i want to make it clear that this video is in no way a criticism of any of the groups / idols talked about in this video, this video is solely about sm's recent problems, and how this is effecting everyone who is under the label. i'm just pinning this because i saw a few days ago people attacking boa and blaming her for got the beat's issues, and i just don't want anyone to misunderstand my criticisms and think that i'm blaming anyone under sm for something that is the fault of the company. anyways thanks for watching
No don't say that. If you can't stand up for your beliefs, you will get torn apart on social media and RUclips. People either accept criticism or lose their mind. Don't try to placate the small minds
it hurts me when BoA (a really senior idol i mind you!) is hated by children on twitter by calling her hag and racist with no proof at all. Why they have so many nerves and acts like that to a literal senior??? Now i get why older gen stans really despise this current gen, respect is already dead.
That's okay, you're explaining it reall well tho. But I kinda sad that you dont mention f(x), bcs it will probably gave you a lot of insight of what SM will do. But I agree the focus for SM releases lately is just for the company good.
It truly puzzles me as to why SM chose to expand Kwangya beyond Aespa. It was clearly their thing so why place it on every artist? It's giving forced. I also agree about the special collabs losing their touch. The paradox of a company that claims to represent the future but is so focused on the past is an interesting point. This is disappointing bc SM have everything they need for success but their current vision for their artists seem uninspired and dull. They are def riding off of legacy atp.
no like seriously when aespa debuted i was sooo intrigued by this whole kwangya thing but it has become like an enemy now. making every group lose its uniqueness theyre trying so hard to push this kwangya agenda on them. kwangya is nothing but boring now. even the artists themselves have shown their displeasure about kwangya.
the way that SM currently treats their artists gives me the impression that yes, they want their groups to be successful enough, but they don't want them to be MORE successful than the company. they don't want groups to get bigger than the company and eventually leave, they want everyone to know that those groups need SM, and not the other way around
@@el972 that was kind of also said by the former SM CEO to SNSD. When SNSD was so big it almost could topple the company over, that damn CEO said eventually they will wreck SNSD down and unfortunately they did. So as SONE, this is kinda no news to me.
It's sad because SM had some of the cleanest and sharpest comebacks for their groups. Like I always remember Overdose by Exo and The Boys by Girls Generation and they are still so good. Even to this day. I think SM was inspired by the success of Refund Sisters. But they didn't realize that they were just a temporary thing and Junghwa, Hyori, Jessi and Hwasa are not under the same agencies and are appreciated as soloists. So it was easier for their fanbases to come together. Forgot to add, I hypothesize that SM was also inspired by the AI thing due to the success of League of Legends K/da. But LSM forgot that they are not a permanent group either. I could be wrong.
@taya I agree. I love K/da but it definitely feels different and there is no attachment to the members. It's just music and directed to gamers and westerners.and no worries it makes sense.
I think this is a Kpop problem in general but SM seems to be leading the way to disaster. It’s like since the globalisation they’ve all been so deep in pleasing the US market but they needed something to stand out and they look so silly. The same story every day.
@@Byllion “pleasing the US market” is literally so accurate. but in doing so they lost their charm and now they just looked so forced and cringy. idk when they will realise this and get of their delusion
@@hombre6604 yesss!! They’ve made this mistake before when they first tried to debut their acts in the US years ago. They do not account for the fact that the acts that blew in the states all did so with the very standard kpop formula and not all this rap and silly lyrics. At least get better translations. They do not pay attention to the little details.
@@Byllion Genuinely asking, can you please elaborate on what you consider to be standard kpop formula? The only act that have blown up in the US and have become mainstream are BTS and to a lesser extent Blackpink. I don't understand how rap or silly lyrics would hinder SM groups since BTS are known for their poweful raps while Blackpink are all about superficial lyrics. If you meant cringy forced rap coupled with embarrassing lyrics...then yea I agree 😬
To me GOT is such a wasted opportunity. My impression last year was that GOT would be a rotational, occasional thing, where different female idols from SM would get to show their teeth in different concepts and lineups as kind of a novelty side project. But now we're stuck with GOT the Beat, kind of like we're stuck with SuperM. I might like their music, and think the lineup of GOT the Beat is awesome, but your point of wasted time and effort that could be put into their own careers rings very true.
What other lineup could GOT The Beat possibly even have? With S.E.S., Tiffany, Seohyun, and Sooyoung as free agents, and f(x) burned, they have no other female idols to choose from. The remainders of RV, SNSD, and aespa that weren't chosen failed the cut for reasons; anything they could do, someone who was chosen could do better. Or it would disrupt the "two from each group" symmetry.
see if i am correct, i think it was MEANT to be rotational based on what was being said so i was excited because it would be neat to see that concept (aka a concept nct u has but we all know sm drops concepts like tissue paper to the garbage dsajdlsa) so i was confused seeing the lineup, especially with GOT the beat one would think it's a different lineup but nah, it's the same. i think they might planned got to be super m with their female idols because i remember MANY kpop fans were peed off that wasn't the case, so this is what we got.
Literally this. Same with SuperM, they can’t just throw together their most popular idols and aces and turn them into a fixed group like that would create a strong fanbase on its own? It neglects how idols popularity changes and I think that was apparent with Lucas’ controversy and Jeno being the new it-boy which wasn’t til after SuperM was formed. Both groups would have a lot more interest and staying power if they were rotational.
I feel kinda bad for the aespa members- especially the two who AREN'T in GOT the Beat. Because THEIR careers are also getting put on hold while the other two are off promoting a completely different group. Aespa has gotten very little proper promotion as a musical group to build up their fanbase and solidify their reputations and the respect of non-stans/the general public. They've had popular songs and already proved influential enough to inspire imitators. But SM killed their momentum by failing to promote them in SK properly with a good follow up. And now they are debuting the fucking naevis mascot character as an artist? Without even announcing an aespa comeback first? To be clear, I'm not even an aespa fan. I don't really enjoy most of their music (just not my cup of tea) but even I can see how mismanaged they are. It's clear that SM saw they had company stans, and wanted to really build that and convert the majority of their fanbases into company stans. But the problem with that is that many of their groups are DIFFERENT sonically from each other. Someone who likes Red Velvet won't necessarily like aespa- those two groups have COMPLETELY different sounds which makes them unique from one another. So trying to make their respective fandoms merge into one is just silly.
I wanted sm to expand on their musical identity with their newest album, but they didn't. They went with girls which is was nct 127 track, im not sure why they would do that. Especially since illusion is more liked by the fans which is definitely the route that i expected them to go to. The fact they don't have any signs that they plan to release a debut album is concerning.
I feel like since the girls album became a million seller thanks to chinese bars sm is trying to pull a yg and do the bare minimum expecting to rely on the fans mass buying. Meanwhile the main vocalist and main rapper with 0 activities
@@paninilist4678 illusion lyrics are from black mamba's point of view hence was released before album .. unlike girls which has continued aespa's storyline .. and they are plenty of songs done by artist which aren't meant from them
@@matjcf8911 I mean they literally said they wanted Aespa to be the next Blackpink…I’m not a fan of Aespa, but that’s so shitty. They debuted Aespa to promote their AI concept. SM either overwork their idols or underwork them…there is no balance.
I'm only a casual listener for the groups involved, but I was excited for the GOT the Beat MV...and what did we get? Another performance video, but this time with glamour shots? Random costumes with no overarching aesthetic? No actual storyline or concept? It was a real letdown, very low effort on SM's part. If SuperM comes back with an actual fucking music video, I'll be gagging from the sexism. As far as Aespa goes... I agree with other commenters that SM was trying to ride the coattails of K/DA. But SM didn't seem to realize why K/DA instantly garnered fans. The music was good, sure, but beyond that... K/DA had EXCELLENT character designs. They were iconic and unique, and people outside LoL and kpop were making fanart, doing cosplays, etc. I even saw doll customizers making K/DA dolls. Aespa's AI characters are just so...boring. Uninteresting. Uninspiring. K/DA also had years of built-in lore and storytelling from LoL, whereas SM had to invent Aespa's backstory from scratch. The kind of elaborate worldbuilding and backstory that sucks fans in can't just be thrown together...I'm not asking for Tolkien, but like, come the fuck on. I like Aespa's music, and I'm sad that SM has done and is doing them dirty with half baked concepts and avengers projects for half the group instead of full projects for the whole group.
I too was a bit disappointed by how boring the AI characters are. SM has got money...why didn't they go all out? I was personally most disappointed with the costume design. They're so basic. I mean, at the very least, I feel like just having costume changes for each comeback would have helped things, since their baseline outfits are so boring. But overall the quality of the characters' designs pales in comparison to K/DA's. Imo that's an even bigger weakness than the storyline, because Kpop is so visual-based. Anyways, I think it says something that the Aespa character who has gained most interest from the public isn't even an Aespa member--it's Naevis, who clearly had the most work done on her design and expressions in their latest music video/short film. (And SM knows it, bc I'm pretty sure I heard they're making her into a virtual idol now? Which is...a choice. Ugh.)
@@dubblebubbletoilandtrouble6646 I feel like SM are losing the plot, and it's probably their worst decision to have all their artists somehow all have similar storylines (lore) it just seems like since they're too lazy to cater and put in effort for their artists they just threw something random together.
@@kennedy3682 Agreed...it's a strange choice for sure. Multiple artists in SM have made it clear that they barely tolerate and/or full-out dislike their random retroactive involvement in Kwangya, and so have many fans. I know that these companies are probably allergic to admitting they're wrong, so I doubt they'll ever reverse this decision, but when you have your own artists mocking the concept you've placed on them (like literally struggling to speak about it without laughing or looking annoyed), you have to wonder if it's worth it to keep it up. How do you expect your artists to be excited about their releases and promote your brand well if they're visibly frustrated? I mean at the very least they could have left the senior groups alone. They were already successful because of their own individual styles and concepts. (And some already had their own lore already! Like what was the logic here, SM?) On a side note I kind of feel bad for Aespa lol. Imagine being the group with the concept that all of the other groups in SM have been unwillingly roped into. Not that I think it would affect their actual friendships with one another, but I would feel bad by association.
Kda has only 2 title tracks but atleast they have memorable costumes especially in more, meanwhile the aes wear the same outfit every comeback, atleast give them outfits that match the concept like it's so awkward when aespa girls were dancing to savage with their elegant white fits then the aes randomly shows up with their casual outfits;-;
I think you hit the nail on the head with it not being about promotion the groups but promoting the company brand. It's honestly too obviously a brand marketing project for it to feel like genuine artistic expression in any way.
That's the problem with SM in general. That's why they haven't hit it big in the West. None of their groups have authenticity. Sure they've got the looks, the talent, the music. However the difference between SM and Hybe is that HYBE connects to their audience. Their groups were made with care. Their groups aren't made with a "we're the best" type air about them. The artists and fandoms develop steadily and every group has their own thing. You don't get a feeling that everyone is a part of the same thing even though they're all under the same company. There is originality. Hybe is huge but the brand doesn't swallow it's groups. Those are the major differences.
Exaclty. Like people don't stan SM groups because of the company.. hey stan because of the group itself! And when all of them are saying the same PINK BLOOD KWANGYA shit it gets old l, boring and recycled...just like some of SM's music coming out today.
@@racheljohnson7177 I don't think this comment applies to le sserafim. The way HYBE markets them is as relatable girlbosses who happen to be pioneers of "high fashion", along with the inappropriate sexualization during FEARLESS (the tennis outfits??) is just not convincing me. Which is a really a shame because the group is so incredibly well-rounded and have their own authentic selves, but I can't help but roll my eyes at the branding HYBE is putting on them. And I say that as a le sserafim fan (I ate up all their music and generally enjoyed their music vids) and was following the IZONE members + Yunjin (I really liked her high tension performance) since p48. Le sserafim during their FEARLESS era to me almost feels like HYBE's version of GOT the Beat, but they salvaged themselves to me with the release of antifragile (thank god they stopped sexualizing tf out of the youngest) I guess I also disagree with BTS and NJ being authentic, simply because of the fact that when they first debut they were all too young too young to be involved in much of the creative process besides maybe RM. and I just know its like 30+ year old producers telling them to sing, dance, and model. (Maybe that's kpop in a nutshell though, I don't expect authenticity. All I want is good music above all else, then performances after. We all support this industry knowing their images are all controlled, yadda yadda.)
@@solar6284 About BTS, almost all of the members were involved in the creative process since their debut, though the rapline did play the biggest roles, along with their in house producers. For example: For their debut song(No more Dream)Jungkook, Jhope, RM and Suga are credited as songwriters along with Bang PD, Pdogg and Supreme Boi. Just wanted to point that out since I feel like people like you just say anything on internet without proper fact checking(no offense). They have been very authentic and genuine from the start and it is one of the many reasons why they blew up the way they did
@@thetruthuntold924 I've heard the song, and to me, it rings of being written about the idol experience from an outside perspective. Very very few people are calling Yunjin a b*tch or a doll with just a pretty face. She isn't the visual of the group; she's one of their best dancers, a talented opera singer, and a beast on stage. She hasn't been in any personality scandals, and the entire group is acknowledged for their difficult choreography, stage presence, and harmonious personalities. So to me, "I'm a pretty girl, all I'm good at is my looks / Call me a selfish bitch, maybe I want to be one" didn't really ring true the way BTS, IU, or (G)I-DLE's songs about their lived experiences do.
To be honest, if they had rotated the GOT lineup for the Stamp On It, it would've given the first lineup exclusivity that would immensely hype them up the next time the lineup comes up again!
That is true. But wouldn’t other fans complain that it would be too much like NCT and its rotating concept? I mean, I personally wouldn’t mind but people always look for something to complain about. Just a thought
@@maxendrer.8457 i guess thats true but nct doesnt even have a rotating concept really, its not like 127 has new members each concept so im not really sure, but your point is probably true too
@@paninilist4678 Yeah that's true, just wanted to point that out since NCT in the beginning got marketed as a rotating members group, but SM never really went through with it in the end (like they always do)
@@paninilist4678 no. GOT the beat is a sub-unit of girls on top. GOT the beat was never ever going to be rotating, they were talking about debuting sub-units with other women in the company.
sm seems to want to keep their groups on a leash, they desperately want them to never leave which is possibly why they rarely ever fully disband any of their groups I feel like this was caused by tvxq's lawsuit, they want to keep them in a glass ceiling so that they never get to big for their boots & leave it almost feels cult-like...... scary :(
Absolutely. I remember it felt like the world stood still when tvxq’s lawsuit happened. When Super Junior members sued, it just felt wild. Despite being shiny, SM was covered in scandals for so long because of legal battles with their artists wanting to go different directions and feeling underserved.
And those that do rebel get blacklisted like Jessica Jung. Poor girl. She worked her ass off in SNSD for seven years and then got kicked out of SNSD against her will and then wanted to leave SM to get a fresh start and did -joining Coridel but SM bribed people to not let her appear on several broadcasters, variety shows, music shows etc- as if they were trying to hold back the success of her solo career. Its messed up because she did not really cause that scandal they did.
All I want to say is SM don’t mess with SHINee with the Kwangya concept. They thankfully have had a 4th gen revival because they are timeless and can do their our concepts since they are seasoned artists in the industry. I hope that the SuperM promotions are short so that Taemin can focus on SHINee 15th year and his next album.
I think SM isn't pulling any groups from before EXO into the kwangya to hard because they have already such established fanbases, Suju, TVXQ, SNSD, Shinee, F(X) (tbh the true pioneers of kwangya, but that's a story for another day) and BoA. It would just work horribly if they did.
that one time when kibum said during his comeback livestream that gasoline wasnt connected to kwangya and sm cut that part out in the version posted on yt later💀
I think it's cute to include all the sm groups in kwangya in a kind of low stakes, surface way. Like I think it's fun to imagine RV as sorcerers in Kwangya, helping out Aespa and stuff like that. And maybe if every year they do a kwangya themed collab stage or something that'd be cool. But what I don't want is it to affect their official group releases. It just cheapens it. RV has such a rich and distinct character, adding Kwangya to it just seems like SM is saying "you are not enough on your own."
with naevis now apparently getting her own solo debut, it seems like lee soo man is on crack & has lost his damn mind with this whole smcu bs, he feels like a comical villian from a movie trying to take over the world with ai (plot twist, he's the black mamba 💀) it was cute at first when it was confided to aespa, it was something made specifically for them but now they are wasting copious amounts of money expanding this weird ai kwangya lore onto other groups when it was suppose to be something for aespa
@@euphoria7019 a lot of ppl really dont know this. Its kinda a chuckle whenever i see ppl make comments like this. although i do hear he is a big shareholder. So that might impact things
I was hyped for GOT but have become disappointed with the direction of the group. SM isn't listening to its audience, studying the trends, or moving forward. I feel bad for RV because SM keeps doing the same type of sound for their albums and not challenging the girls. WE WANT VELVET. We like the dark, smooth, velvety goodness that RV oozes so effortlessly. I will also never be interested in Aespa (as a group) because of the strange AI concept...hope Lee Soo Man is booted soon. edit: I listen to RV religiously okaaaaay. I’m just saying it would be neat to see a title track that is velvet and not red. Doing a mature/sultry/r&b title track that’s reminiscent of Automatic or BYEBYE. It has been back to back RED title tracks…even the girlies want to expand. Just my opinion.
