S.m. did not sabotage Exo. They don't sabotage any of their groups. At least not how people think they do. Sure, from the fans and artists perspectives, I definitely think they may feel like that is the case, but we don't read their contracts. Heck, they probably didn't even read their contracts. Somebody can only screw you over if you let them.
It is possible to bargain and refuse to sign a contract if you don't want to. Multiple artists have left S.M. Entertainment and decided not to renew their contracts, but Exo, 8 members of Exo, did. They decided to stay in a contract locked tight with S.M. to stay in the group Exo.
Many say they had to; they had no choice, but they did. They could have all left together. There is no excuse for why they didn't. Because of the redraft of Korean entertainment laws to combat the exact thing that CBX sued for, the Korean government gave groups like Exo an out.
Which is why I knew they could not win their lawsuit, because it is very clear. It does protect the artists but it also protects the company. If you choose to resign odds are you will not win a lawsuit. The new law is a safety vest. If you throw it away you cannot cry foul.
There are many very helpful videos about this law that exist online. Groups can leave together with all their music and their name, but only if they leave together. Most likely what happened was some wanted to leave and some wanted to stay. It is quite clear who was on those two different sides.
The law is very specific that the thing is with this situation ALL the members must leave together if they want their name and music.
That right there would be, or should be, enough to stop this false claiming of S.M. mistreating Exo. Which, honestly, is kind of comical in 2024, the difference of the meaning of that word. Actual groups are abused by their agencies, and people think a company not making a group as famous as they could be is mistreatment.
It's not. And hey, if it was, and I'll give it to you, maybe that is a crappy thing to do, to block offers and say, Nah, we're not going to make you more famous but...
They could have left; they all had the free will to leave.
Though that would mean no more S.M. promotions, no more S.M. paying for everything, and no more benefits. Do I really have to go to the s.m. website and show you all the benefits they give to their employees? I mean, it's pretty nice. Sadly, we live in a world of comparison. People are desperate to find some comparison between the haves and the have-nots. Maybe if these millionaires aren't getting the highest pay in the company, then they deserve people to rally for them.
It's like a huge victim off--who is the least privileged rich person.
it's giving
But it's not even as simple as that. S.m invests a lot of money into each artist. They made them famous, they built them up, they got them sponsorships and acting jobs, and like it or not, they got them a fandom too. From S.M.'s perspective, they made the group. I mean, fans are shallow, and they want content and fan service, which is valid. I mean, if you like a show, sure you want more seasons, but these are real people. It takes millions to get these guys a reality show, wearing fancy clothes, with makeup artists and a camera crew with a rented-out villa. On top of feeding everyone, staff, managers, producers and stylists.
Meanwhile, some groups have personal YouTube channels just hanging out. Like the comparison is not valid. Like yes, they are so oppressed they have to spend tons of money giving their fans a fancy reality show to watch and heavily scripted and edited YouTube sketches.
S.m truly hates their guts so much they let them rag on them in public and on bubble and still buy them birthday cakes lmao.
I mean, think about that: Who needs all that to hang out with their friends? People bend over backwards to make it seem like S.M. is sabotaging them with no content... like it's not hard to hang out and film it. It's not S.M.'s fault they need a script or be at a concert in order to have chemistry. Kai said himself it took him a long time to get a youtube channel because he had to organize and pay for everything. It's expensive to do what they want to do. Look perfect, have great editing and keep their image fancy.
There are tons of issues in Kpop and s.m ent but complaining about the most pointless things takes validity away from the argument.
"But ...they cancelled youtube red reality show/ they said no to cochella" allegedly..
Do ya'll understand that those are avenue's that can't be controlled. Look at what happened to those poor girls who went to that event and got trashed for weeks. Anything can happen and it's not an asian event. Exo has had bad performances in the past, mess ups, bad notes, if that happened in a crowd full of foreigners who may not even be into kpop; they aren't women who can just laugh it off cause they look like instagram models, that would be humiliating. People are way meaner to men on the internet.
