun Sol (Jamfactory), Anne Judith Wik, Henrik Heaven Ronny Svendsen, Adrian Thesen, Henrik Heaven, Anne Judith Wik Ronny Svendsen, Pizzapunk 2. SLAM DUNK / Audio JayJay (MosPick), Park Woo Jung (Perklee), Young Chance, JUNNY, WUTAN, Lee Seu Ran JayJay (MosPick), Park Woo Jung (Perklee), Young Chance, JUNNY JayJay (MosPick), Park Woo Jung (Perklee) 3. Lovesick Game Kim Windy (Jamfactory) Kim Joo Hyung, Jacob Aaron (THE HUB) Kim Joo Hyung 4. Goosebumps bay (153/Joombas), Mia (153/Joombas) Max Levin, Kyle Scherrer, Edwin Honoret max & kyle 5. Dumb Gu Sam Young (153/Joombas), Rick Bridges David Wilson, JBACH, Benjmn dwilly 6. NOW OR NEVER (Korean Ver.) NullPencil_ (Digz, Inc. Group), RLADY일 (MUMW), nogeum (ARTiffect), Song Yu (INHOUSE), HYELI (INHOUSE), MAO, Mayu Wakisaka, FLAME, Gu Young Won (MUMW), Ah Yi Hyun (153/Joombas), Woo Seung Yeon (153/Joombas) Chance Park, Aden K. Chance Park 7. EXTRA KENZIE KENZIE, Andrew Choi, no2zcat, JSONG no2zcat, KENZIE 8. Long Way Back KENZIE KENZIE, Erik Lidbom, Andrew Choi Erik Lidbom 9. Star Eyes Park So Hee (INHOUSE), Woo Seung Yeon (153/Joombas), Yoon Ye Ji (ARTiffect), Bang Hye Hyun, 12h51m (XYXX), Liljune (153/Joombas) Jake K (ARTiffect), 3SCAPE DRM (ARTiffect), Andreas Oberg (ARTiffect), Rico Greene Jake K (ARTiffect), 3SCAPE DRM (ARTiffect) 10. I Know U Know KENZIE KENZIE, Matthew Tishler Matthew Tishler, KENZIE submitted by /u/purpletulip12 [link] [comments]

It's like one in the morning, so one A.M thoughts, but I just went down a rabbit hole that's left me with a great deal of appreciation and respect for the literary-inclined minds of kpop. Now, I'm more of a prose girl than poetry, just as I prefer fiction to non-fiction but a good piece of writing is a good piece of writing. Anyway, I was having a conversation, utterly unrelated to this but that delved heavily into human psychology and philosophy as my mind often tends to do, especially when I'm high on lack of sleep, but one book recommendation at the end of said conversation looked rather familiar, so I enquired further and lo and behold, I'm seeing things I'm familiar with in kpop. The recommended book was "The road less traveled" by M. Scott Peck that looked a helluva lot like a title or two I'd seen around, only to learn that Peck's book might have taken inspiration from Robert Frost's poem—and the metaphor behind it— The road not taken, so I look it up and literally the first line is about some Yellow Wood forest, which was a double shock because I'd been thinking precisely of Stray kids (and &team) when I saw that title, but not only did they name the song after it, whose message rightfully corrolates, but the album too was called Clé 2: Yellow Wood. I was pleasantly surprised. This, in turn, led me to perusing throw more poems, landing me on Jimmy Osborne's "Walk the line", and my mind immediately thought, "Enhypen!" And as expected, this too was an inspired work. For Enha, it's been more of a carried theme, an undertone, throughout their discography and I just think that's really cool. It be the members themselves or the team behind them, kudos for the taste. 🤌 My respect just increased tenfold. As an additional note, part of the excitement came from BTS taking inspiration from Carl Jung. I've always had a thing for psychology but couldn't pursue it formally, so I'm doing it on the side and seeing all these parallels between two areas of my interest is quite cool. submitted by /u/Dark_Night_280 [link] [comments]

The love I have for this is insane, and look at how young they were😩-exo vocal line is top tier. Digging into my rnb love in kpop led me to this song😍 submitted by /u/Muted_Bodybuilder109 [link] [comments]