Aespa has become one of SM's glass cliffs. The members are talented with promise but they aren't actually a group. The company made the AI shit their whole selling point, and majority of fans don't like it. Their concept will either drown them out or they'll end up abandoning it down the line, only showing up in MVs.
Red Velvet have TWO sides, the Red and the Velvet. You guys keep saying that you want more velvet type of songs but Wildslide was a velvet concept and nobody supported it. Feel my rhythm and Birthday are two GREAT bodys of work with amazing music such as in my dreams, bamboleo, bye bye, zoom, on a ride, etc etc and plus Birthday became Red Velvet's first million selling album so clearly people LOVE the red side. Yall just love to complain without actually supporting their music. If you want another bad boy or psycho those songs are free to listen to on all streaming music platforms
@@racheljohnson7177 then they shouldn't stan aespa lol Kwangya is literally a part of their identity. Next Level and Savage were created with Kwangya and Naevis in mind. Aespa's lore is easily the thing that drives them. If someone doesn't like it they can very easily go stan other groups
I hate the fact that sm is trying so hard to push themselves as a "brand" in our faces like wasn't it good enough for them to be one of the big 3 why do they need to become a "brand"
@@zeyv4551 i think the funny thing about this explanation is that hybe is not even putting itself at the forefront of all of their artists' projects meanwhile sm is trying too hard to develop a new signature sound and fashion, which will be the smprint.
@@zeyv4551 naah hybe has nothing to do with SM has always done it, that's why we used to get SM Albums even in first gen or many junior artist used be introduced through senior artist mvs idol having collab with each other plus One SM artist on other SM artist mvs
girls on top's comeback would be more successful if it was another unit instead of got the beat. the original purpose of girls on top was to be a rotating group, but they are not following it. sm needs to understand that got the beat is not a group, it's a girls on top unit
I also feel like musically, the SM "formula" (strange vocal samples in the background, a deep humming synth as base, etc.) is becoming very apparent and tiring especially to listeners in korea, similar to what happened with the teddy formula. All of their groups' tts are beginning to sound interchangeable and it is experimental only on a superficial level, without a distinct sound unique to the particular teams thereby separating them.
idk I don't think that 2 baddies sound like Invu or that Gasoline sounds like Girls or that Candy sounds like Feel my rhythm. Musically, sm acts still have their distinctive sound
@@meowmeowmeow8949 it's not that the sound the same. teddy formula songs dont sounf the same either, but they have some immediately recognizable patterns that get very repetive and uninspired over time. as for the distinct sound, i'm talking about the fact that girls is passable as an nct song or 2 baddies with some kwangya lyrics could be performed by aespa, whereas in the 2nd or 3rd gen that wasn't the case. ofc there are exceptions such as the individual artist's solos but in general the overall sound of sm has become stagnant and predictable unlike companies like hybe or starship who are offering something new and fresh with each group or each release.
@@probalganguly that's completely not true, the only similarities between 2 baddie and girls is that they are both hyperpop but they have completely different structures and are very different in sound. And you are very mistaken if you think that this didn't happen in previous generations. Four Walls was supposed to go to Shinee and View was supposed to go to F(x) the same way Ko Ko Bop was made for Red Velvet then it went to Exo. If you want to criticize this lack of musical identity ( which is not even true because you just choose TWO groups that have hyperpop /edm as their main sound) then you should criticize Sm as a whole.
@@probalganguly also hybe? Refreshing? I think I have written somewhere else but there's nothing really original in hybe outside from bts. New Jeans entire discography could be F(x)s the same way most of Le Sserafim could be Red Velvet bsides. Enhypen and Txt are also very similar musically
@@meowmeowmeow8949 no they don't sound similar but I know what sound to expect from all sm groups at this point. And that's the problem. SM claims to be experimental and they are, but "experimental" can't sound the same all the time. TXT is a good example of this. They make stand-out, unique, different music while still maintaining their signature sound, so that they still maintain their identity as a group. If they made music like BTS, it would do nothing for them as a group. If all HYBE artists sound the same, why would they be the next big thing? Sticker by NCT 127 temporarily broke from this mold. It didn't sound like any of the SM music I'd heard before and that's what made it so good(despite the hatred it got). It was new, DEFINITELY experimental, and just so awesome. (But I don't agree that TXT and enhypen music sounds similar, even the bsides...I agree with lesf and RV though.)
Ever since SM introduced the Kwangya concept, I've completely lost interest in the company and their groups. You hit the nail on the head when you said that before, SM marked their groups as actual pop groups. Now, they all feel like a propaganda piece for a brand. Each release feels more like a commercial than an actual promotion of music.
as a longggg time red velvet fan, the recent direction they're being taken in makes me scared for their future. During their hiatus after psycho, a lot of the fanbase was terrified that red velvet would face the same fate as f(x) and just be hidden away in the sm basement until their contracts expired, so I think a lot of us celebrated the queendom comeback and let the mediocre red concept slide because all we could think was "oh thank god, they're not disbanding!" and then feel my rhythm came out, and at least they were doing something cool and innovative music wise so we let that one slide too, and then birthday came out and it was like okay... clearly the company is not putting effort into them at all anymore :( if sm doesnt get it together and follow the trend of girl groups right now and give red velvet a comeback that appeals to the current audience, I'm afraid that they are on the path to losing their relevancy and will get swept away by the huge girl group wave that is happening in kpop right now
@@pinklemonaze9982 I don't mean like them copying the exact trends right now lmao... I mean that they should play into what's popular but add their own twist and sound to it... yknow, like they had been doing for YEARS until sm apparently gave up on them
@@cazrick4407 if you compare the general public's overall RECEPTION of birthday compared to even feel my rhythm, its obvious that birthday was a weak comeback... the title track made barely any noise outside of the fandom, and "bye bye" was popular for like 2 days and then everyone forgot about it again. It feels like RBB era all over again. I'm pretty sure the birthday album sales were only as high as they were because of the pretty packaging, not the actual music. Its obvious that red velvet's current music direction is causing them to fade into the background amongst all the current newer girl groups, so what would you suggest they do? continue making music that doesn't bring in any new fans? it wouldn't be a bad thing for them to try and profit off of the current trends, they are still totally capable of doing it in a way that keeps their unique sound and style, just like they did with trends back in 2016-2019
When it comes to RV I have some thoughts 1) birthday and feel my rhythm were excellent songs. However while feel my rhythm had a strong comeback concept (teasers, costumes, choreography, album design) birthday just seemed rushed with generic teasers and a vague concept of birthday cakes. 2) this year was supposed to be all about sampling classical music. But the Japanese comeback made Wildside the title track instead of marionette. Did they just throw the plan out the window for the second comeback of 2022?? 3) I have an extremely intense parasocial relationship with RV so this Got the Beat comeback wasn’t my favourite thing in the world. And yet! I would have still listened to it if the music was amazing. Look at the talent in that group and this is the best you can give them?? 😢 4) I&S subunit, full length album and RV concert when? 5) Really excited for exo and Taemin music soon
ok i feel the same way abt birthday like from the concept trailer i was confused. the concept photos also just feel so generic & boring like they added some graphics but that’s literally it??? it was just so annoying.
I literally expected so much with Birthday only for that song become and sounding like it belongs to NCT DREAM instead of Red Velvet, not saying NCT DREAM is bad but there is something that sets Red Velvet apart from the others, what upsets and disappoint me is the chorus, they could have projected the parts and the vocals better, what’s with the unnecessary adlibs like ‘baro oneuliya it’s your birthday’ when you can just add maybe vocals instead???
I think they also should drop the Reve festival it was a cool trilogy but now, it’s repetitive in the sense that every comeback is a continuation of it. FMR was great as ultimate conclusion to it but we didn’t need Birthday who felt a bit rushed to be a Reve festival. They should also lean more towards having more musical content for I&S subunit and for the group while at the same time having them debuting solo. On the topic of wildside I am blaming SM to not have promoted it well, like we’re in the middle of the FMR era and suddenly wildside is dropping out of no where. If they had waited 2 weeks after the FMR era to release Wildside and have them having appropriate promotion with stages and all it would have had more success. Also, SM is sleeping on the occasion to release a full velvet comeback for the girls and even have them having a 3rd album and not a repackaged one
@@chelleange1s yeah the thing I love about K-pop is how the comeback is planned. The teasers for dumb dumb, psycho, red flavour, bad boy… so so good. Generic just doesn’t work for RV.
i think u also can emphasize the current biggest problem in SM right now: they dont let their artist to sing live. i think its the major problem of them.
'Wildside' being pretty much the banging back to form dark velvet track Red Velvet would have exploded again with, but alas it was regulated to a top-tier Japanese release. Weren't they supposed to have a comeback for each of the four seasons this year too? I've also noticed lately SM often puts great effort and at times actual unreal artistry and execution into certain trailers and photoshoots but when the MV comes out it has little to do with or has little footage from the album teasers, like the tonal shifts are kinda disappointing. 28 Reasons had SUCH a good album teaser. The teasers for "Queendom" featured Red Velvet as Attack of the 50 Ft Woman style giant women in a fake model town, and that was so exciting like FINALLY we get to see Red Velvet destroy something again, a motif in a lot of their best MVS, fits their aesthetic perfectly, and then....we didn't get that at all. The music boxes for 'Feel My Rhythm' felt back to form. IMO, embodied by those teasers SM already had an interesting "world" that they seemed to inhabit and did very well with pre-Kwangya. When I think of SM artists, I usually think of bright, surreal retro environments, mid-century suburbia either played sweet or with lots of David Lynch, pop-art, Rene Magritte and cheeky dark kitsch mystery elements. Red Velvet embodied that best, but Shinee often inhabits that kind of world too. Surreal pop-art house was kind of their calling card, but adopting the homogenizing Kwangya and NCT aesthetics are kinda making things feel cheap.
If Wildside was released as a Korean comeback, it would explode in popularity. Red Velvet doing a velvet girl crush concept, with every member singing notable parts of the chorus, and every member belting high octaves? Pretty sure the only other RV song that came close to that is RBB.
this makes me so upset as an nctzen. as someone who has been into kpop for only two years now, meaning i've only been *into* NCT for two years, it feels like i entered the fandom in a strange time. rewatching their old content, music videos & listening to their older songs, it feels like something has been "lost" in comparison to the new content that SM puts out for them now. reading the comments, i'm guessing other's feel the same way about their favorite groups too. i truly try to support everything that they put out mainly out of love & loyalty, but damn it's so obvious that SM has no solid direction with NCT & their subunits- in a sense that there's no stability at all. i understand that NCT is an experiment itself, but it's like SM wakes up everyday & goes like "hmmm, maybe this will do". ...that's why it was so upsetting to see them push that annoying ass Kwangya concept and the SM Universe so much. it was cool at the beginning to see how it intertwined with aespa's concept, but like you said, it's just blatant propaganda at this point. everything is starting to feel too intertwined. it's not exciting, just tiring & honestly scary. why overwork the artists so much, just to give them half assed comebacks and shitty management? like someone else commented, SM is starting to feel like a damn cult.
Exactly... exaclty. When they started force feeding the kwangya things with the neos....my nctzen friend got disinterested and barely keeps up with them now.
@@katgreer6113 extremely understandable! it’s like we didn’t sign up for this! i’ve also only started to keep up with NCT as individual artists/models…cuz i want nothing to do with SMU.
I personally think the only way Superm would work was if it was once in a while cb sort of like their station songs and the members would be different each release, or some would stay, some would be replaced by other boys, others might be missing on song 2, but be back on song 3 and so on. And even could be promoted on music shows if they planned it carefully to make sure all the members would have the time for it and it wouldn't be in conflict with their og groups. It would be fun to see the mix each time different group of boys or girls. But they shoved superm in the middle of exo exploration tour and instead of giving exo opportunity to see their fans in more locations prior further enlistments (and covid), let alone giving KB time for their solo, they took two members and made them "waste" time in a group nobody asked for and promoted on backs of exo achievements and of course giving them opportunities that sm never bothered to give exo and they just expected that exols are just gonna take it and be happy about it. It felt like a decision made by some old men in suits that have never talked to their groups' fans. Sure the albums weren't complete flop, but SM just doesn't read the room. Same with the kwangya shit, like older groups don't care for it nor like it. They are making idols who are 30+ suddenly care about some pink blood kwangya lore. And if you see your idol is not taking it seriously and just do as told, how are their fans to get on board.
The irony is that Super M has in a way finally united SHINee and Exo fans in that both groups wish SM would just leave the bands they're interested in out of their doomed attempt to conquer America and whatever ridiculous nonsense they're doing with the whole Kwangya thing. Like I haven't seen Exo being forced to pretend to care about the universe they've retroactively been roped into but I have seen Key's reaction and he's not happy, and I can only imagine the cringe if they attempted to insert some sort of avatar based nonsense into one of Minho's moody little mini movie MVs. Not to mention how Boa and Yunho/Changmin must feel about it.
@@gothgirl66673 EXO was to a point mocked for their supernatural lore and I remember boys "suffering" when they talked about it, but eventually they unironically accepted it and embraced it. But it took years and it was their concept from debut, I can only imagine how suju, shinee, tvxq or snsd were happy about some kwangya.
Brilliant analysis. I agree totally with your points. I tweeted earlier today my frustration at SM strategy and SuperM. This pick-and-mix approach does not build brand fan loyalty. EXO is coming back for a short time before Kai and Sehun have to enlist. This is the time to show appreciation to the loyal fandom who have waited several years and grown. Instead, SM first mentions SuperM's comeback. Who actually cares about SuperM - if you are an EXO-L or NCT fan? However, my biggest complaint is the marketing of these bands. I went on the Hybe website - easy to navigate and supported on multiple platforms and languages. News about the various Hybe bands etc. In comparison, SM is like entering a sugar-coated crowded colour circus in which the fan is trying to figure out during their school or lunch break, information about their band. Finding anything will take time (if it is there in the first place). SM is a company unable to function in a digital world and so decides to complicate everything. At times like this the CEO needs to step down and take responsibility.
For the longest time I wondered why Aespa makes me so uncomfortable. Like, the members are talented, the music is pretty good (not all of it’s my personal taste but I love a couple of them) so why do I feel weird watching their content? And I think you nailed it. It’s because Aespa doesn’t feel like a real group under SM, with their own concept and identity. They feel like cardboard cutouts being propped up in the fronts of stores to advertise a product. I’m not saying that’s how the ladies are; I’m not saying they’re dumb or lacking in personality, I’m saying that’s how they’re being _treated_ by SM. As commercial and marketing accessories. And yeah, all idols are this to an extent because every group and soloist is a reflection of their company to a degree, but with Aespa…..I think it’s the fact that they’re pushing the AI stuff with them so insanely hard. It makes it feel like SM cares more about the AI versions of Aespa than Aespa themselves. Like they’re being used as Guinea pigs to test the response to the concept of AI idols before fully diving into the route of “debuting” a fully-AI group. It just makes me feel like Aespa isn’t being respected by their own company.
I feel EXACTLY the same way, and it makes me so sad because NingNing's voice is just so god damn captivating i wish they would do more for them as a group, but seeing as how the company is moving it doesn't seem likely we will ever know who Aespa as a group are. Nevermind the absolute hell that matk and haechan have to go through because SM just can't figute out a decent comeback schedule for the nct units, making half of them overworked and the other jobless for two thirds of the year (hi wayv :'))
this makes my MY heart sad hearing them be compared to cutouts. I really disagree but can totally see your point. Hopefully better cbs make ppl change their minds
They are not being utilised to their full potential as well. Also I have never ever seen any of the members go onto singing contests like Immortal songs or Masked Singer, that would have been great for Ningning to get her name out there based on her solo vocal potential. Actually for some reason I have not come across Aespa on variety shows yet. But maybe if I search I will find something.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed a change in SM groups recently. Red Velvet was one of the first groups I've stanned but lately I feel like their title tracks aren't "Red Velvet" anymore and are SM-themed if that makes any sense. You could give Birthday to any other SM group and it wouldn't make a difference which I couldn't say about their previous title tracks. Right now SM is where it is because of the number of SM stans out there but I'm sure eventually even they will notice and get tired of it
@@ss24083 wait when you learn that four walls was for shinee, superhuman was for shinee, view was for f(x), ko ko bop for red velvet and red flavor for exo. this isn't something new in sm and has never been.
