Industry Babies: They’re not who you think they are
Published Saturday, April 8th, 2023 — When it comes to almost any industry, nepotism is something that the general public tends to look down upon. Whether it’s real estate, politics, or entertainment, there are the types of families in which children follow in their parents’ footsteps; and while that should in no way demean an individual person’s efforts, there is no denying that people who have a little help in the form of generational wealth and connections usually can go a little further than the average person.
Introduction: What is an industry baby?
Nepotism is defined by the Oxford dictionary as “the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives, friends, or associates, especially by giving them jobs”. It is still a common practice today but while the term “nepotism baby” exists, it’s not nearly as prevalent as the term “industry baby”.
So what is an industry baby?
An industry baby is, quite literally, a product of the industry, particularly the music industry. Any artist today who has parents with successful careers is considered an industry baby—and you would probably recognize most or all of them. Miley Cyrus. Blue Ivy Carter. Enrique Iglesias. Nancy Sinatra. Ziggy Marley. Lily Allen.
The list goes on and on for miles—but these are all relevant to the Western music industry. The question that this particular essay will strive to answer is whether or not the KPOP industry, which is different from the Western music industry in various ways, has these so-called industry babies.
KPOP, “The Big 3″, & Reputation: Pros vs. Cons
Candidly speaking, you’d be hard-pressed to find an industry baby in KPOP today but as is the case with nepotism, being a group debuting under a successful company has its advantages. Otherwise known as “The Big 3″, JYP Entertainment, SM Entertainment, and YG Entertainment are three of the biggest Korean music entertainment companies in the business.* Any group debuting under these three companies has a leg up when it comes to promotions thanks to industry connections, financial power, and general status and influence—let alone the public knowledge that certain companies have a history of paying for positive press, chart manipulation, and award rigging.
However, new groups debuting into the industry under those companies also have something else to contend with—and I use the term “contend” because what I’m about to discuss can be either a good thing or a bad thing—and that is the success of an older, more established group.
On the one hand, as mentioned previously, coming from a large company with a roster of already-successful artists has its perks. New groups that debut have the benefit of name recognition and the general public’s willingness to give them a chance based on the company and artists’ reputations alone—and this is not the case for only The Big 3. Other smaller yet still well-known companies also capitalize on this advantage. However, the downside is that people can and have discredited groups’ achievements as being due to the company or other artists’ popularity rather than their own talents; and downplayed the role that the groups themselves have played in their own success.
Korean culture revolves around a social hierarchy based on age and experience, which is where the terms sunbae/seonbae (선배) and hoobae/hubae (후배) come from. the former meaning “senior” and the latter meaning “junior”. Juniors go through their trainee days and every day of their careers thereafter looking up to and respecting their seniors and often cover their songs as a sign of their admiration. Companies sometimes also assign covers as challenges for trainees, who more likely than not go into their training periods already big fans of many well-established KPOP artists and should therefore be familiar with the lyrics and choreography. Why bring this up at all? The reason is that the current ongoing narrative is usually in favor of the seniors and the emerging trend of slandering juniors for who their seniors are has created a discourse that unfairly affects their abilities to build a genuine fanbase.
This, of course, disproportionately affects certain groups from certain companies more than others; and those being incorrectly labeled as “industry babies” are really anything but, which brings us to our next topic: Big Hit Music (formerly known as Big Hit Entertainment) and KQ Entertainment.
BTS & ATEEZ: A Tale of Two Companies
One cannot really discuss the misnamed industry babies without discussing their predecessors—so let’s talk about BTS and ATEEZ.
By now, everyone knows the story of how HYBE Corporation came to be. When now chairman Bang Si-hyuk founded Big Hit Entertainment in 2005, the small company had one three-member group called 8Eight; and when Kim Namjoon/RM was signed in 2010, a contract had just been signed with JYP Entertainment to jointly manage the boy group 2AM. BTS then debuted in 2013; and following a string of projects that didn’t quite pan out and financial struggle, Big Hit Entertainment began to experience immense success thanks to the septet. Together with CJ E&M (now known as CJ ENM Entertainment), they later founded the agency known as BELIFT LAB and debuted ENHYPEN in 2020 as a result of the survival show I-LAND. From there, Big Hit Entertainment began a series of acquisitions, including Source Music in 2019 and Pledis Entertainment and KOZ Entertainment in 2020; as well as a partnership with Universal Music Group’s flagship label Geffen Records in 2021. On March 31st, 2021, Big Hit Entertainment became HYBE Corporation, with Big Hit Music becoming its own label that functions independently and—most importantly—privately. All seven members of BTS were given significantly large shares in the company—millions of U.S. dollars’ worth, in fact; and HYBE itself has a long list of subsidiaries and joint projects running under its umbrella, including the label ADOR, which manages the girl group NEWJEANS.
