The more I think about SVT's upcoming concerts at Incheon , the Seoul Soccer Stadium and the Nissan Stadium in Japan, I feel uneasy about BTS's future in Hybe.
In retrospect, the way Mr. Sooman Lee ran SM was a bit strict, but more streamlined.
Sooman NEVER let his 'junior' groups rise bigger than a certain limit, and did NOT allow the junior acts to perform in the highest stages.
Super Junior and later Shinee were only allowed to enter Tokyo Dome after JYJ had performed there, ending the luster. Their venues were always smaller than TVXQ/DBSKs.
And when EXO came out they all fell into back burner.
Super Junior was only allowed to win Grand Prizes to spite SNSD, and when EXO became SM's premier act SM simply pulled the plug on SJ, leaving it pend for itself, and it did the same to F(x) and later Red Velvet. Shinee's sole Grand Prize was from Melon in 2013, when it was NOT considered to be a serious award, after the late Jonghyun gave "A Gloomy Clock" to the singer pushed by Melon the most.
That was cruel to fans of the junior groups but it established a hierarchy which made sure fans of the premier groups SM was pushing for would always get premium treatment.
So, it is quite strange for Bang to allow Seventeen to
Outsell BTS's highest figure in 2023
Win a Grand Prize from Golden Disk
Allow to enter the Soccer Stadium before BTS,
and, more importantly,
Allow to enter the Nissan Stadium in Japan, the largest stadium and making it the second Korean-based act after DBSK to enter it.
With Seventeen getting such honors, it almost seems that SVT has replaced BTS as the premier act of Hybe.
Plus SVT's direct underlings, NWS, will be come the boy act with the highest digitals in 2024, while txt is not becoming a good counterweight against Seventeen's rise.
It does not help that SVT is unlikely to be affected too much by military schedules. It has 3 foreigners who won't serve plus the leader who just got the exception so it will continue without interruption while a few members attend the military service.
Not only does BTS have to deal with the external threats and internal threat in name of Min Heejin , I think it will have to deal with Seventeen, who was kind of treated like a stepchild within the Hybe organization and now has become its premier act, and will probably do everything to maintain such status without relinquishing power to BTS when the latter returns.