Do I need to bring back the last time S.m and fans tried to push exo performing at a western event, a very traditional group of people opposed it heavily citing it was an american event and began picking the group apart. Gender and race are a huge issue companies are hesistant how they bring a group to the west. They purposely promoted super m differently to prevent a bad reaction from certain groups of people. They wore less makeup, did less overt fanservice and made sure they promoted them more masculine. They always referred to one another as brother. They don't want to put their groups in a bad spot and I don't blame them.
Did people ever think that the group may not of been the best group to perform at that type of event. They have a lot of members and cochella isn't known for focusing on dancing. Some members don't even have lines in most songs, they would just be standing there. They aren't blackpink or 2ne1 with only four members who equally share lines.
I don't remember other large groups crying cause they weren't invited to cochella, because every market is different. Rappers, bands and female performers do better at cochella than dudes and there's nothing wrong with that.
How can 9 people sing equally at a musical event?
"Youtube offered them a show why didn't s.m take it"
With Youtube red...can exo be as authentic as the documentary may require? Can they have a scene with serious or contraversial stuff like hybe is doing and their fans be okay with that? Maybe that wasn't a risk they were willing to take. They have a completely different promotion style than other companies. The fans do not know these people. What if the members had to show their real authentic personalities? Would fans even be interested in that? It could destroy the fourth wall s.m built up for them. Fans would rather ignore issues just like the lawsuit, they plug their ears and cover their eyes, even when it was cbx who tried to call attention to it. They were trying to say they had an issue but fans just wanted more fluffy content and were upset the lawsuit messed it up for them. So could the fandom take a documentary where problematic stuff might be filmed? The fans themselves might of boycotted youtube.
They would of been like:
"How dare they put the boys in a bad light. S.m should have protected them"
The members are known for saying stuff that got them in trouble with foreign american fandoms. What if it caused more trouble than it was worth?
That's how companies have to think.
I understand that there are many things which do need to be talked about concerning exo, s.m and kpop but the reality is that be honest most do not want to have those conversations. How many injuries and people passing out had fans rolling their eyes saying "again?"
or "screw s.m"
what does that do?
People don't even know how to boycott because they are so addicted to their faves being top sellers and milking their achievements. How can people say they don't care when they talk about exo's awards like they earned them themselves. The only award a fan should be proud of is a grammy because there's a council of critics who are unbias not a bunch of crazy fans.
When people let go of their ego then change will happen until then the companies will continue to do whatever they want. Having underage children dancing in a basement learning how to attract fans is an issue. Millionaires getting less money than they thought they could get is not.
mind you at this time Justin Bieber was doing completely fine in asia. The misinformation and lies that Exo had replaced him in Asia was propaganda done by s.m. Around that time I actually found photos of Jb with japanese idols and fans taking photos and doing interviews in japan and press conferences. He even went around south korea and met with producers and artists. S.m does a lot of social media play. There was a twitter thread that exo was having a concert and all of justins fans left to go see exom not even in the building but they went go wait outside while exo was performing. My first introduction to how deceptive s.m entertainment was. Jb was their biggest foreign competition. Sadly as a little kid I literally believed the lie that exo ended Justins popularity in Asia due to s.m entertainments hate campaign against him. He would later start up a successful clothing brand of his own in Japan meanwhile and Exo still promotes other peoples brands that they have no control over and to date has had at least six members sue over human slavery allegations.
idk why you guys are talking about exo ending justing bieber’s career until now??? like Kyungsoo ended his career long ago when he covered “Boyfriend”??
and I advise to don't do that. But a few years ago people kept talking about jenkai and my brain is like not normal so I took that and was like wait, what is Kai and Jennie did a steven universe style fusion
this was so funny to me. Cause I was thinking wait, but what if it was like ouran host club and he's like with a group of girls dressed up as one and then poof. It was giving selena, hailey and Kimberly.
like first I was like wait? huh? but then it was so funny cause he could actually be a member.
this is why I need a bedtime, my brain...I will stop now. sigh
Stephanie played with so many people with this ship, she knew she had no intention of jacob ever having a chance, I was watching eclipse back in 2010 like maybe edward will leave again
“It’s just that, I know how you’re unhappy a lot. And, maybe it doesn’t help anything, but I wanted you to know that I’m always here. I won’t ever let you down– I promise that you can always count on me. Wow, that does sound corny. But you know that, right? That I would never, ever hurt you?”
