Do you gatekeep your favorites?

  • AllKill VIP

    I’ve been there for STAYC since the beginning. I checked out their predebut content and anticipated their debut, saw their heightened success with “ASAP,” and still stuck with them through their less successful comebacks.


    Was there for their KCON Tour in the U.S. last year. They used a backing track most likely because that was the standard for that tour, but you really wouldn’t notice because their dance and stage presence were so on point. They shined either way.


    Saw them on tour again this year, where they used little to no backing track at all. They never needed it in the first place. No backup dancers either. It was just them, the stage, and SWITHs. Their vocals really shined and it was amazing to see how confident they are.


    They’ve helped make my days a little better throughout the years. It’s hard not to smile when listening to songs like “Bubble.” What they stand for is absolute positivity, and I love it.


    But part of me wants STAYC to remain at their current level of success, just for us SWITHs who’ve been with them for some time. Don’t get me wrong. I love groups from the big companies, but there’s something different about these nugu or semi-nugu groups. The fan service hits differently because it feels more genuine. They actually remember us individually if we see them enough. They have the means to show appreciation for the fans more.


    I guess, what I’m trying to say is that it’s hard not to gatekeep your favorites when they’ve helped you a ton throughout the years and a sentimental connection has been formed. It’s more meaningful than just wanting to see them beat some other group in some metric.

  • AllKill VIP
  • AllKill VIP

    That's what I love about NUGU's and not sitting here worrying about them winning award shows etc. They seem genuine, they seem like they really want to engage with fans, their personalities are often times amazing. You follow them since debut and watch their ups and downs, but i can say when you see obvious mistreatment and then eventually they disband and you chicken out on a video call and now can never have another opportunity again it kind of leaves a void in you.


    There's so many amazing smaller groups out there and people just throw them aside because they aren't popular or aren't from a huge company, yet I feel like people are missing out on some amazing music, interactions, and sometimes funny things they post whether it's social media or youtube.


    I kind of wanna keep them so nugu so I can feel all special bragging about them, but part of me wants more people to get into the smaller groups so they can grow and expand more.


    kinda rambled hope i made some form of sense lol

  • AllKill VIP

    No, in the 9+ years I've been a Mamamoo fan, from the days of just trying to learn their names, faces and personalities to the days where I started making content for them on YT, I've never participated in or supported any gatekeeping.


    I had the unique and honestly extremely rare experience of becoming a fan of a group that started from the bottom, when they were still considered talented but underrated rookies, and watched them reach the top while our fandom rapidly grew.


    Seeing them finally break through, not just with the fans, but with the public at large, was one of the most gratifying experiences in my time with K-Pop, but I don't look down on any fan who started following them after they became one of the most popular girl groups in K-Pop.


    Even this year, I went to four different stops on their first U.S. tour, and I bumped into plenty of fans who started following Mamamoo just this decade, which is long after their comeup years, and I thought it was awesome. Well, other than my being looked at as some rare ancient artifact for being a fan since 2014. :cursing:


    I think an artist can maintain that intimate connection with their fans, even if they gain mainstream popularity, but I do see where you're coming from. My favorite interactions with Mamamoo were back in 2015, when they were rising but not mega popular yet, and when I fast forward to the VIP event I attended for their tour this year, there is no comparison--I paid a king's ransom for a way less enjoyable and totally frustrating experience.


    tl;dr No, I think gatekeeping is potentially harmful to both the artist and fandom (or at least their perception to outsiders). Everyone has the right to become a fan and stan if they want to.

  • AllKill VIP

    You know what’s interesting, Jenn? I actually thought of you and your nugu groups a bit as I reflected on this. “Hmm, maybe this is how Jenn feels.”


    Part of this just has to do with me wanting them shielded from all the hate, drama, scrutiny, and people who shouldn’t be K-pop fans. I want that for all groups because I appreciate all that they do, but it hits even harder when it comes to nugu groups I’ve seen evolve over time.


    But of course, I know they want to expand, so I respect that. I just think a lot of us feel this way, although we find it difficult to talk about or we don’t like to admit it.

