Okay, so let me preface this by saying the reason I’m making this comparison is because BTS and EXO were once branded as rivals, almost like Vampire vs Werewolf energy. Group skillset: Both groups are insanely talented and stacked with members who are very professional in their own positions. Dance? Both groups kill it. But when it comes to rap and vocals, the differences show. With BTS, I was spoiled with strong raplines. With EXO, my ears are blessed with top tier vocals in Kpop. Honestly, I don’t really care about rap (this is Kpop, not the US rap industry), so the “downgrade” in rap didn’t bother me much. But the vocals? Ultimate heaven. Freedom & image: Stanning BTS felt stricter. Barely any dating scandals, which made it hard to see them as men outside of idols. With EXO, it’s a completely different world. Dating scandals, members married (Chen and Tao, also Luhan dear, are you gonna married or not?), and some even with kids. Like, I’ll watch them perform and then remember some of them are going home to hug their wives and tend to their children. It’s wild. Company treatment: HYBE may be messy, but BTS never had an internal war with their company. Meanwhile EXO... Bro. I cannot stress enough how SM sabotaged their biggest group. Multiple members sued SM. Half of the OG line up. 6/12 had legal battle against SM. A quarter of it left (Lay technically is still a member but barely present) while 3/4 of the members are not in SM anymore. Variety Content: BTS spoiled me rotten with endless variety shows like BTS Gayo, Run BTS, Bon Voyage, In the SOOP, all their little Bangtan Bombs… it never ends. EXO’s own group content feels criminally short. Only Showtime, Ladder, Arcade but not every episode has every member, and the episodes are short. Too short. HOWEVER, EXO has a lot of public variety content. The members have been on countless variety shows, and it’s so fun watching them interact with people outside their group. It gives a totally different flavor compared to BTS’s more closed-off variety style. Acting & solos: EXO has another advantage: acting. Literally every EXO member has acted in dramas or movies at some point, except Chen, who instead blessed us with multiple hit OSTs. And let’s be real: Chen, we want more of your vocals. Fandom space: Both ARMY and EXOL are top 2 on my “most toxic fandom” list. But when it comes to content, ARMY is miles ahead. I can find literally every BTS award speech with English subs. Meanwhile, trying to find subbed EXO award speeches? A struggle. Good quality EXO compilation vids? Harder to find too. For fandom-generated content, EXOL is worse than ARMY by a large margin. Do you have experience such thing? What are your most contrast fandom experience? submitted by /u/Personal_Damage6616 [link] [comments]