Rags to riches story aside, BTS is widely credited for making all of this possible. It’s no secret that Big Hit Entertainment was previously on the brink of bankruptcy and while 8Eight enjoyed some success, BTS’s long and difficult road to fame is what propelled the company to such great heights. Without the influence of a Big 3 company to back them, the group was cut from broadcasts, insulted by variety show hosts, played free concerts, and shared one dorm room. These types of hardships have made ARMYs fiercely protective of the group; and to this day, the fanbase is still wary of anyone who may try to take advantage of their impact for their own gain.
In the meantime, while BTS was gaining traction, a new company emerged. KQ Entertainment, founded in 2016 by Kim Kyu Wook, was initially best known for the boy group Block B under their subsidiary Seven Seasons. The small company also has its own team of in-house producers, some of whom are also solo artists under its other subsidiary KQ Produce.
KQ Entertainment quickly proved to be extremely unique, starting with its training program. Trainees begin their time at the company in a pre-debut group called KQ Fellaz and then graduate from the program when they debut under a new name. The first group of trainees started in 2016 and debuted as ATEEZ in 2018. In what proved to be an extremely smart move on the company’s part, KQ Fellaz released a series of performance videos (I, II, and III) showcasing the group’s dance abilities as well as a solo performance video for Yunho, who has been well-established as ATEEZ’s main dancer, and a cover of EXO’s “으르렁(Growl)”. The group also had a reality show chronicling their time spent training in the United States, during which they had a ninth member who ended up not debuting with the rest of them; and they also released a music video for their song “From”, which they made for the show.
While most KPOP groups move from concept to concept throughout their career, ATEEZ debuted with an original ongoing concept that was introduced in their debut singles “Pirate King” and “Treasure”; and a complex storyline that, according to the members themselves, still has much left to be revealed, and involves multiple timelines.
ATEEZ have admitted that they are aware that they are more popular outside of Korea than they are within their home country. This, coupled with the fact that KQ Entertainment is still a relatively small player in the game, means that the group has been snubbed by the rest of the KPOP industry in many ways, especially at award shows, despite the quality of their performances and content and their high album sales. In fact, their EP TREASURE EPILOGUE : Action To Answer (2020) was the number one album on Gaon Chart until IZ*ONE’s Bloom*Iz and then BTS’s MAP OF THE SOUL : 7 were released not long after.
Despite their popularity overseas, KQ Entertainment still is not anywhere near The Big 3 or HYBE in terms of its financial resources. ATEEZ fans, called ATINYs, have complained about the number of fan sign/fan call events hosted by various stores and online distributors—and, by extension, the number of pre-order benefits—making it more difficult and more expensive for those who collect the group’s merchandise, particularly photocards. It’s not difficult to assume that the reasoning behind this is that the company needs the money from the sales. Prior to March 30th of this year, ATEEZ was KQ Entertainment’s only group, as Block B is no longer active. (Interestingly enough, though, member ZICO is currently enjoying his solo career under KOZ Entertainment, which was, as revealed earlier, acquired by HYBE.) However, there has been a noticeable increase in the production quality of ATEEZ’s most recent content. From having people visible in the background of their debut music videos to practically making movies with “Guerrilla” and “HALAZIA”, it’s clear that the money is being put to good use rather than being spent frivolously.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about all of this is that BTS and ATEEZ have traveled similar paths throughout their careers—born from small companies, dismissed by the rest of the industry, unique music and concepts, hugely responsible for putting their companies on the map—and yet ARMYs and ATINYs find themselves engaged in fan wars constantly. People who are fans of both groups are also shunned by both fanbases, which has led to many unwilling to publicly claim their love for one group or the other for fear of being ostracized. ATEEZ themselves are big fans of BTS and have great respect for them, especially Wooyoung, who was once upset about being unable to attend one of BTS’s concerts in Seoul because of his own group’s obligations; and BTS in turn have responded favorably to ATEEZ, particularly during their cover of “피 땀 눈물(Blood Sweat & Tears)” at the 2019 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA). Additionally, Wooyoung and Yeosang were trainees at Big Hit Music with the members of TXT before moving to KQ Entertainment and Wooyoung still maintains a close friendship with fellow 99 liner Yeonjun.
The Tale of TOMORROW X TOGETHER
On March 4th, 2019, Big Hit Music debuted their second [boy] group, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, also known by the acronym TXT. Their debut track, “어느 날 머리에서 뿔이 자랐다 (CROWN)”, was generally well-received and the five boys were praised as “monster rookies”. However, there was—and still is—a significant portion of the overarching KPOP fandom that sees TXT as a group who rose to fame on the coattails of their world-famous sunbaes, BTS.
It’s difficult to escape the shadow of someone as big as BTS; and while TXT has great love and respect for their seniors, it’s hard to not feel the pressure of such an enormous reputation. In fact, it wasn’t even known that the two groups shared such a close relationship until earlier this year when TXT started sharing that they had visited some of the BTS members’ homes. RM has even worked on TXT’s “0X1=LOVESONG (I Know I Love You)" and the members revealed that he was very influential while working on the title track.