  • AllKill VIP
    Quote from superyeah

    You know what’s interesting, Jenn? I actually thought of you and your nugu groups a bit as I reflected on this. “Hmm, maybe this is how Jenn feels.”


    Part of this just has to do with me wanting them shielded from all the hate, drama, scrutiny, and people who shouldn’t be K-pop fans. I want that for all groups because I appreciate all that they do, but it hits even harder when it comes to nugu groups I’ve seen evolve over time.


    But of course, I know they want to expand, so I respect that. I just think a lot of us feel this way, although we find it difficult to talk about or we don’t like to admit it.

    I find so much joy in discovering new music and getting into new groups...hell because of spotify random reccomendations i got into jpop lol


    but i also end up finding new groups through members who left their previous groups or when i continue to follow them and find out they are re-debuting. Like today i discovered 2 of my favorite biases from N.CUS are now new members added to Like A Movie (a very nugu group who's prior music i don't really like so this will be interesting).


    I discovered Xodiac from out of no where and now i'm hooked. but, yes I don't want them to grow so big they deal with toxicity but at the same time i would love for them to get big enough to be noticed, to appear on music shows when they have comebacks etc. it's such a hard thing to balance.

    Quote from xx-jenn-xx

    I find so much joy in discovering new music and getting into new groups...hell because of spotify random reccomendations i got into jpop lol


    but i also end up finding new groups through members who left their previous groups or when i continue to follow them and find out they are re-debuting. Like today i discovered 2 of my favorite biases from N.CUS are now new members added to Like A Movie (a very nugu group who's prior music i don't really like so this will be interesting).


    I discovered Xodiac from out of no where and now i'm hooked. but, yes I don't want them to grow so big they deal with toxicity but at the same time i would love for them to get big enough to be noticed, to appear on music shows when they have comebacks etc. it's such a hard thing to balance.

    This is such a fascinating mindset to me. So you would be less happy if your group went mainstream and became one of the most popular groups, than if they never broke through and hit the wall as just a middle of the pack group?


    Interesting...


    The moment I saw how Mamamoo reacted to getting a music trophy win and their first #1 song, all that stuff started mattering to me a lot more.

  • AllKill VIP
    Quote from YamaChwan

    This is such a fascinating mindset to me. So you would be less happy if your group went mainstream and became one of the most popular groups, than if they never broke through and hit the wall as just a middle of the pack group?


    Interesting...


    The moment I saw how Mamamoo reacted to getting a music trophy win and their first #1 song, all that stuff started mattering to me a lot more.

    Everyone wants their faves and groups they enjoy to succeed, sure i'd love them to get a music show win, but If it never happens i'd be fine. If they never go and get popular yet continue to be a group for years and make music that's fine to me. I'm not a fan who cares about awards and immaterial shit or numbers. I care about music, content etc.


    VAV for an example 3rd gen group, hardly won a thing, half the people on this forum don't know who they are, yet they renewed with their company released a new amazing album that they ALL had hands on with for the first time. Appeared on music shows, but they never won an award or anything, yet they are still thriving on their own.


    I don't care about music show wins, it doesn't change a group for me. Do I wish they would get one, absolutely. I don't care about how many albums they sell or if they reach number 1 on melon or oricon, that doesn't matter to me. In otherwords i'm not a success stan.

    Hi,


    I just can't do it. If its something I love, I'm letting everyone and they mama know.

    Shout out to the poster who mentioned Baek Yearin. Her, Colde and Dean are on my playlist quite a bit. I realize now I probably like more Solo artists than Idol groups at the moment.


    -knysom

    Quote from xx-jenn-xx

    Everyone wants their faves and groups they enjoy to succeed, sure i'd love them to get a music show win, but If it never happens i'd be fine. If they never go and get popular yet continue to be a group for years and make music that's fine to me. I'm not a fan who cares about awards and immaterial shit or numbers. I care about music, content etc.


    VAV for an example 3rd gen group, hardly won a thing, half the people on this forum don't know who they are, yet they renewed with their company released a new amazing album that they ALL had hands on with for the first time. Appeared on music shows, but they never won an award or anything, yet they are still thriving on their own.


