There's a big difference between being a fan of a western artist and being a kpop fan. Western artists may have a lot more people that enjoy their music, but they are much less emotionally invested in the artist and their success. A large part of this is in the way Kpop is marketed. Kpop artists are constantly in contact with fans through social media, Bubble, and live broadcast so fans feel a connection to them and their success. The benefit to this is that fans are willing to spend money to purchase albums and spend a lot of time streaming. For example, DojaCat has the number 5 song on Billboard this week, and her MV has 19 million views after 3 weeks. The Boyz's MV has 20 million in the same time period, and The Boyz aren't one of the larger groups. DojaCat recently had a huge amount of negative publicity because she wouldn't say she loved her fans because she "didn't know them." Could you imagine any idol saying something like this? Their career would be OVER. The downside to this is that fans develop parasocial relationships and start thinking they should have a say in how the artist is managed (Can we please stop with the damn trucks?) and how the artist lives their lives, but it does sell a lot of albums, merch, and tickets.