@@gwgwap and why do you think those songs was not given to the intended group? bcs it’s not aligning to their group sounds. you’re literally proving the point OP was trying to say. nowadays SM songs could be given to any of their groups and it will sounds the same bcs they literally has the same sound formula that are not unique to each group. Take Aespa Girls for example, that song could easily be an NCT 127 songs and you will not notice any difference.
@@hombre6604 view could very easily be a f(x) track the same way that 4 walls could very easily be a shinee track so no my point still stands. And no aespa can't work as an 127 song as it has different pre choruses than the ones 127 have, different structures on the chorus and different structures in the rap verse. The only similar thing that girls have with 2 baddies is that they are both the same genre, edm/hyperpop.
i think the sm label concept could work if they kept it to a once a year type thing. but you hit the nail on the head, theres way too much nostalgia-bait with their groups these days and not enough innovation. they need some better ppl on their groups creative teams. and especially the ones selecting music.
Out of the entire SM roster, it seems like Red Velvet is pretty much the only group that has been allowed to remain its own separate entity, for the most part. Their connection to "Kwangya" thus far has been peripheral at best. The overall concensus among Kpop fans is that they don't really fit the concept to begin with, and really don't need to. Let NCT and Aespa handle that.
SM is a company that gets in the way of their artists with their huge ego. They wanna prove they’re different so bad. Like we get it, the company is a big part of why kpop is so big but enough is enough.
When you mentioned the sexism between superm and got the beat I had to scream bcuz YES. Before you even got to that point I was thinking maybe not sexism but even the fandoms are different. Of course I base it on what I see. I call myself an “SM stan” solely because I like literally every group SM has come out with from hot traxx ses to Aespa. From what I see, there isn’t a war between the bg stans in SM. Nctzens don’t attack exols and all of them love shinee and shawols (again from what I SEE). However, the moment got the beat came out people were dragging boa calling her an old hag and saying she wished she was best dancer like Karina blah blah. I’ve seen reveluvs attacking sones (and I was shocked bcuz I never see them attack anyone 😵💫). The gg randoms hated each other. I never saw that with the bgs. But also another thing I notice at least from what I see the ggs never make it like KNOWN that they like the other ggs like I’ve never seen Aespa members saying they love and look up to boa or fx. Again they could have but me personally I haven’t seen it. Meanwhile from the moment I got into nct they were praising exo and shinee and that’s how I got into the older groups. Like got the beat wasn’t meant to work and be one big group like Superm bcuz the gg stans hate each other. Literally. Also yes. Now with the uniq unite it made sense having that ONE SONG and making it a staple. Got the beat SHOULDNT have come out with the mini album. Don’t get me wrong I love every song but they didn’t become a staple and plus again the gg Stan’s hate each other so it was nothing but nonstop attacks and comparisons between the members. They should switch the units again and drop a song or two like they said they’d do and add the other Aespa members to shine. They literally have fallen to the background while Karina and winter who were already very popular have been pushed to the forefront
Not only is the Kwangya concept cringey in general, it's completely age inappropriate for the fans of the older groups. Asking the members to promote it should probably be considered a violation of the Geneva Conventions. It's bad enough to have Aespa and NCT pushed into it, the idea of someone Yunho's age being expected to sit there and pretend to be enthusiastic about this nonsense is just awkward for everyone involved. And then looking at things from the opposite direction they have Super M promoting on Nickelodeon in the US. What happens if any of the kids who see that decide to google the members and run across, say, Criminal, where the video contains scenes of auto-erotic asphyxiation? The majority of Taemin's solo stuff is too sexed up for kids, and that's fine because he's an adult and so are the vast majority of his fans, but then why put him in the band that you're going to send on Nickelodeon? Why not use NCT Dream? Why even have a unit with a cute youthful concept if that's not who you're going to use when promoting to a younger audience? It feels like the whole attempt to push into the US market is a response to BTS, like it hurts Lee SooMan's ego that none of his bands have done as well there. But didn't Exo have some level of success at one point? If so, why not push them instead of creating a new band that nobody wants? It's extra stupid to be doing that with the bands like SHINee that already have a lucrative market base in Japan, and could be promoting and making money there. I don't follow EXO or NCT enough to know but I'm guessing the same applies to them too, that they'd be making far more money promoting in Asia rather than sitting around waiting for members to be done with whatever masterplan SM thinks they're executing with SuperM. Idol careers are short as it is, they don't have time to be wasting on LSMs vanity project. The whole thing just makes me wonder if maybe there isn't any mechanism for those within the company who're a bit smarter to force Lee SooMan to step down. If there isn't then he's going to tank the whole company unless someone can talk him into backing off on some of the stuff he's currently pushing.
the company thing is so true bc i feel like a lot of their group’s b-sides or even tt blend into each other & this is very much the case for nct. what’s the difference between the 2 baddies album & glitch mode album? they have some differences but u could honestly swap out one for the other. this is also the case for got the beat & aespa’s ‘girls’, if you were swap out their voices with the members of nct no one would rlly be able to tell the difference & that’s a huge problem. i heard they’re trying to fix the problem by getting separate producers for their groups but that should’ve already been a thing.
Stamp on it with different lyrics could also have been an NCT song. Same with RV's birthday. I feel like another part of the problem here is that the NCT 127 sound isn't everyone's cup of tea and seems to be the sound that's bleeding into the other groups.
@@MkMkM-wv9fq OH MY GOD I THOUGHT SO TOO!!! this is what i am trying to tell people, SM’s are literally shoving and making their other artists to try the ‘NCT’ genre buf not everyone can keep up and be in the same taste as those who enjoy it
Oh you noticed too! I was very let down by 2Baddies. Discovering the Bsides has always been the highlight of listening to 127 and this is the first time none of the songs stood out to me. I'm so glad DJ is on the repackage, finally a track that is memorable. I felt like SM gave everything on the Faster+2 Baddies couple (4th album must have a bop title track, they kept repeating that too during promotions) and then used fillers.
i think it really all boils down to sm's mismanagement and lack of care for their artists. superm and GOT the beat are interesting concepts that could be done once every year and a half to two years, not just a one off thing imo, but we've seen with both of superm's mini albums and this GOT the beat mini album, that sm is pushing the actual groups and idols to the side by overlapping comebacks and lack of care for the individual idols. (baekhyun was very injured on the superm world tour, nct members insanely overworked as well) sm does not promote their idols well at all. unveiling GOT the beat's stamp on it through a stage performance two weeks before its actual release?? come on sm of course the mv is gonna flop. they did this with minho's solo debut and i really do not understand what goes on through their heads over there lmfao. if sm cared for all of their main groups more i think reactions to these super groups would be a lot different, because people wouldn't need to fight over who is getting promoted and who isnt. as a stan of many sm groups since 2014, the creation of the smcu has been hinted at and something that's sorta been expected for a while, especially between red velvet and exo. each group is still maintaining their original concepts just with the lingering kwangya lore in the background, so i kinda like it ngl.
The reason that I think SM has gone down in creativity in terms of concepts for their groups and comebacks definitely has to do with Min Heejin leaving SM. They must have used up all that was left by her in the vault so they are now resorting to copying her new girl group (NewJeans) for their new boy group (RIIZE). Aespa seems to be on the verge of leaving the Kwanga concept. They experimented with their 'My World' album which was widely successful and when they went back to a Kwangaess sound with 'Drama' they were met with a big decline in sales, digitals, and attention. Overall 'My World' is their most successful album all around. With the upcoming release of their first full-length album (allegedly) and SM saying they're gonna try more global promotions and sound (easy listening music really) I think they have finally realized how limited the kwanga sound is.
im a fan of storylines in kpop but i feel frustration over the mcufication of sm artists, particularly nct who ALREADY had an interesting storyline about dreams and consciousness... aespas story is interesting for aespa
Sm is already a disaster in managing idols and their mental health now the music is going down too 🧔🏽♀️ I mean instead of promoting already debuted artists they are doing idk what but I love their artists
All I can say is if SM prioritizes SuperM’s cb and promotions over SHINee’s when Taemin is discharged there’ll be hell to pay. SuperM was a nightmare for Taemin’s scheduling even before when the other SHINee members were enlisted. It’ll only be worse now if they try to pull him away from both his group and his solo career in favor of what basically amounts to an SM pet project.
Their new songs (esp NCT dream) sometimes sound like an aotocorrect bot puked. Very low quality just to have success in the west. I remember songs that have no english words at all. On the other hand I don’t dislike the concept of GOT and superm, I just think their marketing is bad, they have bad writers, there is no personal touch from the artists, the artists can’t show off their talent at all. West centrism makes everything worse
I feel like sometimes SM just don't even try to come up with something new anymore and I think it's because they know that fans(including me) would still support their favorite groups anyway. It's really frustrating and also a bit boring for me whenever I see a group from SM do the same thing repeatedly. I also agree with the fact that SM is pushing their company brand rather than focusing in their group's individual concept cause that's what made them special in the first place and I just hope for the best for all their artists
The Kwangya thing is the single most cringe concept I've ever seen. And the fact that they're pushing it onto every other group is going to ruin them. I can't stand aespa because of their concept and soon every SM artist is going to be part of it. SM has lost their shine
Still trying to figure out why feel my rhythm was a continuation of the reve festival. It was a great comeback, and honestly should've been a full album that us reveluvs desperately want. Birthday was okay, mainly due to the mini album, but it honestly should've been a velvet comeback, this is coming from someone who slightly prefers red concepts
The easiest group to save right now is Red velvet. They need a Velvet concept comeback and it will be fine. Sm better stop this AI kwangya thing because it is destroying them. If they want to stop aespa from fading away in the kpop scene they need to innovate their concept right away.
Now I realize why none of their groups actually piqued my interest. You hit the nail on the head - Individualism is key! When I like a certain group, I don't want the company to sell me their other groups by forcibly collaborating their own other groups with my faves. What's actually ironic is that, when BTS collabs with a western artist, some were claiming that it's forced. That either the artists were just being nice or just looking for clout. And then there's SM. Forcibly creating groups and getting people from their established groups ... to create clout 😂😂
The main difference I found btwn JYP and SM groups is how much more overtly colorist SM idols were. Not saying that JYP idols dont have any colorist moments. But if you were to follow any SM groups you would be bombarded w/ colorist comments w/ the exception of Aespa. I also wondered if you are going to control all of the parts of an idol, why not control their racist part?
Red velvet discography was top tier from 2015-2018 the mix of red : Russian roulette, dumb dumb, rookie, red flavor and velvet : automatic, one of these nights, bad boy was awesome. For me red velvet need to try concepts like Russian roulette and rookie, it was so refreshing and it is still because no one can perform these two songs like them. I want the quirkiness red vibe back more than the velvet side because these past few years we had a lot of velvet song, a lot of people desperately ask the velvet concept but I think that they have to show us something different that shows that « we are red velvet we are not in the industry to please the general public ». And rookie or Russian roulette are the best examples of weird quirky unique songs that stand out. Birthday was good but rushed and meaningless, I still supported the girls, but it was a terrible choice.
so many of their songs just sound the same recently. some of their boy groups, got the beat, rv and aespa - all of them have recently had a song that is just strong, ear-grating beat with a dance break instead of a bridge. also, there are MANY fans who don't want this "SM family" stuff.
I think the SM family stuff is nice but we don't have to see that stuff like 10 times a year. It needs to be more spaced out cause this is way too many projects to sustain properly.
i mean, the SM family thing would be nice if it was done only once a year or once every two years - after all, it's amazing to see these idols interact so freely and seeing them together is really nice. but lately they've been pushing this narrative down our throats every other month and aespa for an example have more projects inside the sm family concept than their own thing???? it's just TOO MUCH especially for a 2 year old group
SM clearly screwed up with the way they promoted GOT The Beat's latest comeback Stamp On It. They sang the song a couple of weeks before the actual song release date. That was a really bad strategy and it's not surprising that the song failed to chart well. Also I only see this project group as just that and not releasing a comeback so soon after their debut. SM really needs to review their strategies on promotions.
Lee Soo Man is frantically trying to secure his PERSONAL legacy which seemed to reach full speed at the dawn of HYBE and the rise of Bang PD’s profile internationally. (The year 2020 as a turning point is no accident). His self made “father of kpop” documentary is the most poignant example of where his focus is. Something has got to give. Shows what kind of leader and “chief producer” he really is: The one who is there not for the bigger vision, mission, not for the music, not for the art, not for the artists, not for the fans, not for any cause, and how he has always been and will always be: Only for himself.
Watching this after the major shakeup in the structure. And the benifit of not letting the group becoming too big, is evident after the cbx lawsuit, where the share market dropped only a fraction
Excellent analysis. Ever since the launch of Aespa, I did feel like the company had moved to just not caring about their artists. I have never enjoyed Aespa much but it’s because it’s hard to watch them with the lack of effort put out by the company. Aespa could be amazing, they just are clearly not given the support to succeed in the ways previous SM girl groups had.
I used to love SM, but every decision they've made in the past decade has been mediocre. I'm more into Hybe these days, especially with Enhypen and NewJeans.
it’s crazy seeing everything you point out in this video and now seeing what’s going on these days with hybes take over of sm and all i can wonder now is what’s going to happen in the future of sm
I really hope the system is changing because of the whole drama with the turnover and SMent will decide to focus on their groups individually and give them creative freedoms
I think the issue began when people started hailing them for being brave enough to be experimental with their music and concepts. Cause over time everything has slowly become convoluted and it feels like they’re just doing experimental stuff just for the sake of it. And tbh I hate LSM’s way of running SM’s groups and how the artists are guinea pigs for his mastermind almost borderline crazy scientist ideas
The problem with SM is that all the groups have been created with the simple purpose of fulfilling the dream of LSM, although he is no longer CEO, he is still the majority shareholder of the company and is always involved in all the development and production of comebacks. In the end, all idols are treated as characters in a story and they can really notice it, despite the fact that SM strives to appear, it does not seek to change its way of doing things, it does not seek to make its artists truly recognized, it simply seeks to popularize the Kwangya universe.
If I’m being completely honest I don’t know a single person ego is actually invested in the kwangnaya universe. It just doesn’t add anything to the artist other than this random word being g used in their songs, so i just ignore it. Not even the artists themselves know what it actually means
As someone that’s working on a video about the SMCU, I can confidently say that all SME groups occupied the same universe since at least 2012 (with EXO’s debut). So, what’s the problem? Red Velvet is the best example. Even though theirs and EXO’s story lines were tied together very closely, you can watch their videographies and feel like they’re two separate groups in separate universes. Even with NCT continuing EXO’s storyline, it feels like NCT’s story and not a continuation of another artist’s. But once Aespa debuted in 2020, it feels like SME is slapping Kwangya onto everything. At first, the novelty was amazing! But it’s just feeling tiresome at this point. Personally, I love the idea of super groups. But the music feels lackluster. I love watching SMTowm every year. But I can see how newer KPop fans might not enjoy a multi-hour concert with several groups they don’t care about. And as interesting as the SMCU is to dive into, not everyone wants to research it or be reminder of it 24/7. I mean, look at Loona. Their biggest draw according to their fans is the Loona-verse. But that clearly wasn’t enough. Lore is only relevant once a group has a stable fanbase that wants to get invested. It’s not a selling point. Personally, I think that SME isn’t in a dire situation. They had more album sales than any other company last year. So, they have the flexibility to take time and think out their plans moving forward. With that being said, I hope that, by Aespa’s 4th year anniversary, the company rebrands again and puts the SMCU on the back burner. I still want their artists to have lore. I just don’t want that taking priority over individuality and well received music.
It's baffling to me that people thought Stamp On It was a serve. The production was bad and the album was an even bigger disappointment. I was shocked that SM released such trash. How did we go from Super M to this?