Isabella Swan & Jacob Black in The Twilight Saga (2008-2012)
Redemption - [DAY_966] The End of Evangelion.
Inspired by a genius post I saw on twt iykyk, I didn't wanna bother them they seemed stressed.
topic: Is Kai promoting in English and doing Western promotion activities pandering for Western validation?
(because he clearly never pandered to anyone before ever in the history of ever...it never happened... seriously. I don't believe he knows what pandering is actually.)
Simple Fact: TECHNICALLY..yes
Question: Is that a bad thing?
Opinion: It depends
Clarification : By western do you mean American? And by pandering do you actually mean worshipping Eurocentricity and it's machine of capitalism? That is a slippery topic, technically most kpop idols, such as Kai, are already modeling for European brands and not Asian or African etc. Plus they have fans constantly brag about said sponsorships that they do. Plus South Koreans and far east asians are top consumers of european luxury brands
so anti colonialism is an odd arguement to stand behind with a kpop pfp but okay.
Opinion: Look, If you have a precise plan and goal for promoting in America, creating a better bond with foreign audiences, expressing creativity, working with more diverse creatives, and touring in multiple different states and/or countries, solidify the artist's place in the realm of popular music while having a more freeing time doing it... I don't get the problem with an artist like Kai promoting in America. It cannot intensify the issue of Kpop artists seeming like they are pandering to the euro-colonial powers, because it's already looking pretty bad tbh.
The real issue: Freedom. The reality is when someone dynamic, attractive, and full of life has freedom, obviously they are going to meet new people, make friends, and develop in personality. The real issue is whether fans who have had an artist as a cute little toy for years.
Are they ready to find out what his real personality is when he is given freedom. The reality is that despite dating clauses not technically existing after a few years post-debut, people do not actually expect them to talk about crushes, who they find attractive, or publicly state their attraction towards someone. Personally, I believe what K-pop fans expect, which is virtual silence except when being cute, charming, funny, or flirtatious and/or childlike asexual behavior, except if it is for audience consumption, this teeters on a slave owner mindset and is very gross. A person who calls themself a K-pop idol cannot publicly date like a regular artist.
I mean, they can, but not in a traditional way. Kai and Krystal technically dated for 2 years, and they couldn't mention one another's name publicly during that entire time.
They didn't even go near one another in public after it was revealed not even at smtown's. But at least people had a magazine shoot as proof they even knew one another.
Jennie and Kai weren't event at the same event since the dating scandal happened years ago, not an award show, or any other public event. If anything a dating scandal just means the person will enter a crackdown and be forced to be more present with fans to make up for what they lost.
It is extremely normalized in Korean culture that males and females try not to even make eye contact lest it be thought of that they did something.
For this reason it's incredibly easy for fans to say it is nonexistent. This is a pretty good summary of what happened.
The accepted narrative anyway. Sadly to combat the 'negative press' of dating publicly, fans go harder on the shipping, the overs#xualization, and the unfunny jokes to move the conversation away from their dating news. Taking the fandom further and further away from reality.
Yet, at the same time since people don't see 99 percent of the artist they obsess over's life and the entire 1 percent is scripted, they don't know how these people truly act or behave, or really anything about them. So to overcompensate other parts of their personality and minor things are overblown and hyperfocused on. Praise and worship take the place of actual critical thought.
Regardless of the opinion of whether it matters to every individual supporter or not, it still had actual effects on his career. To this day his support is stronger overseas. I believe this is in conjunction to the 2 dating scandals and his appearance. Which is a whole nother thing, but with this in mind a western audience, especially one that is less likely to bash for a simple dating scandal would be a smart choice.
To the people who have a don't ask don't tell policy when it comes to artists, but just don't want the artists to date publicly to protect them, what do they know, do they even look into the analysis how when properly leveraged a relationship could be good for business and not bad. I hesitate to believe fans whenever they say they don't care if their fave dates or not anyway. Like of course you don't care, because they will continue to play their role of a perfect idol content with fanservice.
