Are you ready to taste some hot tea? On Reddit, users shared their “unpopular” opinions about K-Pop idols, fandoms, the music industry, and more. Here are 10 hot takes you may agree with…or not?
1. Not voting doesn’t make you a “bad fan.”
K-Pop fans participate in voting to help their favorite groups achieve music show wins, top poll rankings, and win awards. Although many encourage their fellow fans to vote, especially through hashtag campaigns, not every fan cares about voting or wants to participate.
2. It isn’t necessary to consume all content.
Not every fan has time to catch up on every video, live stream, and social media update their faves produce. For some, it’s a matter of scheduling: they just don’t have time to keep up. This is especially true for fans of groups that produce large amounts of content regularly.
Watching more content will probably help a fan win a trivia contest or two, it won’t make them any more of a fan than someone with less fandom knowledge.
3. Streaming? No thanks.
Streaming music and music videos helps K-Pop groups earn spots on music charts and break records. In turn, these achievements contribute to boosting a group’s popularity, visibility, and revenue. As such, some fans take streaming very seriously and push others to participate. After all, it’s their responsibility as fans…right?
Yes and no. Not every fans wants to stream, and some simply don’t have the time or resources. In particular, streaming can be a hassle for fans with limited bandwidth.
As this fan pointed out, streaming tends to be more important for rookie or underrated groups.
4. Popularity isn’t equal.
Fans love their group as a whole, but most fans still have their top picks within that group. As such, some members will inevitably be more popular than others. An idol’s popularity often varies by country, ages, personality preferences, etc.
5. Not everything is a conspiracy.
When scandal strikes, agencies usually encourage their idols to release apology statements to fans, regardless of whether or not the idol is “guilty.” As such, some fans are quick to defend their idols.
Some apologies might be false, written purely for damage control, but as this fan pointed out, that’s not always the case.
6. Not all K-Pop groups are close.
Think of your own co-workers. Are they your best friends? For many people, the answer is no. Since idols spend so much time with their groupmates, it’s reasonable to assume they’re BFFs. While that’s true for many, it’s not true for all, and that’s okay!
7. Fans can be hypocrits.
Be careful; this tea is piping hot! We all want others to be held accountable for bad behavior, but some of us tend to pick and choose who we hold to a high standard — and who we let slide.
8. K-Pop agencies inadvertently encourage bad behavior.
Wait, what? According to some fans, things like dating bans, “boyfriend” and “girlfriend” concepts, and encouraging parasocial relationships between idols and fans can be a recipe for disaster. After all, idols aren’t products; they’re people who deserve to live (and date) freely.
9. We’re not all music experts.
As much as we all love K-Pop music and like to think we have good taste, not all of us have the musical expertise to back this up. This isn’t a problem unless, perhaps, we’re critiquing idols like we’re judges on a competition show.
As this fan said, “listen to what you want,” and let others do the same.
10. Popularity isn’t quality?
Given how saturated the music industry is, some groups will inevitably rise to the top while others miss out on the opportunity to shine. After all, success isn’t just about talent; marketing, luck, and timing all play a crucial role. Plus, everyone has a different definition of “success.”
TL;DR: If your fave isn’t #1, that doesn’t mean they aren’t talented.
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