@@racheljohnson7177 SuperM was HORRIBLE what even you are talking about 😭 Not ONE good tittle track and amazingly average bsides. SuperM is genuinely the worst thing Sm has ever done for so many reasons
@@racheljohnson7177 The production wasn’t bad. If you want bad production, listen to NMIXX. I swear… Who thought that the transition in O.O is acceptable? Even Drake’s producers do better… But back to GOT The Beat. Stamp On It had competent production. It was decent. But it was underwhelming. And when you have some of the biggest, most iconic, and most legendary names in KPop, you don’t give them underwhelming music. Same with SuperM. I think their music is better and it’s obvious that more effort went into them. GOT The Beat felt more like “We already have a male version of this. And people are asking for it. I guess we’re obligated to do a girl group while half of SuperM is on military hiatus.” But still, it’s underwhelming for me. And it’s concerning that a company like SME, known for their music production skills, is giving subpar comebacks to what should be groups representing the best of KPop. If these were rookie groups that were just debuting, I’d accept it. But groups made from some of the most well known and beloved idols? Forget “Step Back”. Y’all need to step *UP* !
Well Loona did build a fan base from lore. They started from 500 album sales to nearly 200,000. They charted globally and broken records. Larger companies try to replicate this. The only reason why they aren't as popular as they should be is because they creative director wanted them to be an underground group and after he was fired the company didn't know what to do with them so it's really poor management because fans were literally begging them for content and it wasn't until the boycott that they started all of a sudden offering fans alot of stuff. Too little too late though
I want them to finish the story and then move on, and we'll never hear of this again. I'm interested in the lore of Kwangya (I know I'm in the minority here, but I love convoluted lore and plot design). I don't want them to put it on the back burner quite yet because I want to know what will happen next. I'm praying we get a finale though, and Aespa can get a concept of like "futuristic pop" or something without throwing all this Kwangya talk in their song ("My Naevis, we love you" or "that's my Naevis" are so ridiculous). How can anyone sing along to what's essentially a "fake" song at this point? No matter how interested in the SMCU I am, I will never understand then putting all these nonsense words in actual music.
idk why but sm music seems so off now...like their songs feel old even if they're trying to make them sound futuristic/experimental? It's so weird+ their supergroups are simply soulless. I also think that the main reason why people are now tending to be hybe stans is because of the music. Like TXT, Newjeans, Le Sserafim...Their songs are good, refreshing and cool.
Sm groups are still majorly success though and their songs still go viral just like every other company People have simply gotten tired of the sm sound. Hybe sounds more basic, which is why people like them. It's easy to listen to...but that will also fall out of favor with people in the next 4 years or so..
My only problem with SM is WayV. WayV is their most all rounded completed group in every type and sort of way in every category. Yet they choose to mistreat them, not promote as well as other groups just because they're Chinese and much rather have the fame and success goes into A Korean dominant group like Dream for example. Ten Lee by himself can literally not only carry SM but the music industry as a whole! Let alone with WayV. Also I'd like to Say that SuperM was a great idea. But not GOT. It's just became like a habit rather than a project. But SuperM has great chemistry and works so well together and they aren't far age terms, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 99
SM problem is losing min heejin. I'm a big fan of SMs 2nd and 3rd gen idols, but nowadays after min heejin's departure, their songs has been ass and unlistenable
the collaborations and avenger groups are just a way to satisfy the fans’ enjoyment of seeing artists from different groups interacting and forming friendships with one another. but at this point it just feels quite forced and not to mention, idols are so awkward around each other these days because of both korea’s age rule (younger must respect the elders, in turn making it difficult to be comfortable and close to their elders a little quicker) and the scrutiny from sensitive fans towards idols these days, aka being a “pick me” or getting hated on for behaving like a normal human being. its honestly so pitiful to be an idol, it never was glamorous behind the scenes imo. its clear to me that SM treats them like dolls and not ARTISTS, its depressing.
I'm not a SM fan, just a casual listener and for me, the groups are starting to loose what makes them unique. To someone who doesn't stan these groups, the newer songs sound very similar. I think a collab between artists is a fun idea but making them a fixed group is a mistake. A collab should bring what makes those groups unique together, not just give them a general SM-like concept to perform. Groups like SuperM and GOT the beat make the artists interchangeable. They have to loose everything that makes them unique to fit into this one concept... Like what's the point of a collab then?
Treating artists and groups like products, arguably this is kpop's traditional formula and Lee Soo Man has declared himself the father of it after all. But kpop has gone global now, and he is out of his element, forcing himself in. It shows.
this just reminded me of another "avengers unit" that happened in kpop in 2009-2010. There was a collab between labelmates T-ara, Davichi, and Seeya and it was done as a promotion strategy by their company MBK (CCM at the time) to cross promote these three groups. Both songs that they released "Women's Generation" and "Wonder Woman" were actually very successful. I wonder if its due to all three groups being relatively in the same generation, so there's not much gap in between the member's experience and if its due to the songs resonating with the general public at the time. Was Got the Beat just not as successful due to the lineup itself and the song choices? Interesting to think about tbh.
was Got the beat's mini album uninspiring and all the songs sound the same? Yes! does that mean that the idea of got the beat as a whole is bad? Nope. I do think it should be a rotational group but having amazing vocalists and rappers collab together isn't inherently bad.
i saw a post on Reddit saying that GOT should’ve done destiny’s child kinda music & i 1000% agree. & though sexy concepts are a thing of the past, i would’ve loved to see them do something inspired by the pussycat dolls.
Literally they had the most amazing vocalist in the group and make them rap and give them aespa and nct sounding music just dumb :/ we should have get the aespa cb already
thank you for speaking up on the reve issue!! like it bothers me so much that sm themselfes literally ended the reve festival just to bring it back two years later, showing that they completely given up on being creative for their groups that arent aespa and nct. (no hate to my aespa girlies bc they dont get anything from sm as well) and that one sentence u said about aespa hit me. they really dont have their own concept besides...being SM
And now they want to debut the so called AI character..... Like there must some more trainees in sm who are trying so hard to debut but leaving them they are focusing on a non living character like isn't it unfair to living idols😶😐
also for me each company now is being greedy to launch another groups.. the market is oversaturated already but they couldn't set a good management of their own artist first and have a stable fan bases and concept for each of the current artist....
I mean This is the same as meeting with relatives, if you do that like once in a while you will be very excited but if you keep meeting your relatives I'm not sure you will be excited
There could also be some potential financial problems at play here. Why else would SM make 12+ versions of an album of every comeback (digipack + limited editions + sminis) that collectors are bound to purchase? While I do acknowledge that they are not the only company creating multiple versions of an album to chart well (the digipack trend has been going on for a while), they are definitely doing it the most out of every current company which goes against their entire so-called ''climate'' policy they have actively advocated for. This is strange because SM groups are bound to chart well because they have huge fanbases and overall domestic and international recognition. When they don't sell, it is not due to the lack of purchases, it is the lack of promotions and general care put into a comeback. Collecting these (even 12+) albums would be more special if they had different concepts, photo books, and aesthetics but SM just recycles everything to make some extra cash. It is almost like they have lost their fate in their groups' music and reach which is weird because their groups are still putting out great music.
I mostly feel bad for Aespa because I believe what SM is trying to do besides of what everyone else has stated (breeding company stans and caring more about the brand of the company than the groups) is to give them the "BlackPink starvation hype", obviously I could be wrong, after all, I do not work for SM but that's what it looks like to me and I have mixed feelings about it. On one side I kinda get it, if Aespa takes long enough between releases more people in the Kpop community will be interested in checking out their comeback due to how long it took them to come back basically but on the other side I think this mostly worked for BlackPink because of timing (before they grew an huge fanbase), what worked in 2017 won't work as well in 2023, especially considering how harsh and competitive the Kpop scene has become, we have companies that seem to be fighting with all their strength to make their groups known and these aren't smaller companies SM shouldn't be worried about, I'm talking about HYBE (LE SSERAFIM & NewJeans) and YG with the debut of BabyMonster. Starship also, they might not be in the Big4 but IVE's got a fanbase in Korea, they do extremely well and I highly doubt Starship and Kakao would want to throw all that to waste. So, there is a chance that the way SM is dealing with Aespa might cause more harm than good to the group with this strategy because, at least to me, it looks like they're wasting these girls' time and throwing all the momentum they had to the gutter.
it’s the way most sm artists don’t leave the company for me, like they are either kicked out like jessica, they sue the company like exo members or they are forgotten and no one cares if they leave or not like f(x) among others, i’m really wondering why these artists don’t leave i’m especially wondering about boa like she could be furthering her career more as the queen of kpop
BoA ??? You know she got shares in SM, a director position in the company (or something like that), has artistic freedom (not all SM idols get to write their own music), GOT was basically created for her... She did a lot for the company but she's in a great position now.
i kinda personally believe this is due to lee soo man, who's on the pandora papers, and who is also speculated to not pay taxes and such. it's only my opinion, but i do think that there is something shady going on as to why a lot of their artists have to stay. i read jessica's book and while it's a ficitonal novel, she talks about how sm entertainment will have you sign a 7 year and a 3 year contract together, so a 10 year contract, in a way that doesn't break the law. i haven't revisited her book in a while so i could be paraphrasing this wrong but i do remember jessica writing about sm's shady contracts.
@@cyrielle_ i’m not talking about her position i’m talking about her idol career and evolving her sound those are two different things, i understand what might her keep her but it’s a compromise imo she can do so much more as an artist rather than just have shares in a company
@@thewayifelt something like that is in her book but i just never knew what to take as fiction and what to take as fact also the 10 years contract is definitely true but what keeps them beyond those 10 years? it just feels like they don’t want to
@@thewayifelt I also feel like there's something deeply inappropriate about the relationship he tries to cultivate with the artists he signs. Not making any legal accusations here, obviously, it's just a feeling based on watching him interact with the idols and the way they talk about him. It's almost like he's the world's least charismatic cult leader, and people don't leave because they saw what happened when 3/5 of DBSK did.
I feel like the joint sm groups should’ve been like a special one time thing where it rotates and like idk it happens every 2 years or so because like said in the video the longevity of these mixed groups are declining it makes them seem like a failed project which is why it should be like a special not an official group because overtime people will lose interest in the mixed groups it’s honestly frustrating to see it’s like they’re just wasting the idols times and hard work where it could be invested in their individual groups
@Kuntala Sen "Good music, got them Good team? Goddamn! U said u hot, oh man, u not."- A certain wise leader from a certain 7 member group said it once.
I love EXO, NCT, WAYV, and SHINee but SuperM didn’t work for me mostly because I didn’t like the music it felt more like trying to get popular and money. Part of the reason I liked SM groups so much is because most of them are amazing vocalist but it feels like that’s not the focus of Kpop anymore (no hate to the actual members of course just the direction the company seems to be going)
I'm dance focused enough that I was initially interested from the pov of going, Taemin and Kai together, who wouldn't want to see that? But the music is so boring, and the Avengers concept is cringe, and the whole thing just seems like a waste of time for everyone involved.
SM also doesn't care about group chemistry when they make these avenger groups When I watch them I just see a hodgepodge of people who were forced to work together
Problem is Lee Soo Man and the old guard at SM blocking new creative directors/ producers to move up. Perfect example is the Ador Creative Director, she was responsible for SM’s direction up until she most likely got burnt out with SM politics. She said cya, joined Bighit/Hype specifically to create their new gg. Enter Newjeans. SM haven’t been the same since she left and I’m sure other talented producers, directors left as well. And also… other aspiring idols know to stay away from SM. Old people needs to get out the way in SM.
super m has to be sm's worst idea to this day. i remember when i was exol NOBODY wanted that group, they pushed exo promotions to side to focus on that stupid group, it was really frustrating, especially seeing the company putting so much effort into promoting that group overseas, something exols always begged for. i didn't have a problem with got the beat at first, but it seems to me that mys are going through the same thing as exols in 2019. the group promotions are being pushed to side to promote a parallel project and the music isn't even that great. the 4th gen is being competitive as ever, aespa should be realising their first full album after the pathetic rollout they had for girls, but sm is letting the group's image fade in the public perception. kwangya should be a aespa only event, it would've been enough, but lee sooman is a freak. i kinda disagree with the red velvet take, i'm really fine with them doing red concepts because they still manage to pull out something different each time, the thing that really frustrate me about rv is how they never got to have a 3rd full album and i think working on making a organized rollout for a full album would help red velvet to have a great momentum even after years of their career. the concept is clearly not the problem since feel my rhythm did well on the charts.
SM already started messing up with EXO's concept,Kai and Sehun have to enlist this year but no sign of their solo album ,SM announced the comeback of the hybrid group but they didn't announce EXO's comeback the members themselves did it and it seems like grp comeback will be only after superm comeback once Baekhyun comes out,it's the only chance to get a full group comeback before 2025.All the members started working on their next solo album & concerts also there is no sign of PCY1 eventhouugh CY spoke about it.And about promotion:(((((
I thought SuperM was a mistake from the beginning. People were very excited at the idea that they would put some of the biggest names from the biggest groups into a brand new group, IMO, as a competition for BTS. But I had difficulty imagining that; when down the line, these groups would be fighting their own people once the fans realized what a logistical nightmare it would be to fit SuperM schedules with their group and solo work. I couldn't believe they couldn't see that scheduling for the members would become a fight. So I had a sinking feeling that if SuperM was going to be successful, those members would be slowly pulled from their original groups. And for some groups, that could be the straw that breaks the back - be it in the form of disbandment or just a slow torturous death like f(x) and Miss A. So how well received, would these members be if they were seen as the ones that broke the group? It felt like SM threw all they had at producing SuperM, but the ROI is in the red.
Lol. They already have 10 groups, + all the sub-units and the soloists. They're stacked and it shows, debuting new groups is the last thing SM needs right now.
Honestly wish SuperM and Got The Beat were more like what they did with Wild Thing where they work with idols from different company. I know it'd probably be a bit more difficult to put it together but claiming a couple of idols from one company to represent the entirety of Kpop was just a total turn off
i want to make it clear that this video is in no way a criticism of any of the groups / idols talked about in this video, this video is solely about sm's recent problems, and how this is effecting everyone who is under the label. i'm just pinning this because i saw a few days ago people attacking boa and blaming her for got the beat's issues, and i just don't want anyone to misunderstand my criticisms and think that i'm blaming anyone under sm for something that is the fault of the company. anyways thanks for watching
The fact that you have to say this bcuz toxic stans dont understand the idea of discourse😭😭
No don't say that. If you can't stand up for your beliefs, you will get torn apart on social media and RUclips. People either accept criticism or lose their mind. Don't try to placate the small minds
it hurts me when BoA (a really senior idol i mind you!) is hated by children on twitter by calling her hag and racist with no proof at all.
Why they have so many nerves and acts like that to a literal senior???
Now i get why older gen stans really despise this current gen, respect is already dead.
Thanks for the explanation even if you didn't need to.
That's okay, you're explaining it reall well tho. But I kinda sad that you dont mention f(x), bcs it will probably gave you a lot of insight of what SM will do. But I agree the focus for SM releases lately is just for the company good.
It truly puzzles me as to why SM chose to expand Kwangya beyond Aespa. It was clearly their thing so why place it on every artist? It's giving forced. I also agree about the special collabs losing their touch. The paradox of a company that claims to represent the future but is so focused on the past is an interesting point. This is disappointing bc SM have everything they need for success but their current vision for their artists seem uninspired and dull. They are def riding off of legacy atp.
no like seriously when aespa debuted i was sooo intrigued by this whole kwangya thing but it has become like an enemy now. making every group lose its uniqueness theyre trying so hard to push this kwangya agenda on them. kwangya is nothing but boring now. even the artists themselves have shown their displeasure about kwangya.
kwangya shit ruins red velvets disco.
@@khyatithakur1 yeri made it known that theyre only promoting it cause of their contracts. She sounded so frustrated lol
loona.
@@racheljohnson7177 Yeri is so real and I love her for it LOL
the way that SM currently treats their artists gives me the impression that yes, they want their groups to be successful enough, but they don't want them to be MORE successful than the company. they don't want groups to get bigger than the company and eventually leave, they want everyone to know that those groups need SM, and not the other way around
The overall brand is more important than the group itself
Actually I think a director of sm said something along those lines in a interview
@@el972 really? That makes a lot of sense
Well said
@@el972 that was kind of also said by the former SM CEO to SNSD. When SNSD was so big it almost could topple the company over, that damn CEO said eventually they will wreck SNSD down and unfortunately they did. So as SONE, this is kinda no news to me.
It's sad because SM had some of the cleanest and sharpest comebacks for their groups. Like I always remember Overdose by Exo and The Boys by Girls Generation and they are still so good. Even to this day.