I would say it's fine, but it really isn't, even in japan idol culture there is room for growth and evolution inside the mold. They gradually moved their idol culture over to the acting scene so now the youth are somewhat used to seeing public figures dating openly, it may be a surprise but I wouldn't classify it as a scandal.
Personally, I believe if they can push kpop idols towards acting and movies, then similar to japan it wouldn't become this crazy thing and artists can be young and married without it being a frenzy.
(p.s weloveyoukento) It's not exactly perfect but it is changing for the better.
In japan the mold is forever being molded and shifted to where it needs to be, whereas in kpop it seems to be stuck in stasis with the conveyer belt model continuing.
With the art clearly showing what fans deny, that each idol group is contained and perfected to the fans whims and desires.
Understandably people want privacy in relationships, but the privacy is mostly due to their careers being built on the whims of the fans.
To be fair all boy bands historically have done this. Whether that means wearing outfits that only teen girls like, or dancing uniformly to upbeat tunes for hours on end. It isn't just kpop that stretched people to the limit and covered up their originality.
Regardless of the location, race, or culture/ethnicity of said boy band this was all true, but in Kpop there is a specific desire to control the entire person as a product and as a human and this is something the fans are willing to ignore to recieve whatever fanservice they want.
Nobody cares who their local restaraunt owner or store employee dates, because they don't go to the store for them they go for the product, BUT in K-pop the artists are the product, the emotional relationship with fans is apart of the deal. Therefore they feel almost a sense of surrealness when thinking about them in a public relationship. Personally, I believe even western people struggle with having an odd fascination with who a person does or does not date, but again this is because people craft an image that makes it unbelivable if they go against it.
Whether it's a fake relationship or a real one, the point is that with either you would expect something like a conversation or a small mention during an interview, but typically Kpop stars are not allowed to do such a thing, ever. That is just how it is in K-pop. Whether the fans are native Korean or foreigner fans, much of the same behavior is expected. No one can say they have seen an artist's real personality. It isn't possible. Nearly everything is scripted.
In some cases, like Taemin's, they didn't even know their actual personalities.
They can go out and do things for fun, but it is expected that whatever they do not be noticeable to fans. Everything is expected to be hidden or undercover to be respectful of the fans. Because the artists are firstly marketed as boyfriends and girlfriends for the fans. Regardless of how it is spun, this is the marketing promotion; otherwise, suggestive music videos wouldn't really be necessary, nor would high-five events of ...fansigns.
I don't want to act like K-pop invented this.
It did not
or pretend that it is even the most extreme version of marketing love to strangers out of an exotic curiosity;
because it isn't. This has been happening for ages, but I will say that kpop has this unique hold where evolution doesn't exist. Since the 1990s I think kpop has gone backwards, before it was normal for idols girlfriends to leave the performance venues with them.
Now if a girlfriend posts something on her social that even implies they are together it is cause for fans to burn merch and say rude and innapropriate things online out of vendicated anger.
Even having a boyfriend or close male friend can invoke the ire of fans who have crafted an idol's desires to their imaginations, even if they themselves have no interest in them.
So if they do something unexpected like date a man, even though they "hate men" people have full blown meltdowns and delete their accounts out of embarrassment.
I've seen it happen to so many people. They refuse to accept a possibility and when it happens they loose it.
I know that people have sensitivities about Kpop people becoming more free, and honestly I think it's for the best. I do not think people want the ownership that fans feel to grow even more. They need more open and honest interviews, less objectfication and more laying out the facts instead of fans being so bored they hyperfixate on fake gossip to the point of it being more real than reality.
But no seriously all jokes aside, please somebody explain to Kai what pandering to an audience means. Doing things specifically to appeal to others whims and desires that you as a grown adult person probably don't want to do, but you must because of dinero, guap or cash money. Cause clearly he is just a giant stuffed animal and he has no ideal how it works, how anything at all works actually, he just dresses like this on stage because..I mean like what else would he wear, duh! How could he be expected to pander to the euro-colonial-objectifying axis of evil...
He's like..never even done that before....