As the five young men enter their fifth year as a group, looking back at “어느 날 머리에서 뿔이 자랐다 (CROWN)”, it’s easy to see that it was extremely well-polished and high-quality for a debut, not just in terms of the music video’s production but the complexity of the choreography and the refreshing nature of the concept. “어느 날 머리에서 뿔이 자랐다 (CROWN)” is, truthfully, less of a debut song and more of a second or third comeback song but people just easily accepted it as the group’s starting point—because they were expected to be that good from the beginning.
In an interview with Variety in 2019, Bang Si-hyuk said, “People may think that TXT got really lucky and have an easy path, but they have the burden of meeting expectations that have been set. Rookies have a chance to grow and shine when they are still rookies, but TXT started on a higher level so it’s harder to showcase growth.”
TXT have put out a dynamic and versatile discography over the past four years, experimenting with a wide variety of genres and styles to push the boundaries of music and showcase new sides of themselves and their abilities as artists. At Bang Si-hyuk’s encouragement, they also started participating more in songwriting; and objectively speaking, the quality of their performances have always and continue to set them apart from other groups who debuted around the same time, something that fans of other fourth generation groups are loathe to admit. In spite of the way that others have downplayed their achievements, TXT is currently enjoying their second world tour, ACT : SWEET MIRAGE following a short showcase tour in the U.S. in 2019 and their first world tour, ACT : LOVE SICK in 2022.
It’s clear to anyone with a discerning eye and ear that BTS and TXT are two distinct groups; and while TXT has paid homage to their seniors in the past with perfectly executed covers—including this epic rendition of “불타오르네 (Burning Up (Fire))” at the 2021 KBS Song Festival with ENHYPEN—the type of music that they make is unique to them.
So why slander TXT at all?
There are a few possible reasons. One, a lot of people—other entertainment agencies, fans of other groups—resent BTS and HYBE’s success and are counting down the days until BTS is no longer active. Everyone is desperately looking for “the next BTS” in order to replicate their global impact; and while the purpose of TXT is definitely not to fill that spot once their fellow artists eventually depart the scene, no one wants to believe that Big Hit Music is capable of producing more than one successful group, especially one with the same kind of universal appeal.
Two, the market for KPOP groups is severely over capacity. There was a time when no one wanted to schedule a comeback during the same time as BTS for fear of failing to grasp the public’s attention; and now with TXT really coming into their own, it is likely that other companies will take their comebacks into consideration when planning their own. New groups are debuting on a regular basis throughout the year, which means that too many artists are fighting for the public’s attention at any given time. Timing a debut or comeback incorrectly can cause major setbacks for groups trying to get their names out there; and many older groups are still recovering from years of BTS sweeping charts and award shows, let alone preparing for the possibility of a repeat with TXT.
Three, although BTS have taken a step back from making music together due to upcoming military enlistments and their own individual projects, TXT is starting to hit numbers that are making other companies nervous. Their most recent album, The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION, landed atop seven different Billboard Charts, becoming their first album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. It also took the No. 1 spot on the Top Album Sales, Top Current Album Sales, and the World Albums charts; entered the Tastemaker Albums chart at No. 3; and had all its songs place in the top 15 of both the World Digital Song Sales and Hot Trending Songs charts. It also sent them back onto the Artist 100 at No. 1, making them the sixth KPOP act to ever top the chart.
Four, it is a goal for most, if not all, KPOP groups to break into the U.S. market. While PSY gained popularity abroad for “강남스타일 (Gangnam Style)” in 2012, BTS is largely credited with opening the doors for KPOP in the states, with more groups touring all over the country—and some returning to larger and larger venues every time. Now, on their second world tour in less than a year, TXT are making big moves that some older, more established groups can only dream of. Aside from racking up achievements at Korean award shows, the quintet has spent quite some time in the U.S., having performed “0X1=LOVESONG (I Know I Love You)” and “Good Boy Gone Bad” at Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve earlier this year. They were also invited back to The Late Late Show with James Corden to perform “Sugar Rush Ride” at the end of February after performing “Magic” in 2021; and now, after playing at Lollapalooza last summer along with labelmate j-hope, they are the first KPOP group ever to headline the festival.
At this point, I think it’s safe to say that TXT are not relying on BTS’s image for anything, having fully taken ownership of their own artistry and their own identities as leaders of fourth generation KPOP. Many of the same people who complained about the favoritism shown towards Big 3 artists are now complaining about the favoritism shown towards HYBE artists—which, in its own way, is completely unfounded. HYBE Corporation may be the biggest KPOP company in the industry but the fact of the matter is that they don’t sit at the same table as The Big 3 and never will, not because they don’t deserve to but because in spite of all they have achieved, The Big 3 will always see them as outsiders. BTS have never been able to shed that image either, so what advantages do TXT really even have that others don’t? Sure, money helps but in this case, it’s not being used to put TXT at a dishonest advantage. As Jin said at MAMA 2019, “There are methods of cheating but wouldn’t it be better to make music with more honest ways? I hope the time will come when everyone makes good music and listens to good music.”