I think SM was inspired by the success of Refund Sisters. But they didn't realize that they were just a temporary thing and Junghwa, Hyori, Jessi and Hwasa are not under the same agencies and are appreciated as soloists. So it was easier for their fanbases to come together.
Forgot to add, I hypothesize that SM was also inspired by the AI thing due to the success of League of Legends K/da. But LSM forgot that they are not a permanent group either. I could be wrong.
@taya I agree. I love K/da but it definitely feels different and there is no attachment to the members. It's just music and directed to gamers and westerners.and no worries it makes sense.
I think this is a Kpop problem in general but SM seems to be leading the way to disaster.
It’s like since the globalisation they’ve all been so deep in pleasing the US market but they needed something to stand out and they look so silly. The same story every day.
@@Byllion “pleasing the US market” is literally so accurate. but in doing so they lost their charm and now they just looked so forced and cringy. idk when they will realise this and get of their delusion
@@hombre6604 yesss!! They’ve made this mistake before when they first tried to debut their acts in the US years ago. They do not account for the fact that the acts that blew in the states all did so with the very standard kpop formula and not all this rap and silly lyrics.
At least get better translations. They do not pay attention to the little details.
@@Byllion Genuinely asking, can you please elaborate on what you consider to be standard kpop formula? The only act that have blown up in the US and have become mainstream are BTS and to a lesser extent Blackpink. I don't understand how rap or silly lyrics would hinder SM groups since BTS are known for their poweful raps while Blackpink are all about superficial lyrics. If you meant cringy forced rap coupled with embarrassing lyrics...then yea I agree 😬
To me GOT is such a wasted opportunity. My impression last year was that GOT would be a rotational, occasional thing, where different female idols from SM would get to show their teeth in different concepts and lineups as kind of a novelty side project. But now we're stuck with GOT the Beat, kind of like we're stuck with SuperM. I might like their music, and think the lineup of GOT the Beat is awesome, but your point of wasted time and effort that could be put into their own careers rings very true.
What other lineup could GOT The Beat possibly even have? With S.E.S., Tiffany, Seohyun, and Sooyoung as free agents, and f(x) burned, they have no other female idols to choose from. The remainders of RV, SNSD, and aespa that weren't chosen failed the cut for reasons; anything they could do, someone who was chosen could do better. Or it would disrupt the "two from each group" symmetry.
@@xheralt well there's Yuri and Sunny from SNSD, there's Irene and Joy from RV, and the other 2 aespa members.. it's still possible.
see if i am correct, i think it was MEANT to be rotational based on what was being said so i was excited because it would be neat to see that concept (aka a concept nct u has but we all know sm drops concepts like tissue paper to the garbage dsajdlsa) so i was confused seeing the lineup, especially with GOT the beat one would think it's a different lineup but nah, it's the same.
i think they might planned got to be super m with their female idols because i remember MANY kpop fans were peed off that wasn't the case, so this is what we got.
Literally this. Same with SuperM, they can’t just throw together their most popular idols and aces and turn them into a fixed group like that would create a strong fanbase on its own? It neglects how idols popularity changes and I think that was apparent with Lucas’ controversy and Jeno being the new it-boy which wasn’t til after SuperM was formed. Both groups would have a lot more interest and staying power if they were rotational.
on top of that, theyre supposed to be a performance unit...
I feel kinda bad for the aespa members- especially the two who AREN'T in GOT the Beat. Because THEIR careers are also getting put on hold while the other two are off promoting a completely different group. Aespa has gotten very little proper promotion as a musical group to build up their fanbase and solidify their reputations and the respect of non-stans/the general public. They've had popular songs and already proved influential enough to inspire imitators. But SM killed their momentum by failing to promote them in SK properly with a good follow up. And now they are debuting the fucking naevis mascot character as an artist? Without even announcing an aespa comeback first? To be clear, I'm not even an aespa fan. I don't really enjoy most of their music (just not my cup of tea) but even I can see how mismanaged they are.
It's clear that SM saw they had company stans, and wanted to really build that and convert the majority of their fanbases into company stans. But the problem with that is that many of their groups are DIFFERENT sonically from each other. Someone who likes Red Velvet won't necessarily like aespa- those two groups have COMPLETELY different sounds which makes them unique from one another. So trying to make their respective fandoms merge into one is just silly.
I wanted sm to expand on their musical identity with their newest album, but they didn't. They went with girls which is was nct 127 track, im not sure why they would do that. Especially since illusion is more liked by the fans which is definitely the route that i expected them to go to. The fact they don't have any signs that they plan to release a debut album is concerning.
I feel like since the girls album became a million seller thanks to chinese bars sm is trying to pull a yg and do the bare minimum expecting to rely on the fans mass buying. Meanwhile the main vocalist and main rapper with 0 activities
Yah, I kind of feel sorry for the Red Velvet members not chosen for this collab as well.
@@paninilist4678 illusion lyrics are from black mamba's point of view hence was released before album .. unlike girls which has continued aespa's storyline .. and they are plenty of songs done by artist which aren't meant from them
@@matjcf8911 I mean they literally said they wanted Aespa to be the next Blackpink…I’m not a fan of Aespa, but that’s so shitty. They debuted Aespa to promote their AI concept. SM either overwork their idols or underwork them…there is no balance.
I'm only a casual listener for the groups involved, but I was excited for the GOT the Beat MV...and what did we get? Another performance video, but this time with glamour shots? Random costumes with no overarching aesthetic? No actual storyline or concept? It was a real letdown, very low effort on SM's part. If SuperM comes back with an actual fucking music video, I'll be gagging from the sexism. As far as Aespa goes...
I agree with other commenters that SM was trying to ride the coattails of K/DA. But SM didn't seem to realize why K/DA instantly garnered fans. The music was good, sure, but beyond that... K/DA had EXCELLENT character designs. They were iconic and unique, and people outside LoL and kpop were making fanart, doing cosplays, etc. I even saw doll customizers making K/DA dolls. Aespa's AI characters are just so...boring. Uninteresting. Uninspiring. K/DA also had years of built-in lore and storytelling from LoL, whereas SM had to invent Aespa's backstory from scratch. The kind of elaborate worldbuilding and backstory that sucks fans in can't just be thrown together...I'm not asking for Tolkien, but like, come the fuck on. I like Aespa's music, and I'm sad that SM has done and is doing them dirty with half baked concepts and avengers projects for half the group instead of full projects for the whole group.
I too was a bit disappointed by how boring the AI characters are. SM has got money...why didn't they go all out? I was personally most disappointed with the costume design. They're so basic. I mean, at the very least, I feel like just having costume changes for each comeback would have helped things, since their baseline outfits are so boring. But overall the quality of the characters' designs pales in comparison to K/DA's. Imo that's an even bigger weakness than the storyline, because Kpop is so visual-based.
Anyways, I think it says something that the Aespa character who has gained most interest from the public isn't even an Aespa member--it's Naevis, who clearly had the most work done on her design and expressions in their latest music video/short film. (And SM knows it, bc I'm pretty sure I heard they're making her into a virtual idol now? Which is...a choice. Ugh.)
@@dubblebubbletoilandtrouble6646
I feel like SM are losing the plot, and it's probably their worst decision to have all their artists somehow all have similar storylines (lore) it just seems like since they're too lazy to cater and put in effort for their artists they just threw something random together.
@@kennedy3682 Agreed...it's a strange choice for sure. Multiple artists in SM have made it clear that they barely tolerate and/or full-out dislike their random retroactive involvement in Kwangya, and so have many fans. I know that these companies are probably allergic to admitting they're wrong, so I doubt they'll ever reverse this decision, but when you have your own artists mocking the concept you've placed on them (like literally struggling to speak about it without laughing or looking annoyed), you have to wonder if it's worth it to keep it up. How do you expect your artists to be excited about their releases and promote your brand well if they're visibly frustrated? I mean at the very least they could have left the senior groups alone. They were already successful because of their own individual styles and concepts. (And some already had their own lore already! Like what was the logic here, SM?)
On a side note I kind of feel bad for Aespa lol. Imagine being the group with the concept that all of the other groups in SM have been unwillingly roped into. Not that I think it would affect their actual friendships with one another, but I would feel bad by association.
SM forgot that K/DA already had the backing of one of the largest video games of the last 10 years
Kda has only 2 title tracks but atleast they have memorable costumes especially in more, meanwhile the aes wear the same outfit every comeback, atleast give them outfits that match the concept like it's so awkward when aespa girls were dancing to savage with their elegant white fits then the aes randomly shows up with their casual outfits;-;
I think you hit the nail on the head with it not being about promotion the groups but promoting the company brand. It's honestly too obviously a brand marketing project for it to feel like genuine artistic expression in any way.
That's the problem with SM in general. That's why they haven't hit it big in the West. None of their groups have authenticity. Sure they've got the looks, the talent, the music. However the difference between SM and Hybe is that HYBE connects to their audience. Their groups were made with care. Their groups aren't made with a "we're the best" type air about them. The artists and fandoms develop steadily and every group has their own thing. You don't get a feeling that everyone is a part of the same thing even though they're all under the same company. There is originality. Hybe is huge but the brand doesn't swallow it's groups. Those are the major differences.
Exaclty. Like people don't stan SM groups because of the company.. hey stan because of the group itself! And when all of them are saying the same PINK BLOOD KWANGYA shit it gets old l, boring and recycled...just like some of SM's music coming out today.
@@racheljohnson7177
I don't think this comment applies to le sserafim. The way HYBE markets them is as relatable girlbosses who happen to be pioneers of "high fashion", along with the inappropriate sexualization during FEARLESS (the tennis outfits??) is just not convincing me. Which is a really a shame because the group is so incredibly well-rounded and have their own authentic selves, but I can't help but roll my eyes at the branding HYBE is putting on them. And I say that as a le sserafim fan (I ate up all their music and generally enjoyed their music vids) and was following the IZONE members + Yunjin (I really liked her high tension performance) since p48. Le sserafim during their FEARLESS era to me almost feels like HYBE's version of GOT the Beat, but they salvaged themselves to me with the release of antifragile (thank god they stopped sexualizing tf out of the youngest)
I guess I also disagree with BTS and NJ being authentic, simply because of the fact that when they first debut they were all too young too young to be involved in much of the creative process besides maybe RM. and I just know its like 30+ year old producers telling them to sing, dance, and model. (Maybe that's kpop in a nutshell though, I don't expect authenticity. All I want is good music above all else, then performances after. We all support this industry knowing their images are all controlled, yadda yadda.)
@@solar6284 About BTS, almost all of the members were involved in the creative process since their debut, though the rapline did play the biggest roles, along with their in house producers. For example: For their debut song(No more Dream)Jungkook, Jhope, RM and Suga are credited as songwriters along with Bang PD, Pdogg and Supreme Boi. Just wanted to point that out since I feel like people like you just say anything on internet without proper fact checking(no offense). They have been very authentic and genuine from the start and it is one of the many reasons why they blew up the way they did
@@thetruthuntold924 I've heard the song, and to me, it rings of being written about the idol experience from an outside perspective. Very very few people are calling Yunjin a b*tch or a doll with just a pretty face. She isn't the visual of the group; she's one of their best dancers, a talented opera singer, and a beast on stage. She hasn't been in any personality scandals, and the entire group is acknowledged for their difficult choreography, stage presence, and harmonious personalities. So to me, "I'm a pretty girl, all I'm good at is my looks / Call me a selfish bitch, maybe I want to be one" didn't really ring true the way BTS, IU, or (G)I-DLE's songs about their lived experiences do.
To be honest, if they had rotated the GOT lineup for the Stamp On It, it would've given the first lineup exclusivity that would immensely hype them up the next time the lineup comes up again!
they actually initially said it was going to be a rotating group, but I guess they abandoned that bc of how successful step back was...
That is true. But wouldn’t other fans complain that it would be too much like NCT and its rotating concept? I mean, I personally wouldn’t mind but people always look for something to complain about. Just a thought
@@maxendrer.8457 i guess thats true but nct doesnt even have a rotating concept really, its not like 127 has new members each concept so im not really sure, but your point is probably true too
@@paninilist4678 Yeah that's true, just wanted to point that out since NCT in the beginning got marketed as a rotating members group, but SM never really went through with it in the end (like they always do)
@@paninilist4678 no. GOT the beat is a sub-unit of girls on top. GOT the beat was never ever going to be rotating, they were talking about debuting sub-units with other women in the company.
sm seems to want to keep their groups on a leash, they desperately want them to never leave which is possibly why they rarely ever fully disband any of their groups
I feel like this was caused by tvxq's lawsuit, they want to keep them in a glass ceiling so that they never get to big for their boots & leave
it almost feels cult-like...... scary :(
Liking this to keep your comment on top.
Absolutely. I remember it felt like the world stood still when tvxq’s lawsuit happened. When Super Junior members sued, it just felt wild. Despite being shiny, SM was covered in scandals for so long because of legal battles with their artists wanting to go different directions and feeling underserved.
BoA could have gone more than she should but she was kept by SM
And those that do rebel get blacklisted like Jessica Jung. Poor girl. She worked her ass off in SNSD for seven years and then got kicked out of SNSD against her will and then wanted to leave SM to get a fresh start and did -joining Coridel but SM bribed people to not let her appear on several broadcasters, variety shows, music shows etc- as if they were trying to hold back the success of her solo career. Its messed up because she did not really cause that scandal they did.
@floralfancy7814 Actually, she didn't want to leave Snsd but the girls were greedy and voted her out.
All I want to say is SM don’t mess with SHINee with the Kwangya concept. They thankfully have had a 4th gen revival because they are timeless and can do their our concepts since they are seasoned artists in the industry. I hope that the SuperM promotions are short so that Taemin can focus on SHINee 15th year and his next album.
i think if they did it would just make even more problems tbh sm knows not to try it ahahah
@@thewayifelt unfortunately shinee is still part of the kwangya lore
I think SM isn't pulling any groups from before EXO into the kwangya to hard because they have already such established fanbases, Suju, TVXQ, SNSD, Shinee, F(X) (tbh the true pioneers of kwangya, but that's a story for another day) and BoA. It would just work horribly if they did.
that one time when kibum said during his comeback livestream that gasoline wasnt connected to kwangya and sm cut that part out in the version posted on yt later💀
that was so fucked up...
I think it's cute to include all the sm groups in kwangya in a kind of low stakes, surface way. Like I think it's fun to imagine RV as sorcerers in Kwangya, helping out Aespa and stuff like that. And maybe if every year they do a kwangya themed collab stage or something that'd be cool. But what I don't want is it to affect their official group releases. It just cheapens it. RV has such a rich and distinct character, adding Kwangya to it just seems like SM is saying "you are not enough on your own."
i think we should let kibum make every decision regarding sm entertainment going forward
alskdldlsls real!!
Noo, You would kill him, Is too stressful, Better let SHINee as a whole on that task😍
with naevis now apparently getting her own solo debut, it seems like lee soo man is on crack & has lost his damn mind with this whole smcu bs, he feels like a comical villian from a movie trying to take over the world with ai (plot twist, he's the black mamba 💀)
it was cute at first when it was confided to aespa, it was something made specifically for them but now they are wasting copious amounts of money expanding this weird ai kwangya lore onto other groups when it was suppose to be something for aespa
i feel like lee sooman is spinning a wheel of whatever nonsensical bullshit he can do before he steps down at this point
Lee soo man retired stop bringing that man Chris lee is the new ceo
@@euphoria7019 a lot of ppl really dont know this. Its kinda a chuckle whenever i see ppl make comments like this. although i do hear he is a big shareholder. So that might impact things
@@melody3629 Kpop stans are just obsessed with that man but i can see why he changed/created a lot of trends in kpop
@@euphoria7019 exactly. Stans kinda just go by whatever figure head there is and start pointing. Yeah he did change things early on
I was hyped for GOT but have become disappointed with the direction of the group. SM isn't listening to its audience, studying the trends, or moving forward. I feel bad for RV because SM keeps doing the same type of sound for their albums and not challenging the girls. WE WANT VELVET. We like the dark, smooth, velvety goodness that RV oozes so effortlessly. I will also never be interested in Aespa (as a group) because of the strange AI concept...hope Lee Soo Man is booted soon.
edit: I listen to RV religiously okaaaaay. I’m just saying it would be neat to see a title track that is velvet and not red. Doing a mature/sultry/r&b title track that’s reminiscent of Automatic or BYEBYE. It has been back to back RED title tracks…even the girlies want to expand. Just my opinion.
Aespa has become one of SM's glass cliffs. The members are talented with promise but they aren't actually a group. The company made the AI shit their whole selling point, and majority of fans don't like it. Their concept will either drown them out or they'll end up abandoning it down the line, only showing up in MVs.
