The reason people say BTS' biggest hits are "fandom-driven" is that they don't like how much chart longevity they have.

Let's be honest. There are 3 things that all run out eventually:

BTS had that problem for a while, but once they started releasing their biggest hits (BS&T, Spring Day, DNA, FAKE LOVE, IDOL, BWL, Dynamite), they stayed around for a lot longer than is typical for an idol song (i.e. high for a minute, then it falls quickly over the following weeks). Most idol hits are lucky to get anywhere near a year on Gaon Digital Chart. Even ON hit 51 weeks, which is 1 less than FAKE LOVE.

1 year is a norm for BTS. Any single of theirs that doesn't hit that is an underperformance in my mind, which is different from other idol groups.

40 weeks or above in the top 100 is huge for any other group besides BTS.

If BTS's biggest hits were really fandom-driven, they'd peak high and then have 0 longevity. They'd sink like anchors and be out of the top 100 in less than 3 months, but they don't. There is public interest in them and it shows in how their songs chart.

Quote from daniel-cruz

Good points.

I guess then ON really did underperform? Is it out from the chart?

Also, First

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ON has 616,770,848 points. It's a hit, just not among their biggest. It's still in the top 200 (not for long though).

And to be honest, it's a similar hit to FAKE LOVE in Korea. It actually had 55 weeks on Melon top 100 compared to FL's 52.

Quote from Tic_tac_toe

Tbh BG idol hits not having longevity nor peak is a new case where it’s just a fact that new gen BGs don’t have huge fandoms in Korea.

Longevity is a sign of a strong and interested fandom. Others just don’t have it.

This isn't just about old vs new boy groups, this is about BTS having longevity that can match the biggest hits from soloists and international acts.

About your 2nd point, do people say this about long-lasting GG songs? Because I don't see it ever.

Quote from daniel-cruz

The fandom has grown since then. Can't really compare tbh. It would reflect on chart performance. I saw some people on twitter (Multis) say ON was pushed by the fandom in its last weeks on charts so who knows?

It's true ON was pushed, I could tell by its position those last few weeks. It wasn't gonna win SOTY anyway, so I don't know why they didn't let it slowly fade. It had a good run though.

You're also forgetting that ON did that with less exposure overall due to COVID. Literally the very day MOTS 7 released, South Korea saw its biggest spike in cases at the time.

Quote from daniel-cruz

You do know that BG songs and GG songs are treated differently.

Why should they be? If it's a hit, it's a hit.

Quote from itiswhatitisss

I mean we're in 2021, charting on Melon is no longer based off of streams. It's purely UL based, meaning it's not boosted by fandoms. So people can't use that argument anymore.

And with the official Melon numbers out, Spring Day has 7M ULs in total. That's in the TTN, EDEM range, no one considers the latter 2 songs to be fandom-fueled. That is too big of a number to be purely fandom fueled.

The only dude who has a fandom size close to BTS' in Korea is Lim Youngwoong, and his songs are charting in the lower half of Melon. Should say enough tbh, if BTS' songs were really fandom-fueled, they wouldn't still be completely dominating in terms of charting. We'd be seeing tragic Melon charting like LYW.

LYW has one of the fanbases I was hinting at, his fans have a lot of money to spend on him. That's how he hit #1 on Gaon, but has no significant placements on the more populated services.

Quote from daniel-cruz

Yeah that too. It also had to do with the fact that GP (locals who don't listen to idol group music and checks out BTS due to their national importance and impact) don't normally like this type of songs.

We have no clue if they didn't like ON (reminder than Any Song was still going strong at the time), but it did well regardless of its circumstances.

It's certainly not the flop people tried to paint it as last year.

Quote from daniel-cruz

Try explaining to the locals. They won't listen. GGs always have digital superiority over BGs any day of the week.

GGs are more popular overall, yes.

But charting stats aren't mutable based on opinion. They're hard, factual numbers you can easily track week by week. If a song doesn't do well on charts, it's a flop, doesn't matter if it's by a BG or GG.

Quote from daniel-cruz

Any Song had more catchy elements to it.

Like a proper memorable chorus. Addictive melody. ON lacked some of that (not a bad thing since that's what they were going for)

It's not a flop definitely.

ON just didn't capture public attention. Whether it was due to the song itself, Any Song still being super popular, or corona scares being more dire than a BTS comeback, I don't know.

Quote from atropos

R u trying to say ON is on the same level as fake love? Because its not. Fake love is bigger than idol itself. Longevity isn't the end all.

Disagree there.

IDOL has more unique listeners on Genie (IDOL - 2.45M vs. Fake Love - 2.29M) and Melon (IDOL - 5M vs. FL - 4.7M), and more Gaon Digital Points (IDOL - 1.078 billion vs. FL - 946 million). Also IDOL charted 79 weeks in top 100, FL did 52.

YT views aren't too far apart either.

The only place FAKE LOVE really outperforms IDOL is on Spotify.

Quote from kiwijoon

So why could exo never get songs to chart over a year let alone multiple years like bwl, dna, and sd going by this logic? Going by the new "transparent" system their fans obv mass stream them but the uls dont match up?

Please don't make this about another group. I avoided names in the OP because I didn't want fandoms arguing.

Quote from paradis

People saying something on twitter? This your fandom you are talking about cause we sure can take tgeor word as gospel truth when they talk about Arnys.

Why? Just why? I was discussing peacefully with him. There was no need to be salty toward him.

Quote from atropos

Idol charted for what 70+ weeks on melon vs fl's 50+. Even tho fl charted for a shorter time it's stats r closer to idol than further away. I consider it to be bigger.

And ON isn't close to either.

IDOL was released 3 months after FAKE LOVE yet has better stats in Korea.

I didn't say ON is bigger than IDOL or FL. It's closer to FL rather than farther away. And keep in mind that FL is nearly 3 years old with these stats.

ON isn't even 1.5 years old yet, no telling how it's going to perform in cumulative ULs or Spotify streams.

Quote from lonelymoon

How come BG who sell a lot , meaning they have a strong fandom, fail to have longevity then ,if having a big fandom is what enables BG idol hits to be stable on charts?

Found the loophole in the argument. Ding ding!

Quote from paradis

If you can't see what he is doing and always does...well. Can't be helped. He continues to be shady under the garb of faux nice. But you carry on, I won't bother with him.

He's really not the shady person people vilify him as. If you derail further, I will report. Personal beef is not welcome in this thread.

Quote from Tic_tac_toe

These are not mutually exclusive things. What you should be addressing is people dismissing fandom driven streams. Not argue if extremely popular Bg streams aren’t fandom driven.

No one cares about Korean streams, not even me. Why? Streaming certifications filter all of that out anyway. After award season is over, literally no one gives a shit about them.

Quote from paradis

I just told you I won't so stop being prissy.

You don't know me, so chill with the descriptors.