Prior to heading off on their first world tour, TXT released their EP minisode 2: Thursday’s Child consisting of five songs, including “Trust Fund Baby”. The overall soundscape of the song is on the melancholy side and while the lyrics open themselves to be interpreted in more than one way, “Trust Fund Baby” smooths over pointed remarks directed at those who would accuse them of having been born with silver spoons in their mouths and hides them in plain sight under the disguise of a song about heartbreak. Moreover, trust fund babies are usually seen as children born to rich parents who have never had to work for anything they have but we already know that TXT has worked harder than anyone else to prove themselves. Truthfully, it’s hard to hear lyrics such as “The shining spoon to me is someone else's story” and “Yeah, I know, I know I'm not like them/It doesn't work even if you add and multiply” and not understand them as plainly as they are said: TXT will never be trust fund—or industry—babies.
xikers: A New Generation of KQ Fellaz
On March 30th, 2023, KQ Entertainment debuted their second [boy] group called xikers. Formerly known as KQ Fellaz 2, the ten trainees went through much of the same process as their sunbaes ATEEZ did before them. They released one performance video prior to debut, called “Iffy”, as well as a music video for “Geek”, which the group made for their reality show documenting their time training in the U.S. The video begins with the words “RESPECT TO ‘ATEEZ - FROM’” right underneath the title of the song as a sign of their admiration for their seniors and the acknowledgement of their having walked the same path before them.
KQ Entertainment, having learned from ATEEZ’s debut journey, did make some changes this time around; and took the opportunity of having an older, more experienced group to try something new. During their time as KQ Fellaz 2, the ten members also went out busking and accompanied ATEEZ on their most recent world tour, The Fellowship Tour: Break the Wall, where they opened for their sunbaes and gained some live concert performance experience. They also were invited as performers for KCON Japan and Thailand; and starred on The Player: KPOP Quest, a show on SBS Entertainment’s KPOP platform Inkigayo, where they competed against each other on missions as well as together in front of a panel of judges who provided feedback on their performances. Songs covered during the show included The Wonder Girls’ “Like this”, Kara’s “루팡 (Lupin)”, NCT DREAM’s “맛 (Hot Sauce)”, THE BOYZ’s “THRILL RIDE”, and ATEEZ’s “멋 (The Real)”, as well as their pre-debut single “도깨비집 (TRICKY HOUSE)” and a dance cover of Lil Nas X’s song with Jack Harlow, “Industry Baby”.
Now, the dance cover of “Industry Baby” is quite possibly the most interesting little tidbit about xikers’ pre-debut and debut. The song makes plenty of pointed references aimed at the Western music industry with lyrics like “You was never really rootin' for me anyway”, “Funny how you said it was the end, yeah”, and “They couldn't wait to just bash me”. Featured on Lil Nas X’s album, MONTERO (2021), “Industry Baby” was nominated for a large collection of awards, of which it won several. It is likely that xikers chose this particular song to cover not only for its popularity but as a way to indicate that they are aware of what people are saying about them and to respond by using irony—because they are maybe the furthest from being industry babies as one could possibly get. However, they’ve decided that if that’s what people are going to think of them, they might as well lean into it because there’s little they can do to change people’s minds. All they can do is continue to show their best efforts.
What this also goes to show is that people have been prepared to hate xikers before they’d even debuted, if for no other reason than the fact that they are their own unique kind of group, just like ATEEZ. They don’t follow the traditional models for KPOP, they don’t keep up with the trends, they’re making the music that they want to make and blurring the lines between genres along the way—and that kind of artistic freedom is something that makes others envious.
xikers debuted with their EP HOUSE OF TRICKY : Doorbell Ringing, which consists of seven tracks. KQ’s usual producing team worked their magic but it was a very pleasant surprise to see that after having a hand in his own group’s music, ATEEZ’s Hongjoong also participated in writing and producing all seven tracks. Their debut showcase was hosted and initially distributed by SBS Entertainment’s channel, THE K-POP, which also streams the show for which ATEEZ’s Yeosang has been an MC these past two years, THE SHOW and THE SHOW CHOICE! KQ Entertainment uploaded the showcase themselves two days later. Some people might misinterpret this possible use of industry connections as a way to further argue that xikers are taking advantage of a way in that others don’t have but if you look at well-established groups from larger companies, you’ll see that they don’t stream their showcases via Korean mainstream broadcasting channels. TXT and SEVENTEEN, for example, streamed their most recent comeback showcases via their own official YouTube channels and the HYBE LABELS YouTube channel; and SM Entertainment is known for hosting their annual SMTOWN events such as KWANGYA on their own channel. With the UNIVERSE platform having officially closed in February, which is where ATEEZ previously held their showcases prior to streaming them via Mnet’s digital studio channel, M2, xikers needed the viewership of SBS Entertainment’s channel to increase their chances of building a fanbase among the general public who may have no previous knowledge of them in connection to ATEEZ or KQ Entertainment.
xikers have officially been a group for just over a week. It’s a little early to really gauge how they are being received within the industry and amongst fans but they have been promoting pretty heavily, focusing on “도깨비집 (TRICKY HOUSE)” and “XIKEY” during their circuit of the various music shows as well as giving cute performances via 1theK’s GAP CRUSH, M2′s RELAY DANCE, and blip’s Harry Potter version of “도깨비집 (TRICKY HOUSE)”. They have also released a couple of videos via hello82′s channel, which has produced and continues to produce content with ATEEZ, including one where they interact with children and one where they try to make tortillas. Promotional period aside, the group is also making the rounds of the same distribution channels as ATEEZ for fan sign and fan call events, which means that KQ Entertainment is still counting on dedicated fans and collectors to participate for the pre-order benefits and for the chance to speak to their favorite idols.