Red Velvet have TWO sides, the Red and the Velvet. You guys keep saying that you want more velvet type of songs but Wildslide was a velvet concept and nobody supported it. Feel my rhythm and Birthday are two GREAT bodys of work with amazing music such as in my dreams, bamboleo, bye bye, zoom, on a ride, etc etc and plus Birthday became Red Velvet's first million selling album so clearly people LOVE the red side. Yall just love to complain without actually supporting their music. If you want another bad boy or psycho those songs are free to listen to on all streaming music platforms
@@racheljohnson7177 then they shouldn't stan aespa lol Kwangya is literally a part of their identity. Next Level and Savage were created with Kwangya and Naevis in mind. Aespa's lore is easily the thing that drives them. If someone doesn't like it they can very easily go stan other groups
I actually like aespa and red velvet’s recent music fine but GOT the beat’ s songs just aren’t that interesting to me
We should have more velvet side. People loved psycho and the girls are maturing so they should have mature concepts as of norm
I hate the fact that sm is trying so hard to push themselves as a "brand" in our faces like wasn't it good enough for them to be one of the big 3 why do they need to become a "brand"
LSM competing with Hybe.
@@zeyv4551 i think the funny thing about this explanation is that hybe is not even putting itself at the forefront of all of their artists' projects meanwhile sm is trying too hard to develop a new signature sound and fashion, which will be the smprint.
@@cutieprettysehunenthusiast1108 this
@@zeyv4551 naah hybe has nothing to do with SM has always done it, that's why we used to get SM Albums even in first gen or many junior artist used be introduced through senior artist mvs idol having collab with each other plus One SM artist on other SM artist mvs
Imagine how big Red Velvet would be if they were properly marketed in the US.
Americans would love Red Velvet.
girls on top's comeback would be more successful if it was another unit instead of got the beat. the original purpose of girls on top was to be a rotating group, but they are not following it. sm needs to understand that got the beat is not a group, it's a girls on top unit
The hole thing is nonsense!
I also feel like musically, the SM "formula" (strange vocal samples in the background, a deep humming synth as base, etc.) is becoming very apparent and tiring especially to listeners in korea, similar to what happened with the teddy formula. All of their groups' tts are beginning to sound interchangeable and it is experimental only on a superficial level, without a distinct sound unique to the particular teams thereby separating them.
idk I don't think that 2 baddies sound like Invu or that Gasoline sounds like Girls or that Candy sounds like Feel my rhythm. Musically, sm acts still have their distinctive sound
@@meowmeowmeow8949 it's not that the sound the same. teddy formula songs dont sounf the same either, but they have some immediately recognizable patterns that get very repetive and uninspired over time. as for the distinct sound, i'm talking about the fact that girls is passable as an nct song or 2 baddies with some kwangya lyrics could be performed by aespa, whereas in the 2nd or 3rd gen that wasn't the case. ofc there are exceptions such as the individual artist's solos but in general the overall sound of sm has become stagnant and predictable unlike companies like hybe or starship who are offering something new and fresh with each group or each release.
@@probalganguly that's completely not true, the only similarities between 2 baddie and girls is that they are both hyperpop but they have completely different structures and are very different in sound. And you are very mistaken if you think that this didn't happen in previous generations. Four Walls was supposed to go to Shinee and View was supposed to go to F(x) the same way Ko Ko Bop was made for Red Velvet then it went to Exo. If you want to criticize this lack of musical identity ( which is not even true because you just choose TWO groups that have hyperpop /edm as their main sound) then you should criticize Sm as a whole.
@@probalganguly also hybe? Refreshing? I think I have written somewhere else but there's nothing really original in hybe outside from bts. New Jeans entire discography could be F(x)s the same way most of Le Sserafim could be Red Velvet bsides. Enhypen and Txt are also very similar musically
@@meowmeowmeow8949 no they don't sound similar but I know what sound to expect from all sm groups at this point.
And that's the problem.
SM claims to be experimental and they are, but "experimental" can't sound the same all the time.
TXT is a good example of this. They make stand-out, unique, different music while still maintaining their signature sound, so that they still maintain their identity as a group.
If they made music like BTS, it would do nothing for them as a group. If all HYBE artists sound the same, why would they be the next big thing?
Sticker by NCT 127 temporarily broke from this mold. It didn't sound like any of the SM music I'd heard before and that's what made it so good(despite the hatred it got).
It was new, DEFINITELY experimental, and just so awesome.
(But I don't agree that TXT and enhypen music sounds similar, even the bsides...I agree with lesf and RV though.)
Ever since SM introduced the Kwangya concept, I've completely lost interest in the company and their groups. You hit the nail on the head when you said that before, SM marked their groups as actual pop groups. Now, they all feel like a propaganda piece for a brand. Each release feels more like a commercial than an actual promotion of music.
EXACTLY. LIKE PROPAGANDA, THANK YOU!
as a longggg time red velvet fan, the recent direction they're being taken in makes me scared for their future. During their hiatus after psycho, a lot of the fanbase was terrified that red velvet would face the same fate as f(x) and just be hidden away in the sm basement until their contracts expired, so I think a lot of us celebrated the queendom comeback and let the mediocre red concept slide because all we could think was "oh thank god, they're not disbanding!" and then feel my rhythm came out, and at least they were doing something cool and innovative music wise so we let that one slide too, and then birthday came out and it was like okay... clearly the company is not putting effort into them at all anymore :( if sm doesnt get it together and follow the trend of girl groups right now and give red velvet a comeback that appeals to the current audience, I'm afraid that they are on the path to losing their relevancy and will get swept away by the huge girl group wave that is happening in kpop right now
@@pinklemonaze9982 I don't mean like them copying the exact trends right now lmao... I mean that they should play into what's popular but add their own twist and sound to it... yknow, like they had been doing for YEARS until sm apparently gave up on them
the birthday album has been their best selling ever - it is completely counter to red velvet's whole discography to start copying other artists
@@cazrick4407 another one in denial
the birthday album is super good tho. The title track isn’t my favorite but the mini album is excellent imo
@@cazrick4407 if you compare the general public's overall RECEPTION of birthday compared to even feel my rhythm, its obvious that birthday was a weak comeback... the title track made barely any noise outside of the fandom, and "bye bye" was popular for like 2 days and then everyone forgot about it again. It feels like RBB era all over again. I'm pretty sure the birthday album sales were only as high as they were because of the pretty packaging, not the actual music. Its obvious that red velvet's current music direction is causing them to fade into the background amongst all the current newer girl groups, so what would you suggest they do? continue making music that doesn't bring in any new fans? it wouldn't be a bad thing for them to try and profit off of the current trends, they are still totally capable of doing it in a way that keeps their unique sound and style, just like they did with trends back in 2016-2019
When it comes to RV I have some thoughts
1) birthday and feel my rhythm were excellent songs. However while feel my rhythm had a strong comeback concept (teasers, costumes, choreography, album design) birthday just seemed rushed with generic teasers and a vague concept of birthday cakes.
2) this year was supposed to be all about sampling classical music. But the Japanese comeback made Wildside the title track instead of marionette. Did they just throw the plan out the window for the second comeback of 2022??
3) I have an extremely intense parasocial relationship with RV so this Got the Beat comeback wasn’t my favourite thing in the world. And yet! I would have still listened to it if the music was amazing. Look at the talent in that group and this is the best you can give them?? 😢
4) I&S subunit, full length album and RV concert when?
5) Really excited for exo and Taemin music soon
ok i feel the same way abt birthday like from the concept trailer i was confused. the concept photos also just feel so generic & boring like they added some graphics but that’s literally it??? it was just so annoying.
I literally expected so much with Birthday only for that song become and sounding like it belongs to NCT DREAM instead of Red Velvet, not saying NCT DREAM is bad but there is something that sets Red Velvet apart from the others, what upsets and disappoint me is the chorus, they could have projected the parts and the vocals better, what’s with the unnecessary adlibs like ‘baro oneuliya it’s your birthday’ when you can just add maybe vocals instead???
same sentiments with red velvet
I think they also should drop the Reve festival it was a cool trilogy but now, it’s repetitive in the sense that every comeback is a continuation of it. FMR was great as ultimate conclusion to it but we didn’t need Birthday who felt a bit rushed to be a Reve festival.
They should also lean more towards having more musical content for I&S subunit and for the group while at the same time having them debuting solo.
On the topic of wildside I am blaming SM to not have promoted it well, like we’re in the middle of the FMR era and suddenly wildside is dropping out of no where. If they had waited 2 weeks after the FMR era to release Wildside and have them having appropriate promotion with stages and all it would have had more success.
Also, SM is sleeping on the occasion to release a full velvet comeback for the girls and even have them having a 3rd album and not a repackaged one
@@chelleange1s yeah the thing I love about K-pop is how the comeback is planned. The teasers for dumb dumb, psycho, red flavour, bad boy… so so good. Generic just doesn’t work for RV.
I won't be surprised if SM decides to take all the groups to metaverse permanently
Body Talk is underrated gem of RV
i think u also can emphasize the current biggest problem in SM right now: they dont let their artist to sing live. i think its the major problem of them.
'Wildside' being pretty much the banging back to form dark velvet track Red Velvet would have exploded again with, but alas it was regulated to a top-tier Japanese release. Weren't they supposed to have a comeback for each of the four seasons this year too? I've also noticed lately SM often puts great effort and at times actual unreal artistry and execution into certain trailers and photoshoots but when the MV comes out it has little to do with or has little footage from the album teasers, like the tonal shifts are kinda disappointing. 28 Reasons had SUCH a good album teaser. The teasers for "Queendom" featured Red Velvet as Attack of the 50 Ft Woman style giant women in a fake model town, and that was so exciting like FINALLY we get to see Red Velvet destroy something again, a motif in a lot of their best MVS, fits their aesthetic perfectly, and then....we didn't get that at all. The music boxes for 'Feel My Rhythm' felt back to form. IMO, embodied by those teasers SM already had an interesting "world" that they seemed to inhabit and did very well with pre-Kwangya. When I think of SM artists, I usually think of bright, surreal retro environments, mid-century suburbia either played sweet or with lots of David Lynch, pop-art, Rene Magritte and cheeky dark kitsch mystery elements. Red Velvet embodied that best, but Shinee often inhabits that kind of world too. Surreal pop-art house was kind of their calling card, but adopting the homogenizing Kwangya and NCT aesthetics are kinda making things feel cheap.
If Wildside was released as a Korean comeback, it would explode in popularity. Red Velvet doing a velvet girl crush concept, with every member singing notable parts of the chorus, and every member belting high octaves? Pretty sure the only other RV song that came close to that is RBB.
this makes me so upset as an nctzen. as someone who has been into kpop for only two years now, meaning i've only been *into* NCT for two years, it feels like i entered the fandom in a strange time. rewatching their old content, music videos & listening to their older songs, it feels like something has been "lost" in comparison to the new content that SM puts out for them now. reading the comments, i'm guessing other's feel the same way about their favorite groups too.
i truly try to support everything that they put out mainly out of love & loyalty, but damn it's so obvious that SM has no solid direction with NCT & their subunits- in a sense that there's no stability at all. i understand that NCT is an experiment itself, but it's like SM wakes up everyday & goes like "hmmm, maybe this will do".
...that's why it was so upsetting to see them push that annoying ass Kwangya concept and the SM Universe so much. it was cool at the beginning to see how it intertwined with aespa's concept, but like you said, it's just blatant propaganda at this point. everything is starting to feel too intertwined. it's not exciting, just tiring & honestly scary.
why overwork the artists so much, just to give them half assed comebacks and shitty management? like someone else commented, SM is starting to feel like a damn cult.
Exactly... exaclty. When they started force feeding the kwangya things with the neos....my nctzen friend got disinterested and barely keeps up with them now.
@@katgreer6113 extremely understandable! it’s like we didn’t sign up for this! i’ve also only started to keep up with NCT as individual artists/models…cuz i want nothing to do with SMU.
thank god f(x) left the company before the kwangya virus hit
I personally think the only way Superm would work was if it was once in a while cb sort of like their station songs and the members would be different each release, or some would stay, some would be replaced by other boys, others might be missing on song 2, but be back on song 3 and so on. And even could be promoted on music shows if they planned it carefully to make sure all the members would have the time for it and it wouldn't be in conflict with their og groups. It would be fun to see the mix each time different group of boys or girls.
But they shoved superm in the middle of exo exploration tour and instead of giving exo opportunity to see their fans in more locations prior further enlistments (and covid), let alone giving KB time for their solo, they took two members and made them "waste" time in a group nobody asked for and promoted on backs of exo achievements and of course giving them opportunities that sm never bothered to give exo and they just expected that exols are just gonna take it and be happy about it. It felt like a decision made by some old men in suits that have never talked to their groups' fans. Sure the albums weren't complete flop, but SM just doesn't read the room.
Same with the kwangya shit, like older groups don't care for it nor like it. They are making idols who are 30+ suddenly care about some pink blood kwangya lore. And if you see your idol is not taking it seriously and just do as told, how are their fans to get on board.
The irony is that Super M has in a way finally united SHINee and Exo fans in that both groups wish SM would just leave the bands they're interested in out of their doomed attempt to conquer America and whatever ridiculous nonsense they're doing with the whole Kwangya thing. Like I haven't seen Exo being forced to pretend to care about the universe they've retroactively been roped into but I have seen Key's reaction and he's not happy, and I can only imagine the cringe if they attempted to insert some sort of avatar based nonsense into one of Minho's moody little mini movie MVs. Not to mention how Boa and Yunho/Changmin must feel about it.
@@gothgirl66673 EXO was to a point mocked for their supernatural lore and I remember boys "suffering" when they talked about it, but eventually they unironically accepted it and embraced it. But it took years and it was their concept from debut, I can only imagine how suju, shinee, tvxq or snsd were happy about some kwangya.
Brilliant analysis. I agree totally with your points. I tweeted earlier today my frustration at SM strategy and SuperM. This pick-and-mix approach does not build brand fan loyalty. EXO is coming back for a short time before Kai and Sehun have to enlist. This is the time to show appreciation to the loyal fandom who have waited several years and grown. Instead, SM first mentions SuperM's comeback. Who actually cares about SuperM - if you are an EXO-L or NCT fan?
However, my biggest complaint is the marketing of these bands. I went on the Hybe website - easy to navigate and supported on multiple platforms and languages. News about the various Hybe bands etc. In comparison, SM is like entering a sugar-coated crowded colour circus in which the fan is trying to figure out during their school or lunch break, information about their band. Finding anything will take time (if it is there in the first place). SM is a company unable to function in a digital world and so decides to complicate everything. At times like this the CEO needs to step down and take responsibility.
For the longest time I wondered why Aespa makes me so uncomfortable. Like, the members are talented, the music is pretty good (not all of it’s my personal taste but I love a couple of them) so why do I feel weird watching their content? And I think you nailed it. It’s because Aespa doesn’t feel like a real group under SM, with their own concept and identity. They feel like cardboard cutouts being propped up in the fronts of stores to advertise a product. I’m not saying that’s how the ladies are; I’m not saying they’re dumb or lacking in personality, I’m saying that’s how they’re being _treated_ by SM. As commercial and marketing accessories. And yeah, all idols are this to an extent because every group and soloist is a reflection of their company to a degree, but with Aespa…..I think it’s the fact that they’re pushing the AI stuff with them so insanely hard. It makes it feel like SM cares more about the AI versions of Aespa than Aespa themselves. Like they’re being used as Guinea pigs to test the response to the concept of AI idols before fully diving into the route of “debuting” a fully-AI group.
It just makes me feel like Aespa isn’t being respected by their own company.
I feel EXACTLY the same way, and it makes me so sad because NingNing's voice is just so god damn captivating i wish they would do more for them as a group, but seeing as how the company is moving it doesn't seem likely we will ever know who Aespa as a group are. Nevermind the absolute hell that matk and haechan have to go through because SM just can't figute out a decent comeback schedule for the nct units, making half of them overworked and the other jobless for two thirds of the year (hi wayv :'))
this makes my MY heart sad hearing them be compared to cutouts. I really disagree but can totally see your point. Hopefully better cbs make ppl change their minds
They are not being utilised to their full potential as well. Also I have never ever seen any of the members go onto singing contests like Immortal songs or Masked Singer, that would have been great for Ningning to get her name out there based on her solo vocal potential. Actually for some reason I have not come across Aespa on variety shows yet. But maybe if I search I will find something.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed a change in SM groups recently. Red Velvet was one of the first groups I've stanned but lately I feel like their title tracks aren't "Red Velvet" anymore and are SM-themed if that makes any sense. You could give Birthday to any other SM group and it wouldn't make a difference which I couldn't say about their previous title tracks. Right now SM is where it is because of the number of SM stans out there but I'm sure eventually even they will notice and get tired of it
Aespa singing birthday... Nct 127 singing birthday... exo singing birthday.... snsd singing birthday.... yeah sorry can't see it
for real.. don’t call me by shinee was meant to be for boA which just shows they recycle stuff
@@ss24083 wait when you learn that four walls was for shinee, superhuman was for shinee, view was for f(x), ko ko bop for red velvet and red flavor for exo. this isn't something new in sm and has never been.
