[BTS CONTENT] BTS was at a steady climb up regardless of the competition or other group's misfortune

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    We're in the big ole year of 2022 and we still have narratives like this? Here's from someone who witnessed this journey from the beginning. There were signs and indications that BTS, regardless of who they were competing with, were here to stay. Even if by all measures their debut flopped, they were steadily building their fanbase little by little. Boy In Luv at Kcon 2014 still happened despite what other groups were doing that year. I Need You and Dope still did decently well despite all the big players that released music in 2015. Hell even BTS sold more than JYP and YG groups did that year. People were so shocked by that, they took BigHit to court. BST and Fire still happened in 2016 and their shine still coexisted with other big groups that released something that year. That never stopped their momentum in the slightest. I'm not even gonna mention 2017, with Spring Day and DNA.


    There was never a point in time where anyone else's trajectory stopped BTS' meteoric rise to worldwide success. No one's absence, because of conscription, affected them when they still competed with all the top players at the time before 2017 and no one's unfortunate circumstances would have stopped them either. All these what-ifs and maybes would not have mattered because there was one thing that set BTS apart from the rest. ARMY. We did the work to spread their name like the gospel truth while kpop stans thought "begging" was beneath them and relied solely on their biases companies to do all the work.


    We were loud about our love for BTS and made sure everyone knew it. We were loud enough to the point that we forced BigHit to start listening to us and distributing their albums worldwide. We were loud enough and savvy enough with many new fan accounts that figured out the inner workings of how to crack markets that would have stayed closed after Psy. Essentially making a blueprint that everyone now copies. So no, no other group would have stopped the train that was BTS from happening. And the sooner people can come to terms that their favs wouldn't have been this global sensation when they themselves never put in the work for that fame, will be the day tired takes like this dies and stays buried.



    TL;DR:

    Long story short, BTS would still thrive because they have a beast of a fandom called ARMY. And none of the what if, could of, should of would have deterred BTS in any way. Discrediting them still makes you look like a bitter ex who can't move on.


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    Well said. I couldn't have said it any better. Unfortunately, the narrative exists NOT because kpoppies do not understand BTS upward trajectory but it's because they DO understand.


    It is this undeniable reality that force them find a way to discredit BTS success either because they want it for their own faves or because in their minds, accepting BTS success means conceding failure for their faves.

    It may also be due to their hatred for ARMY - The force that catapulted BTS to where they are right now. I really believe that Just as there will be no next BTS, there will also be no next ARMY.


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  • i will never understand the BAP opinions. like BTS never needed to dim someone's light to shine. BTS would be global group regardless of how BAP trajectory is.

    I watched B.A.P debut and it was pretty explosive at that time. And I do think that if they had proper management they could have been bigger.


    But whether or not bigger than BTS we will never know. Honestly I don't get these comparisons on how one group's success will diminish the success of another.


    And I could be wrong, I feel a lot of these people that make up this B.A.P could be bigger narrative arent even B.A.P fans or weren't even around when B.A.P was really active, and are just taking this narrative and spreading it just because. They couldn't even name all the members if they had a gun hiding at them point blank.

  • I watched B.A.P debut and it was pretty explosive at that time. And I do think that if they had proper management they could have been bigger.


    But whether or not bigger than BTS we will never know. Honestly I don't get these comparisons on how one group's success will diminish the success of another.


    And I could be wrong, I feel a lot of these people that make up this B.A.P could be bigger narrative arent even B.A.P fans or weren't even around when B.A.P was really active, and are just taking this narrative and spreading it just because. They couldn't even name all the members if they had a gun hiding at them point blank.

    many of these fans make these comparisons as if to say BTS only reached these lengths bcos BAP wasnt there. to me thats the most confusing part. BTS success has no correlation to BAP at all. and even if BAP became super successful are they implying BTS wouldn't get their own? like its almost like a consolation to themselves to justify BTS's popularity.

  • I totally agree with you Jasmine! BTS earn every accolades thru hard work and not one was presented on a silver platter.


    And let’s say BAP has all of the things that kpoppies say they should (good management, no sleazeball member, etc), then we might have 2 highly successful groups that made Big3 fans cry.


    But will BAP be bigger? It depends on the type of fandom they have. Will BAP’s fans cry and send trucks to complain about every single thing about the company and just copies what other successful fandoms do? Or will the fandom study the music industry, strategise, execute with great team work while crying and sending trucks? If we know this answer, we can definitely predict the outcome.

  • Well, I was also there when BAP debuted, and I loved their debut. I was totally obsessed with them back then. Their 2012-2013 era was amazing.

    But then BTS happened and I knew they were going to do something really big. And this narrative isn't new, I even remember people who didn't gave a fck about BAP before BTS debutting, suddenly were saying "BAP are better" blah blah. So yeah I'm not surprised this is still going on.

  • A big part of BTS becoming the biggest is because they were never satisfied. Looking at other groups, even the ones from big agencies, you get the feeling that they reach a certain level of success and go “Good enough”. It’s like groups older than five years aren’t expected to try new things are gain more popularity. BTS could have done the same but they kept pushing. If they found something new to try or stumbled on an opportunity they took it. Always.


    Obvious comparison to Exo. After 2017 Exo started to slow down. They only had one comeback a year, less group promotion in general and focused more on solo activities. SM began to focus on NCT as their main boy group. On the other hand BTS had their breakout hit in 2017 and exploded even more in 2018. They kept releasing bigger and more impressive comebacks. If they had done the same as Exo and suddenly switched to one comeback a year and only the necessary standard promotion there’s no way they’d be as popular as they are now.

  • Well I myself knew BAP before BTS (they debuted one year before BTS) but as much as I love their music, I was never into them the way I'm into BTS. I don't know if others think the same tho. A friend of mine is still a fan of Bang Yongguk, and she doesn't particularly like BTS nowadays.

  • i don't get why people are still trying to insert bap of all groups into the conversation. bts were toe to toe with peak exo very early in their career and came out on top multiple times in the end. even if bap did "stay in the game" or whatever, they would not have been in those top ranks, especially not with TS.

  • I used to love BAP, I'm one of the fans who had the chance to watch them in concert. Their disbandment was very sad for fans at the time, but I don't think there is any resemblance or influence between them and BTS. BTS got to this point by their luck, by their own talent, and by the efforts of their own fans. Even if BAP had it all, as long as they didn't have fans like Army, they'd be like other groups that have it all now but haven't been as successful as BTS.

  • What infuriates me the most is that the similarity between BTS and BAP only ends at the dark gritty hiphop music they started with.


    And do you know what made BTS break the mold into mainstream? I Need U, a song that is far cry from the heavy hip hop they debuted with.


    So no. BAP will not follow the same successful trajectory as BTS did because BTS style of music evolved.

    Well, BAP music also changed later, but at least to me, I thought that they lost their magic. BTS didn't lose anything, they transformed it, but kept the magic.

  • Didn’t a BAP member end up being convicted of sexual assault and is now being accused again of the same thing? A scandal like that would have killed off the group even if they were still active now so I really don’t know why BAP fans keep bringing them up. Let the group keep their image instead of tarnishing it with reality.

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