Conclusion
In the history of KPOP as an industry, there is much to cover. From the first generation to the current generation, trends have evolved, concepts have changed, and companies are learning and trying new things with their groups all the time. However, in my opinion, the biggest takeaway from all of this information that I have compiled for the purposes of this essay is that big companies have a way of manipulating public perception and a tendency to abuse that ability. Redirecting attention towards a potential distraction is one way to keep fans invested in the things they want you to focus on; and if they can make their enemy your enemy, then that leaves very little work for them in terms of filtering out competition. Those companies are counting on fans to continue to ostracize TXT and xikers—and, by extension, BTS and ATEEZ—because the foundation for it is already in place. And while I said at the beginning of this essay that there really are no industry babies in KPOP, there is indeed a thing called privilege; and the ones who have it want you to not notice that they do.
The truth is that no one likes outsiders—not really—and regardless of how far HYBE Corporation and KQ Entertainment and their artists go with their achievements and their ability to break boundaries and set records, they will always be treated as though they don’t belong. Nevertheless, these four groups have so much to be proud of and it is expected that they will continue to live outside the limitations of the industry for years to come. Whether their fan bases can learn to get along is another thing entirely but that is a story for a different time.
Notes:
*Personally, I don’t believe in “The Big 4″ (HYBE/JYP/SM/YG). HYBE is in a category of their own.
Wanna start getting into reactions again recommendations?
If you want it for a certain group comment that as well but plz only the groups I have in my linked post. I only do do groups I know I’m sorry if yours isn’t there. I’m trying to get into more groups and will be updating my group list always it’s linked
All recommendations will be posted with credit of the person who sent them in❤️
life so hard when you just wanna play videogames and watch tv and read for fun and do absolutely nothing all at the same time while needing to read 100+ pages for class.
The K-pop community is abuzz with questions and speculations as Chaeri, the only female member of BTS, and the leader of Ateez, Hongjoong, have not been seen together for quite some time. Adding to the intrigue, recent reports suggest that Chaeri's contract as Ateez's choreographer with KQ Entertainment has come to an end.
Fans are left wondering about the reasons behind Chaeri's departure from her role as the mastermind behind Ateez's captivating dance routines. While she proved her talent and left an indelible mark on the group's performances, the sudden silence surrounding her professional life is leaving many perplexed.
Furthermore, the once inseparable couple of K-pop is raising eyebrows with their apparent absence from each other's lives. No sightings, no public appearances together, and no social media interactions have fans concerned about the status of their relationship.
In a world where idols' every move is scrutinized, the mysterious circumstances surrounding Chaeri and Hongjoong's recent actions are only fueling the rumor mill. Fans are eager to know if there's a rift between the two or if they are merely keeping their personal lives private.
As the duo's fans eagerly await any updates or official statements, the K-pop world is on edge, hoping for clarity and reassurance. Until then, the question marks continue to grow, and the mystery deepens, leaving everyone to wonder what's next for Chaeri and Hongjoong.
Twitter: Search results on #Chaejoong
💭 The total lack of updates about Chaeri and Hongjoong is seriously, like, causing me to lose it! Seriously, somebody, anyone, pretty please, shower us with some news about our nation's couple 🥹
💭 I am totally convinced that they're taking a break from the spotlight to have some super sweet quality time together, just the two of them! 🥰💕 Ahh, my fangirl heart is bursting with happiness at the thought! 😻💖 I'm beyond excited for their comeback, 'cause I know they'll be back stronger and happier 🌟💪 Let's all send them all the love and support they deserve
💭 I can't even deal with the fact that Chaeri won't be Ateez's choreographer anymore ❤️🩹
💭 I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Chaeri and Hongjoong to surprise us with some good news soon! They've been through so much together
💭 It's strange not seeing them together lately. I hope they're both doing well and that their relationship is as strong as ever!