@@gwgwap and why do you think those songs was not given to the intended group? bcs it’s not aligning to their group sounds. you’re literally proving the point OP was trying to say. nowadays SM songs could be given to any of their groups and it will sounds the same bcs they literally has the same sound formula that are not unique to each group. Take Aespa Girls for example, that song could easily be an NCT 127 songs and you will not notice any difference.
@@hombre6604 view could very easily be a f(x) track the same way that 4 walls could very easily be a shinee track so no my point still stands. And no aespa can't work as an 127 song as it has different pre choruses than the ones 127 have, different structures on the chorus and different structures in the rap verse. The only similar thing that girls have with 2 baddies is that they are both the same genre, edm/hyperpop.
they’ve truly lost the plot it’s disappointing to see
i think the sm label concept could work if they kept it to a once a year type thing. but you hit the nail on the head, theres way too much nostalgia-bait with their groups these days and not enough innovation. they need some better ppl on their groups creative teams. and especially the ones selecting music.
Out of the entire SM roster, it seems like Red Velvet is pretty much the only group that has been allowed to remain its own separate entity, for the most part.
Their connection to "Kwangya" thus far has been peripheral at best.
The overall concensus among Kpop fans is that they don't really fit the concept to begin with, and really don't need to.
Let NCT and Aespa handle that.
Literally. But even Johnny didn't know much about Kwangya...
honestly, I would have been more on board with SuperM and Girls on Top if they actually had good music
SM is a company that gets in the way of their artists with their huge ego. They wanna prove they’re different so bad. Like we get it, the company is a big part of why kpop is so big but enough is enough.
When you mentioned the sexism between superm and got the beat I had to scream bcuz YES. Before you even got to that point I was thinking maybe not sexism but even the fandoms are different. Of course I base it on what I see. I call myself an “SM stan” solely because I like literally every group SM has come out with from hot traxx ses to Aespa. From what I see, there isn’t a war between the bg stans in SM. Nctzens don’t attack exols and all of them love shinee and shawols (again from what I SEE). However, the moment got the beat came out people were dragging boa calling her an old hag and saying she wished she was best dancer like Karina blah blah. I’ve seen reveluvs attacking sones (and I was shocked bcuz I never see them attack anyone 😵💫). The gg randoms hated each other. I never saw that with the bgs. But also another thing I notice at least from what I see the ggs never make it like KNOWN that they like the other ggs like I’ve never seen Aespa members saying they love and look up to boa or fx. Again they could have but me personally I haven’t seen it. Meanwhile from the moment I got into nct they were praising exo and shinee and that’s how I got into the older groups. Like got the beat wasn’t meant to work and be one big group like Superm bcuz the gg stans hate each other. Literally.
Also yes. Now with the uniq unite it made sense having that ONE SONG and making it a staple. Got the beat SHOULDNT have come out with the mini album. Don’t get me wrong I love every song but they didn’t become a staple and plus again the gg Stan’s hate each other so it was nothing but nonstop attacks and comparisons between the members. They should switch the units again and drop a song or two like they said they’d do and add the other Aespa members to shine. They literally have fallen to the background while Karina and winter who were already very popular have been pushed to the forefront
Not only is the Kwangya concept cringey in general, it's completely age inappropriate for the fans of the older groups. Asking the members to promote it should probably be considered a violation of the Geneva Conventions. It's bad enough to have Aespa and NCT pushed into it, the idea of someone Yunho's age being expected to sit there and pretend to be enthusiastic about this nonsense is just awkward for everyone involved. And then looking at things from the opposite direction they have Super M promoting on Nickelodeon in the US. What happens if any of the kids who see that decide to google the members and run across, say, Criminal, where the video contains scenes of auto-erotic asphyxiation? The majority of Taemin's solo stuff is too sexed up for kids, and that's fine because he's an adult and so are the vast majority of his fans, but then why put him in the band that you're going to send on Nickelodeon? Why not use NCT Dream? Why even have a unit with a cute youthful concept if that's not who you're going to use when promoting to a younger audience? It feels like the whole attempt to push into the US market is a response to BTS, like it hurts Lee SooMan's ego that none of his bands have done as well there. But didn't Exo have some level of success at one point? If so, why not push them instead of creating a new band that nobody wants? It's extra stupid to be doing that with the bands like SHINee that already have a lucrative market base in Japan, and could be promoting and making money there. I don't follow EXO or NCT enough to know but I'm guessing the same applies to them too, that they'd be making far more money promoting in Asia rather than sitting around waiting for members to be done with whatever masterplan SM thinks they're executing with SuperM. Idol careers are short as it is, they don't have time to be wasting on LSMs vanity project.
The whole thing just makes me wonder if maybe there isn't any mechanism for those within the company who're a bit smarter to force Lee SooMan to step down. If there isn't then he's going to tank the whole company unless someone can talk him into backing off on some of the stuff he's currently pushing.
the company thing is so true bc i feel like a lot of their group’s b-sides or even tt blend into each other & this is very much the case for nct. what’s the difference between the 2 baddies album & glitch mode album? they have some differences but u could honestly swap out one for the other. this is also the case for got the beat & aespa’s ‘girls’, if you were swap out their voices with the members of nct no one would rlly be able to tell the difference & that’s a huge problem. i heard they’re trying to fix the problem by getting separate producers for their groups but that should’ve already been a thing.
designer / time lapse sound nothing like graduation or anything from glitch mode idk why you guys repeat that.
Stamp on it with different lyrics could also have been an NCT song. Same with RV's birthday. I feel like another part of the problem here is that the NCT 127 sound isn't everyone's cup of tea and seems to be the sound that's bleeding into the other groups.
@@MkMkM-wv9fq OH MY GOD I THOUGHT SO TOO!!! this is what i am trying to tell people, SM’s are literally shoving and making their other artists to try the ‘NCT’ genre buf not everyone can keep up and be in the same taste as those who enjoy it
Oh you noticed too! I was very let down by 2Baddies. Discovering the Bsides has always been the highlight of listening to 127 and this is the first time none of the songs stood out to me. I'm so glad DJ is on the repackage, finally a track that is memorable. I felt like SM gave everything on the Faster+2 Baddies couple (4th album must have a bop title track, they kept repeating that too during promotions) and then used fillers.
@@tdelioncourt1268 you didn't like Designer or Gold Dust? I guess Nct 127 just isn't for you then
i think it really all boils down to sm's mismanagement and lack of care for their artists. superm and GOT the beat are interesting concepts that could be done once every year and a half to two years, not just a one off thing imo, but we've seen with both of superm's mini albums and this GOT the beat mini album, that sm is pushing the actual groups and idols to the side by overlapping comebacks and lack of care for the individual idols. (baekhyun was very injured on the superm world tour, nct members insanely overworked as well) sm does not promote their idols well at all. unveiling GOT the beat's stamp on it through a stage performance two weeks before its actual release?? come on sm of course the mv is gonna flop. they did this with minho's solo debut and i really do not understand what goes on through their heads over there lmfao. if sm cared for all of their main groups more i think reactions to these super groups would be a lot different, because people wouldn't need to fight over who is getting promoted and who isnt. as a stan of many sm groups since 2014, the creation of the smcu has been hinted at and something that's sorta been expected for a while, especially between red velvet and exo. each group is still maintaining their original concepts just with the lingering kwangya lore in the background, so i kinda like it ngl.
The reason that I think SM has gone down in creativity in terms of concepts for their groups and comebacks definitely has to do with Min Heejin leaving SM. They must have used up all that was left by her in the vault so they are now resorting to copying her new girl group (NewJeans) for their new boy group (RIIZE). Aespa seems to be on the verge of leaving the Kwanga concept. They experimented with their 'My World' album which was widely successful and when they went back to a Kwangaess sound with 'Drama' they were met with a big decline in sales, digitals, and attention. Overall 'My World' is their most successful album all around. With the upcoming release of their first full-length album (allegedly) and SM saying they're gonna try more global promotions and sound (easy listening music really) I think they have finally realized how limited the kwanga sound is.
im a fan of storylines in kpop but i feel frustration over the mcufication of sm artists, particularly nct who ALREADY had an interesting storyline about dreams and consciousness... aespas story is interesting for aespa
Sm is already a disaster in managing idols and their mental health now the music is going down too 🧔🏽♀️ I mean instead of promoting already debuted artists they are doing idk what but I love their artists
Couldn't agree more...
Two of their idols committed suicide. I think that says a lot.
@@floralfancy7814the fact it would’ve been even more because some idols were in deadly situations…
All I can say is if SM prioritizes SuperM’s cb and promotions over SHINee’s when Taemin is discharged there’ll be hell to pay. SuperM was a nightmare for Taemin’s scheduling even before when the other SHINee members were enlisted. It’ll only be worse now if they try to pull him away from both his group and his solo career in favor of what basically amounts to an SM pet project.
Their new songs (esp NCT dream) sometimes sound like an aotocorrect bot puked. Very low quality just to have success in the west. I remember songs that have no english words at all.
On the other hand I don’t dislike the concept of GOT and superm, I just think their marketing is bad, they have bad writers, there is no personal touch from the artists, the artists can’t show off their talent at all.
West centrism makes everything worse
I feel like sometimes SM just don't even try to come up with something new anymore and I think it's because they know that fans(including me) would still support their favorite groups anyway. It's really frustrating and also a bit boring for me whenever I see a group from SM do the same thing repeatedly. I also agree with the fact that SM is pushing their company brand rather than focusing in their group's individual concept cause that's what made them special in the first place and I just hope for the best for all their artists
The Kwangya thing is the single most cringe concept I've ever seen. And the fact that they're pushing it onto every other group is going to ruin them. I can't stand aespa because of their concept and soon every SM artist is going to be part of it. SM has lost their shine
Just wanted to ask do you think that SM uses too much green screen and CGI for Aespa and should give them more live/real world music videos?
Still trying to figure out why feel my rhythm was a continuation of the reve festival. It was a great comeback, and honestly should've been a full album that us reveluvs desperately want. Birthday was okay, mainly due to the mini album, but it honestly should've been a velvet comeback, this is coming from someone who slightly prefers red concepts
The easiest group to save right now is Red velvet. They need a Velvet concept comeback and it will be fine. Sm better stop this AI kwangya thing because it is destroying them. If they want to stop aespa from fading away in the kpop scene they need to innovate their concept right away.
Now I realize why none of their groups actually piqued my interest. You hit the nail on the head - Individualism is key!
When I like a certain group, I don't want the company to sell me their other groups by forcibly collaborating their own other groups with my faves.
What's actually ironic is that, when BTS collabs with a western artist, some were claiming that it's forced. That either the artists were just being nice or just looking for clout.
And then there's SM. Forcibly creating groups and getting people from their established groups ... to create clout 😂😂
The main difference I found btwn JYP and SM groups is how much more overtly colorist SM idols were. Not saying that JYP idols dont have any colorist moments. But if you were to follow any SM groups you would be bombarded w/ colorist comments w/ the exception of Aespa. I also wondered if you are going to control all of the parts of an idol, why not control their racist part?
Red velvet discography was top tier from 2015-2018
the mix of red : Russian roulette, dumb dumb, rookie, red flavor and velvet : automatic, one of these nights, bad boy was awesome.
For me red velvet need to try concepts like Russian roulette and rookie, it was so refreshing and it is still because no one can perform these two songs like them. I want the quirkiness red vibe back more than the velvet side because these past few years we had a lot of velvet song, a lot of people desperately ask the velvet concept but I think that they have to show us something different that shows that « we are red velvet we are not in the industry to please the general public ». And rookie or Russian roulette are the best examples of weird quirky unique songs that stand out.
Birthday was good but rushed and meaningless, I still supported the girls, but it was a terrible choice.
so many of their songs just sound the same recently. some of their boy groups, got the beat, rv and aespa - all of them have recently had a song that is just strong, ear-grating beat with a dance break instead of a bridge. also, there are MANY fans who don't want this "SM family" stuff.
I think the SM family stuff is nice but we don't have to see that stuff like 10 times a year. It needs to be more spaced out cause this is way too many projects to sustain properly.
i mean, the SM family thing would be nice if it was done only once a year or once every two years - after all, it's amazing to see these idols interact so freely and seeing them together is really nice. but lately they've been pushing this narrative down our throats every other month and aespa for an example have more projects inside the sm family concept than their own thing???? it's just TOO MUCH especially for a 2 year old group
feel my rhythm sounds nothing than 2 baddies which sounds nothing like girls
@@gwgwap Imo as a reveluv birthday sounds like something that could have gone to nct dream
@@gwgwap not you replying to almost every comment criticizing sm’s formula 😭
i can't believe i'm saying this but the one real good thing about f(x)'s hiatus is they don't have to do the kwangya concept
Yeah they dodged the bullet big time.
Hiatus?
Yet all the SM stans are saying that they are perfect for the Kwangya concept. I feel that they would probably cringe towards the songs.
SM clearly screwed up with the way they promoted GOT The Beat's latest comeback Stamp On It. They sang the song a couple of weeks before the actual song release date. That was a really bad strategy and it's not surprising that the song failed to chart well. Also I only see this project group as just that and not releasing a comeback so soon after their debut. SM really needs to review their strategies on promotions.
Lee Soo Man is frantically trying to secure his PERSONAL legacy which seemed to reach full speed at the dawn of HYBE and the rise of Bang PD’s profile internationally. (The year 2020 as a turning point is no accident). His self made “father of kpop” documentary is the most poignant example of where his focus is. Something has got to give. Shows what kind of leader and “chief producer” he really is: The one who is there not for the bigger vision, mission, not for the music, not for the art, not for the artists, not for the fans, not for any cause, and how he has always been and will always be: Only for himself.
This.
Watching this after the major shakeup in the structure. And the benifit of not letting the group becoming too big, is evident after the cbx lawsuit, where the share market dropped only a fraction
Excellent analysis. Ever since the launch of Aespa, I did feel like the company had moved to just not caring about their artists. I have never enjoyed Aespa much but it’s because it’s hard to watch them with the lack of effort put out by the company. Aespa could be amazing, they just are clearly not given the support to succeed in the ways previous SM girl groups had.
I used to love SM, but every decision they've made in the past decade has been mediocre. I'm more into Hybe these days, especially with Enhypen and NewJeans.
They think they're marvel 😂
it’s crazy seeing everything you point out in this video and now seeing what’s going on these days with hybes take over of sm and all i can wonder now is what’s going to happen in the future of sm
I really hope the system is changing because of the whole drama with the turnover and SMent will decide to focus on their groups individually and give them creative freedoms
SM needs to chill and let their artist do their jobs.they are beheaving like a nanny.a ver bad nanny
I think the issue began when people started hailing them for being brave enough to be experimental with their music and concepts. Cause over time everything has slowly become convoluted and it feels like they’re just doing experimental stuff just for the sake of it. And tbh I hate LSM’s way of running SM’s groups and how the artists are guinea pigs for his mastermind almost borderline crazy scientist ideas
The problem with SM is that all the groups have been created with the simple purpose of fulfilling the dream of LSM, although he is no longer CEO, he is still the majority shareholder of the company and is always involved in all the development and production of comebacks. In the end, all idols are treated as characters in a story and they can really notice it, despite the fact that SM strives to appear, it does not seek to change its way of doing things, it does not seek to make its artists truly recognized, it simply seeks to popularize the Kwangya universe.
YES.
If I’m being completely honest I don’t know a single person ego is actually invested in the kwangnaya universe. It just doesn’t add anything to the artist other than this random word being g used in their songs, so i just ignore it. Not even the artists themselves know what it actually means
Same
As someone that’s working on a video about the SMCU, I can confidently say that all SME groups occupied the same universe since at least 2012 (with EXO’s debut). So, what’s the problem?