    I don't care about music show wins, it doesn't change a group for me. Do I wish they would get one, absolutely. I don't care about how many albums they sell or if they reach number 1 on melon or oricon, that doesn't matter to me. In otherwords i'm not a success stan.

    Music always come first for me as well, before I decide to become a hardcore fan of any group. I hardly knew anything about the charts or music shows, and their significance, when I became from Mamamoo fan. They just ended up being the singers of a song I grew addicted to while watching a K-Drama, and the rest is history.


    But I guess our similarities end there, because over the years, I've started to care about music show wins, because my favorite group cares about them. And I care about their albums and comebacks doing well, because they've been open about their ambitions for comebacks to do well on the charts.


    I also know that in Mamamoo's case, they wouldn't have survived long enough to even reach contract renewal if they didn't hit it big--they said it themselves.


    Basically I don't think wanting your favorite idols to be as successful as possible makes you a success stan. I stan them because I love their music and personalities, not because they're successful.

  • AllKill VIP

    As I said, everyone wants their faves to make it big, but it's not the end all or be all. None of the groups I stan have really expressed a desire to make it huge, sure every group, whether they verbally say it or not wants that music show win, they want that first of something. Do i want that for my groups absolutely. But again, it's not a big deal to me if they don't. It doesn't change them as people.


    Bz-Boys bon went to social media BEGGING for people to give their MV a listen because that's how nugu they are. He just wanted people to give their music a chance. I spread that shit like wild fire, and I got people to listen to them, that was enough success for me. They still get no where, it's probably their companies fault, if the company isn't gonna do their part, there's only so much we can do as fans.


    No one here hardly knows or talks about Bz-Boys either, yet they release such great music together. Mammoo made it somewhere, great for them. I still am not going to change my mindset. As long as the groups I stan are happy, making music, being treated right, we get some content, even if it's once or twice a year for a comeback, I'm satisified. Not every company is big enough to afford a lot, at least these groups are still together and pushing along.


    as Long as these big groups are out there, these smaller companies are going to continue to not get much notice, no matter how hard they try. Xodiac came out with a bang, recorded their MV's at Hong Kong Disneyland, top notch budgets under a big company, has been going on music shows, released a mini drama mv series. Yet no one says shit about them.


    what more can be done? Just support, continue to talk about them and hope it goes somewhere.

    Fair enough. I actually agree with majority of what you said.


    I just thought your original stance was that you actively don't want your favorite groups/idols to make it big, because of the potential negative consequences of mass popularity and a big fandom.


    Not wanting a group to be too successful is just an atypical mindset in K-Pop. I get it though.


    But I'm with you. I fell in love with Mamamoo literally two years before they finally became a top group, and I would've followed them until the end, even if they never did.

  • AllKill VIP

    Nah I would rather as you said about Mamamoo watch them grow over time, like Ateez has.. yet ateez is so damn hated. I don't want that for my faves. I don't want them to sit here and work their way up only to get so much massive hate for no reason at all. It's toxic and not something i'd ever want for them.


    I don't want to see them get so successful that they are pressured, or have to deal with so much stuff that really they shouldn't have to deal with. Watching some of my faves actually have wives, and still go out there and make music is great to me. I'd love for them to do this without the fans that big groups have being so toxic to them.


    But any one who doesn't want their faves to get their first win of something is in denial, who doesn't want that? I just don't want them to get so big you see nothing (example. black pink and their sporadic releases) or get so big the whole country puts so much pressure and stress on them (example. what i see with bts)

    No i don't and I don't think it's healthy for anyone to think of gatekeeping. These idols are human too they want and strive for better and work hard for the success, and they deserve it. I nor anyone else has the right to hold them. They are fun entertainment they are not my family, friends or lover and I have no rights to their lives as if they were one of those categories I mentioned, even if they were my family friends or lover I still wouldn't have that right to gatekeep them. They deserve the dignity respect and freedom to do whatever it is they desire.


    True love is knowing when to let someone go

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