💭 I hope Chaeri's decision to leave the choreographer role was her own choice and not due to any conflicts with Hongjoong
💭 I hope the media will give them space and not speculate too much about their relationship. They deserve to have their privacy respected
💭 Honestly, I think Chaeri and Hongjoong would be better off without each other. They don't seem to fit together, and it's time they moved on
💭 I can't wait for them to break up. Maybe then we can stop hearing about their relationship and focus on the music
Hongjoong at the airport after the article was published
Twitter: Search results on #Chaejoong
💭 Hongjoong's response has me even more anxious. I hope everything's alright with Chaeri
💭 Those who are fans of Hongjoong know that that smile on his face is a facade. HE WAS REALLY NERVOUS
💭 Maybe it's just a private matter they don't want to share with the public. Let's trust they'll handle it together
💭 Stop saying he was upset because they broke up, the reporter was clearly invading his personal space and assuming false information, Hongjoong did wisely to ignore him
💭 I won't believe they broke up even if they release an official statement. they are THE match
💭 I hope they're taking care of each other. It must be hard for them to deal with rumors and speculation
💭 I hope Chaeri finally realized that she deserves better 🤡
💭 We should remember they're not obligated to share every aspect of their lives with us
Chaeri on Weverse
Bouncy Challenge
Comments section
💬 ATE AND LEFT NO CRUMBS
💬 Yunho and Mingi don't care if their captain and Chaeri are still dating, they will keep being their babies 😩
💬 lets all clap for this woman who, before leaving her role, blessed all of us by putting together this choreo
💬 The fact that she can perform male group choreography better than men 😮💨💀
💬 we deserved a challenge with Chaeri and Hongjoong
💬 BABE WAKE UP CHAERI BOUNCY CHALLENGE JUST DROPPED
Thinking about the Real Action Heroes line again and how I'll probably never own one because of how fucking expensive it is to get one secondhand
They're similar to the Super Action Statues but they come dressed in real fabric clothing and they look a lot more doll-like except for the sculpted hair (though I don't think the clothing is designed to be removable and idk if anyone's ever tried bc generally you don't want to damage something you spent $120+ new/$300+ secondhand on)(jk the clothes are removable I just can't find photo evidence lol)
The JoJo line was only around from 2009-2012 and they made SDC and SO Jotaros, SDC Dio, StarPlat, The World, Josuke, Crazy Diamond, DiU and TSKR Rohans, DiU and DMQ Kiras, KQ, Giorno, GE, Bruno, Sticky Fingers, Mista, Jolyne, Stone Free, Pucci, Whitesnake, Weather, and Gyro (and also Baoh and Cool Shock BT)
And also they're 1/6 scale so compared to SAS they are Fucking Huge
in which I make a moodboard and write some calculated nonsense about my biases as taylor swift songs (my queen) !
status, coming soon...
❪ kpop masterlist ❫
━━━━━━━━━━❪ 🖤 ❫━━━━━━━━━━
𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍 as ...call it what you want by taylor swift.
stray kids. skz. leader. producer. '97. aussie-korean. my ult / husband. christopher bahng. 3racha. vocalist. rapper. dancer. gnabnahc. don't touch his laptop aka the mother-load. swarovski knows what's up. peak husband material.
𝐕 as ...maroon by taylor swift.
bts. bangtansonyeondan. vocalist. '95. korean. daegu boy. celine's top model. kim taehyung. thv. yeontan's dad. his boxy-smile, ugh. he's served enough, send him home please. visual. actor.
𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐘𝐔 as ...dress by taylor swift.
seventeen. svt. rapper. vocalist. visual. hip-hop unit. kim mingyu. my favourite tall tan boy. vampire. '97. korean. mr bullied by his 12 brothers. his lisp dear lord. cute puppy with the body of a greek god. dior, bvlgari & cartier doing God's work out here. min9yu_k.
𝐉𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐎 as ...gorgeous taylor swift.
blackpink. bp. vocalist. visual. mother. '95. kim jisoo. actress. ceo of blissoo. jisoo turtle-rabbit kim. i am so in love with her goofy ass. sooyaaa__. flower. pretty sure she's a billionaire. korean. blackpink in ur area (except for mine). blackpink is indeed the revolution.
𝐘𝐄𝐉𝐈 as ...new romantics by taylor swift.
itzy. leader. main dancer. vocalist. rapper. '00. korean. hwang yeji. a literal lightfury. the cat is cating with this one. the eyes chico. a total loser girl but I love her for it. lucy hwang. my oppa. yezyizhere. ms english is about confidence. visual. midzy's protector fr.
𝐒𝐀𝐍 as ...lover by taylor swift.
ateez. vocalist. dancer. demon liner. '99. choi san. korean. mountain. my kitty cat. the fluff is fluffing. blonde brought me to my knees. stage presence. the de-twinkafacation is too real. shoulders for days. mr flirts too much his photocard that I don't have should be sleeping on the porch. deja vu eyebrows... ya just had to be there. kq give my boys their own insta accounts right now. totally kisses his band mate jung wooyoung.
𝐓𝐀𝐄𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐆 as ...delicate by taylor swift.
nct. nct 127. nct u og. super m. leader. lee taeyong. korean. rapper. dancer. '95. a parent of 26. korean. bless his hair. mr ty. my bubu. he is peak comfort. I just want to hug him forever and never let go. ai. he bleeds neo-green. taeoxo_nct. please don't send him away, he's already been serving since 2016. sticker's no.1 defender. visual. tik_tyong.