Red Velvet is the best example. Even though theirs and EXO’s story lines were tied together very closely, you can watch their videographies and feel like they’re two separate groups in separate universes. Even with NCT continuing EXO’s storyline, it feels like NCT’s story and not a continuation of another artist’s.
But once Aespa debuted in 2020, it feels like SME is slapping Kwangya onto everything. At first, the novelty was amazing! But it’s just feeling tiresome at this point.
Personally, I love the idea of super groups. But the music feels lackluster. I love watching SMTowm every year. But I can see how newer KPop fans might not enjoy a multi-hour concert with several groups they don’t care about. And as interesting as the SMCU is to dive into, not everyone wants to research it or be reminder of it 24/7. I mean, look at Loona. Their biggest draw according to their fans is the Loona-verse. But that clearly wasn’t enough. Lore is only relevant once a group has a stable fanbase that wants to get invested. It’s not a selling point.
Personally, I think that SME isn’t in a dire situation. They had more album sales than any other company last year. So, they have the flexibility to take time and think out their plans moving forward. With that being said, I hope that, by Aespa’s 4th year anniversary, the company rebrands again and puts the SMCU on the back burner. I still want their artists to have lore. I just don’t want that taking priority over individuality and well received music.
It's baffling to me that people thought Stamp On It was a serve. The production was bad and the album was an even bigger disappointment. I was shocked that SM released such trash. How did we go from Super M to this?
@@racheljohnson7177 SuperM was HORRIBLE what even you are talking about 😭 Not ONE good tittle track and amazingly average bsides. SuperM is genuinely the worst thing Sm has ever done for so many reasons
@@racheljohnson7177 The production wasn’t bad. If you want bad production, listen to NMIXX. I swear… Who thought that the transition in O.O is acceptable? Even Drake’s producers do better…
But back to GOT The Beat. Stamp On It had competent production. It was decent. But it was underwhelming. And when you have some of the biggest, most iconic, and most legendary names in KPop, you don’t give them underwhelming music.
Same with SuperM. I think their music is better and it’s obvious that more effort went into them. GOT The Beat felt more like “We already have a male version of this. And people are asking for it. I guess we’re obligated to do a girl group while half of SuperM is on military hiatus.” But still, it’s underwhelming for me.
And it’s concerning that a company like SME, known for their music production skills, is giving subpar comebacks to what should be groups representing the best of KPop. If these were rookie groups that were just debuting, I’d accept it. But groups made from some of the most well known and beloved idols? Forget “Step Back”. Y’all need to step *UP* !
Well Loona did build a fan base from lore. They started from 500 album sales to nearly 200,000. They charted globally and broken records. Larger companies try to replicate this. The only reason why they aren't as popular as they should be is because they creative director wanted them to be an underground group and after he was fired the company didn't know what to do with them so it's really poor management because fans were literally begging them for content and it wasn't until the boycott that they started all of a sudden offering fans alot of stuff. Too little too late though
I want them to finish the story and then move on, and we'll never hear of this again. I'm interested in the lore of Kwangya (I know I'm in the minority here, but I love convoluted lore and plot design). I don't want them to put it on the back burner quite yet because I want to know what will happen next. I'm praying we get a finale though, and Aespa can get a concept of like "futuristic pop" or something without throwing all this Kwangya talk in their song ("My Naevis, we love you" or "that's my Naevis" are so ridiculous). How can anyone sing along to what's essentially a "fake" song at this point? No matter how interested in the SMCU I am, I will never understand then putting all these nonsense words in actual music.
idk why but sm music seems so off now...like their songs feel old even if they're trying to make them sound futuristic/experimental? It's so weird+ their supergroups are simply soulless.
I also think that the main reason why people are now tending to be hybe stans is because of the music. Like TXT, Newjeans, Le Sserafim...Their songs are good, refreshing and cool.
Sm groups are still majorly success though and their songs still go viral just like every other company
People have simply gotten tired of the sm sound. Hybe sounds more basic, which is why people like them. It's easy to listen to...but that will also fall out of favor with people in the next 4 years or so..
My only problem with SM is WayV. WayV is their most all rounded completed group in every type and sort of way in every category. Yet they choose to mistreat them, not promote as well as other groups just because they're Chinese and much rather have the fame and success goes into A Korean dominant group like Dream for example. Ten Lee by himself can literally not only carry SM but the music industry as a whole! Let alone with WayV.
Also I'd like to Say that SuperM was a great idea. But not GOT. It's just became like a habit rather than a project. But SuperM has great chemistry and works so well together and they aren't far age terms, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 99
sm pls bring back the velvets after this kwangya shits everything went downhill.
SM problem is losing min heejin. I'm a big fan of SMs 2nd and 3rd gen idols, but nowadays after min heejin's departure, their songs has been ass and unlistenable
the collaborations and avenger groups are just a way to satisfy the fans’ enjoyment of seeing artists from different groups interacting and forming friendships with one another.
but at this point it just feels quite forced and not to mention, idols are so awkward around each other these days because of both korea’s age rule (younger must respect the elders, in turn making it difficult to be comfortable and close to their elders a little quicker) and the scrutiny from sensitive fans towards idols these days, aka being a “pick me” or getting hated on for behaving like a normal human being.
its honestly so pitiful to be an idol, it never was glamorous behind the scenes imo. its clear to me that SM treats them like dolls and not ARTISTS, its depressing.
I'm not a SM fan, just a casual listener and for me, the groups are starting to loose what makes them unique. To someone who doesn't stan these groups, the newer songs sound very similar.
I think a collab between artists is a fun idea but making them a fixed group is a mistake. A collab should bring what makes those groups unique together, not just give them a general SM-like concept to perform.
Groups like SuperM and GOT the beat make the artists interchangeable. They have to loose everything that makes them unique to fit into this one concept... Like what's the point of a collab then?
Treating artists and groups like products, arguably this is kpop's traditional formula and Lee Soo Man has declared himself the father of it after all. But kpop has gone global now, and he is out of his element, forcing himself in. It shows.
this just reminded me of another "avengers unit" that happened in kpop in 2009-2010. There was a collab between labelmates T-ara, Davichi, and Seeya and it was done as a promotion strategy by their company MBK (CCM at the time) to cross promote these three groups. Both songs that they released "Women's Generation" and "Wonder Woman" were actually very successful. I wonder if its due to all three groups being relatively in the same generation, so there's not much gap in between the member's experience and if its due to the songs resonating with the general public at the time. Was Got the Beat just not as successful due to the lineup itself and the song choices? Interesting to think about tbh.
was Got the beat's mini album uninspiring and all the songs sound the same? Yes! does that mean that the idea of got the beat as a whole is bad? Nope. I do think it should be a rotational group but having amazing vocalists and rappers collab together isn't inherently bad.
i saw a post on Reddit saying that GOT should’ve done destiny’s child kinda music & i 1000% agree. & though sexy concepts are a thing of the past, i would’ve loved to see them do something inspired by the pussycat dolls.
Literally they had the most amazing vocalist in the group and make them rap and give them aespa and nct sounding music just dumb :/ we should have get the aespa cb already
Disney 🤝 SM
Taking of their legendary media and transforming it into a mediocre project that everyone will forget about months later.
thank you for speaking up on the reve issue!! like it bothers me so much that sm themselfes literally ended the reve festival just to bring it back two years later, showing that they completely given up on being creative for their groups that arent aespa and nct. (no hate to my aespa girlies bc they dont get anything from sm as well)
and that one sentence u said about aespa hit me. they really dont have their own concept besides...being SM
And now they want to debut the so called AI character..... Like there must some more trainees in sm who are trying so hard to debut but leaving them they are focusing on a non living character like isn't it unfair to living idols😶😐
also for me each company now is being greedy to launch another groups.. the market is oversaturated already but they couldn't set a good management of their own artist first and have a stable fan bases and concept for each of the current artist....
felt videos being phenomenal is the highlight of my week!
I mean This is the same as meeting with relatives, if you do that like once in a while you will be very excited but if you keep meeting your relatives I'm not sure you will be excited
There could also be some potential financial problems at play here. Why else would SM make 12+ versions of an album of every comeback (digipack + limited editions + sminis) that collectors are bound to purchase? While I do acknowledge that they are not the only company creating multiple versions of an album to chart well (the digipack trend has been going on for a while), they are definitely doing it the most out of every current company which goes against their entire so-called ''climate'' policy they have actively advocated for. This is strange because SM groups are bound to chart well because they have huge fanbases and overall domestic and international recognition. When they don't sell, it is not due to the lack of purchases, it is the lack of promotions and general care put into a comeback. Collecting these (even 12+) albums would be more special if they had different concepts, photo books, and aesthetics but SM just recycles everything to make some extra cash. It is almost like they have lost their fate in their groups' music and reach which is weird because their groups are still putting out great music.
Or that this has always been at the heart of LSM and SME. But they are only exposed now as they lose their grip on new realities.
Such a bad direction SM is heading to. Everyone doing the same thing in the same fashion.
I mostly feel bad for Aespa because I believe what SM is trying to do besides of what everyone else has stated (breeding company stans and caring more about the brand of the company than the groups) is to give them the "BlackPink starvation hype", obviously I could be wrong, after all, I do not work for SM but that's what it looks like to me and I have mixed feelings about it.
On one side I kinda get it, if Aespa takes long enough between releases more people in the Kpop community will be interested in checking out their comeback due to how long it took them to come back basically but on the other side I think this mostly worked for BlackPink because of timing (before they grew an huge fanbase), what worked in 2017 won't work as well in 2023, especially considering how harsh and competitive the Kpop scene has become, we have companies that seem to be fighting with all their strength to make their groups known and these aren't smaller companies SM shouldn't be worried about, I'm talking about HYBE (LE SSERAFIM & NewJeans) and YG with the debut of BabyMonster.
Starship also, they might not be in the Big4 but IVE's got a fanbase in Korea, they do extremely well and I highly doubt Starship and Kakao would want to throw all that to waste.
So, there is a chance that the way SM is dealing with Aespa might cause more harm than good to the group with this strategy because, at least to me, it looks like they're wasting these girls' time and throwing all the momentum they had to the gutter.
it’s the way most sm artists don’t leave the company for me, like they are either kicked out like jessica, they sue the company like exo members or they are forgotten and no one cares if they leave or not like f(x) among others, i’m really wondering why these artists don’t leave i’m especially wondering about boa like she could be furthering her career more as the queen of kpop
BoA ??? You know she got shares in SM, a director position in the company (or something like that), has artistic freedom (not all SM idols get to write their own music), GOT was basically created for her... She did a lot for the company but she's in a great position now.
i kinda personally believe this is due to lee soo man, who's on the pandora papers, and who is also speculated to not pay taxes and such. it's only my opinion, but i do think that there is something shady going on as to why a lot of their artists have to stay. i read jessica's book and while it's a ficitonal novel, she talks about how sm entertainment will have you sign a 7 year and a 3 year contract together, so a 10 year contract, in a way that doesn't break the law. i haven't revisited her book in a while so i could be paraphrasing this wrong but i do remember jessica writing about sm's shady contracts.
@@cyrielle_ i’m not talking about her position i’m talking about her idol career and evolving her sound those are two different things, i understand what might her keep her but it’s a compromise imo she can do so much more as an artist rather than just have shares in a company
@@thewayifelt something like that is in her book but i just never knew what to take as fiction and what to take as fact also the 10 years contract is definitely true but what keeps them beyond those 10 years? it just feels like they don’t want to
@@thewayifelt I also feel like there's something deeply inappropriate about the relationship he tries to cultivate with the artists he signs. Not making any legal accusations here, obviously, it's just a feeling based on watching him interact with the idols and the way they talk about him. It's almost like he's the world's least charismatic cult leader, and people don't leave because they saw what happened when 3/5 of DBSK did.
naevis debut announcement is my last straw
I feel like the joint sm groups should’ve been like a special one time thing where it rotates and like idk it happens every 2 years or so because like said in the video the longevity of these mixed groups are declining it makes them seem like a failed project which is why it should be like a special not an official group because overtime people will lose interest in the mixed groups it’s honestly frustrating to see it’s like they’re just wasting the idols times and hard work where it could be invested in their individual groups
Wait. Each of SM’s “Avengers” group has SEVEN MEMBERS? 🤔
i really wanna know why
@@thewayifelt 🤓
@@HailToTheMeep I'm pretty sure we know why 💀
@@kuntalasen 😂
@Kuntala Sen
"Good music, got them
Good team? Goddamn!
U said u hot, oh man, u not."- A certain wise leader from a certain 7 member group said it once.
I love EXO, NCT, WAYV, and SHINee but SuperM didn’t work for me mostly because I didn’t like the music it felt more like trying to get popular and money. Part of the reason I liked SM groups so much is because most of them are amazing vocalist but it feels like that’s not the focus of Kpop anymore (no hate to the actual members of course just the direction the company seems to be going)
I'm dance focused enough that I was initially interested from the pov of going, Taemin and Kai together, who wouldn't want to see that? But the music is so boring, and the Avengers concept is cringe, and the whole thing just seems like a waste of time for everyone involved.
SM also doesn't care about group chemistry when they make these avenger groups
When I watch them I just see a hodgepodge of people who were forced to work together
Problem is Lee Soo Man and the old guard at SM blocking new creative directors/ producers to move up. Perfect example is the Ador Creative Director, she was responsible for SM’s direction up until she most likely got burnt out with SM politics. She said cya, joined Bighit/Hype specifically to create their new gg. Enter Newjeans. SM haven’t been the same since she left and I’m sure other talented producers, directors left as well. And also… other aspiring idols know to stay away from SM. Old people needs to get out the way in SM.
super m has to be sm's worst idea to this day. i remember when i was exol NOBODY wanted that group, they pushed exo promotions to side to focus on that stupid group, it was really frustrating, especially seeing the company putting so much effort into promoting that group overseas, something exols always begged for.
i didn't have a problem with got the beat at first, but it seems to me that mys are going through the same thing as exols in 2019. the group promotions are being pushed to side to promote a parallel project and the music isn't even that great. the 4th gen is being competitive as ever, aespa should be realising their first full album after the pathetic rollout they had for girls, but sm is letting the group's image fade in the public perception. kwangya should be a aespa only event, it would've been enough, but lee sooman is a freak.
i kinda disagree with the red velvet take, i'm really fine with them doing red concepts because they still manage to pull out something different each time, the thing that really frustrate me about rv is how they never got to have a 3rd full album and i think working on making a organized rollout for a full album would help red velvet to have a great momentum even after years of their career. the concept is clearly not the problem since feel my rhythm did well on the charts.
SM already started messing up with EXO's concept,Kai and Sehun have to enlist this year but no sign of their solo album ,SM announced the comeback of the hybrid group but they didn't announce EXO's comeback the members themselves did it and it seems like grp comeback will be only after superm comeback once Baekhyun comes out,it's the only chance to get a full group comeback before 2025.All the members started working on their next solo album & concerts also there is no sign of PCY1 eventhouugh CY spoke about it.And about promotion:(((((
I thought SuperM was a mistake from the beginning. People were very excited at the idea that they would put some of the biggest names from the biggest groups into a brand new group, IMO, as a competition for BTS. But I had difficulty imagining that; when down the line, these groups would be fighting their own people once the fans realized what a logistical nightmare it would be to fit SuperM schedules with their group and solo work. I couldn't believe they couldn't see that scheduling for the members would become a fight. So I had a sinking feeling that if SuperM was going to be successful, those members would be slowly pulled from their original groups. And for some groups, that could be the straw that breaks the back - be it in the form of disbandment or just a slow torturous death like f(x) and Miss A. So how well received, would these members be if they were seen as the ones that broke the group? It felt like SM threw all they had at producing SuperM, but the ROI is in the red.
Idk why the don't just debut new groups 💀
they can't even manage their already established groups though how can they debut others
Lol. They already have 10 groups, + all the sub-units and the soloists. They're stacked and it shows, debuting new groups is the last thing SM needs right now.
They can’t afford it, debuting a group take a $hit ton of money, definitely not a good investment in their position now
@@jisoomarryme true lmao
love the video and love the use of the body talk instrumental LOL, it's my fav red velvet song
Honestly wish SuperM and Got The Beat were more like what they did with Wild Thing where they work with idols from different company. I know it'd probably be a bit more difficult to put it together but claiming a couple of idols from one company to represent the entirety of Kpop was just a total turn off
Very tired of SM trying to turn me into a company stan while sm stans attack me for saying i don't care for these collaborations.
You can not care about it and don't be negative about it too .then nobody will attack you lol
@@BhaktManomandirVihariniUma it's you taking offense in me saying i don't care. That's on you.