𝐓𝐄𝐍 as ...king of my heart by taylor swift.
nct. wayv. dancing king. vocalist. rapper. '95. a cat dad. a sassy king. chittaphon leechaiyapornkul. lee yongqin. gender-envy is real people. mr oh no your have to taste it. nct u og. thai and kinda chinese too I thinks. I wanna say multilingual king but according to bambam he can't even speak thai (his mother-tongue) well. a 10/10 fr. tenlee_1001. birthday was a cultural reset. visual. pretty sure he's in love with a guy named johnny suh from chicago.
𝐉𝐄𝐍𝐎 as ...mastermind by taylor swift.
nct. nct dream. dancer. rapper. '00. lee jeno. a samoyed doppelganger. so fluffy. leejen_o_423. hot sauce jeno is my roman empire. visual. korean. makes my heart so warm. kinda wanna put him in my pocket. he might be in love with some kid that goes by the name of na jaemin.
𝐊𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐀 as ...enchanted by taylor swift.
aespa. leader. rapper. main dancer. '00. real ? I think not. literally ai. my adorable stupid cheese cat. yoon jimin. korean. one of them laughing slappers. such a cutie pls just get in my pocket and let me protect your forever rina. katarinabluu. quite literally meows. a cat has never cat-ed like her before. run run run kitty kitty run run. visual.
𝐊𝐀𝐙𝐔𝐇𝐀 as ...dancing with our hands tied by taylor swift.
le sserafim. rapper. vocalist. dancer. ballerina. '03. zuha. japanese. literally lee hojung's sister because, huh. looks a little line jeon wonwoo too, but that just could be me. nakamura kazuha. my girlfriend (real). body goals fr, SLAY QUEEN. such a cutie patootie it makes me cry. the rizz is lowkey but so real. zuhazana. the swan song is literally her song. SOUNDS LIKE MONSTER BABY KING KONG, such a banger. visual.
𝐒𝐎𝐎𝐁𝐈𝐍 as ...wonderland by taylor swift.
txt. tomorrow x together. leader. vocalist. dancer. that dolphin song boy. '00. choi soobin. my favourite tall awkward and shy boy. he's just such a cutie pls. korean. I live in his dimples. I love that we collectively hate on math, my soulmate fr. you know you know soobin. page.soobin. so boyfriend dammit. visual. BRING BACK PURPLE HAIRED SOOBIN RN.
𝐉𝐀𝐘 as ...getaway car by taylor swift.
enhypen. enha. an all-rounder honestly. he plays guitar and that's hot. '02. blonde jay makes me spiral. korean but spent some time in america too. park jongseong. if angry bird, then why so gorgeous. he shouldn't be allowed to wear jeans because holy moly. he makes me giggle like a girl and I LOATHE IT because I'm supposed to be a feminist jason (his name isn't jason btw). I wanna kiss him. my boyfriend (REAL).
𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐊 as ...paper rings by taylor swift.
p1harmony. piwon. p1h. rapper. dancer. such a cutie I can't take it. he likes almonds. hwang intak. intakie. intak-attack. taki taki rumba. '03. he's soooo... BEIDJEDKWNDKED. I can't think straight when I see the guy. I love him. korean. his music taste is bangin'. I can't handle short-haired intak lord haveth mercy. okay okay, but fr this time, he's my boyfriend.
targeted boycotts are as we know the most efficient and this isn’t me calling for a boycott, but to keep people informed below the cut are lists of kpop artists with affiliations to labels mentioned on zionistsinmusic on twitter
UMG (under an american umbrella label it owns or has joint shares in highup ent [kor releases only], yg ent [bp kor releases only], the black label [somi and taeyang's kor releases only]; under capitol music group it owns or has joint shares in sm ent; under republic it owns or has joing shares in big hit [txt kor releases only], jype [twice, skz, and itzy's kor releases only], under universal music japan it has u-cube a "joint venture with" cube ent, virgin music > republic records > used as an imprint for txt jp releases; through third party distribution umg is affiliated with yuehua ent)
- 4minute, apink, ateez, beast, bigbang, blackpink, boys republic (actually managed by umg), btob, bts, dean, everglow, snsd, infinite, iu, iz*one, kep1er, lim youngwoong, loona (japan), miss a (since 2012), monsta x, nct 127, p1harmony, psy (since 2012), rainbow, stray kids, shinee, somi, stayc, super junior, t-ara, the rose, triples, tri.be, twice, txt, wonder girls, xikers, and zerobaseone
note: a lot of these have (south korea) next to the name, i don’t know if that means they only have a deal for that country because other artists like stray kids and lim youngwoong don’t have that specification
SONY (owns columbia, wakeone, dreamcatcher company; distributes modhaus, chrome ent, kq ent, starship, top media, wakeone, wm ent)
- riize, ive, ateez, bts, brown eyed girls, wjsn, crayon pop, dreamcatcher, everglow, exid, monsta x's i.m (astrisked, can't find why), kep1er, lim youngwoong, stayc, tfn/t1419, the rose, triples, wings, xikers, zerobaseone
COLUMBIA (owned by sony)
- ateez, ive (usa), kep1er, p1harmony, stayc, triples, treasure (usa), xikers, zerobaseone
VIRGIN (owned by umg)
- nct 127, shinee (japan)
WARNER (through warner records it owns or has shares in sm [aespa kor releases only]; included in their international labels is warner music korea which is an international copyright holder and distributor for brand new music [younite, ab6ix, as one, eluphant, miss s] and keystone ent [blank2y])
- aespa (outside of sk), b1a4, bigbang, cherry bullet, choi junhee/choi seoah/juniel (taiwan and japan), cn blue, day6, ft island, got7, iu, jyj, kep1er, loossemble, loona, p1harmony, sf9, twice
as always if any of this information is incorrect or outdated, please feel free to correct me in a reblog or an ask and i'll update the information in this post. i'll try to keep up with any new companies that are brought up on the twitter account mentioned at the beginning of this post. i'm not here to call for a boycott of every artist mentioned here because i don't feel i am in the position to do so, but i'm not discouraging you from choosing to do so. in fact i encourage you to listen to these artists unofficially at the very least.
i'm not sure the extent to which these companies get revenue from these artists, i don't know if it's just streams or if other things like merch sales and youtube views contribute but quite a few of these artists' companies are being boycotted currently or in the near future anyway, so i would suggest you not buy any merch or watch youtube videos officially from them. this post has more info on downloading music, youtube videos (with subtitles), and the boycotts i mentioned so i hope you all will check that out too. tris @bandzboy has also been posting about and sharing twitter posts about zionism in music, especially in the kpop industry so i suggest you check out her blog as well
ok but real talk I didn't like the promo + marketing for it. honestly I feel like hybe is rly messing up w enhypen, what with the "pov types of bfs" tiktoks (there r better ways of posting thirst traps - learn from ateez and skz) and the promos and teasers including wallpapers. it felt more like fanservice for the super delulu fans more than actual promo. also I feel like the marketing and graphic design could have been a lot better bc while it might have worked some time ago, now competing groups like skz and ateez who have/had comebacks recently or soon have much better marketing, design, etc. this is kinda controversial but imo I rly kinda wish that enha was under jype instead bc the production + marketing under jype is a lot better than hybe - my friend and I were comparing my manifesto and her maxident and while both albums are really really good, the product for maxident was imo better designed, w the pc concepts better, poster seperate from the lyric poster, cd design better, etc. imo (and again, controversial) hybes kinda slipping after bts' success - txt recent line distribution, enha pov tiktoker, lsfm promoting one song 17 million times, etc. not even jype specifically - even a label like kq which actually respects it's artists (those crazy stalker atinys given legal trouble vs whatever the hell belift was doing).
I digress but the point is - while the members were really really good and talented I do wish the production and marketing was a bit better.
also ik I ranted ab Jays songwriting credit already, but I genuinely am rly happy ab it and would've been regardless of the member bc I genuinely rly like it when the members r involved in the production and development of the album/song beyond just vocals and visuals bc it brings a rly nice element to it so I do hope we see more of that!!
tl;dr: album was so good. the songs were rly good but I do wish the production and marketing was better. the members ate (as usual). I rly liked that member/s were involved in early stages!
-synopsis: being a idol is hard, being an idol in a relationship is even harder. y/n being best friends with yang seoyoung, jungwon’s sister it’s hard to keep the secret that she’s dating her brother especially when she said he’s off limits. things get more complicated when y/n and jungwon have to be mc’s together.
PARADISE is a 5 member girl group under KQ Entertainment. The group consists of Y/n, Seoyoung, Athena, Moon, and HyeJin. They debuted April 1st, 2022 with the digital album “Tomboy”.
PARADISE played by g-idle — the group, ateez’s little sister’s. they had a successful debut and gained a lot of fans when tomboy was released.
LEE YN played by lee chaein from purple kiss — our main character, she is 05’ liner and loves her boyfriend so much and talks about him anytime she can get. she‘s closest to her group member yang seoyoung, who’s her boyfriend’s sister.
YANG SEOYOUNG played by kang haerin from new jeans — our main character’s best friend. she’s also enhy pen’s jungwon little sister. 06 liner’, a very big bts fan, jimin is her bias btw.
KIM MOON played by bae sumin from stayc — our main character’s member. she’s the oldest in the group, an 01’ liner so the girls really look up to her. she’s also the leader and a big twice fan, mina being her bias.
ATHENA LEE played by danielle marsh from new jeans — our main character’s member. she’s also a 05’ liner, her and y/n being a few months apart in age. she has a girlfriend that the girls know about though, huh yunjin of le sserafim.
PARK HYEJIN played by oh haewon from nmixx — our main character’s member. she’s a 03’ liner and really close friends with ningning of aespa and is kinda the only one who can tell that y/n has a close relationship with jungwon but doesn’t say anything to respect her privacy.
profiles one - paradise
next ♡ masterlist.
author’s note: layout inspired by @kynrki
ditto! a jungwon smau.
genre: established relationship, secret relationship, angst, fluff
within the atiny fandom, some atiny that bias the female member have claimed the sub-fandom name "sailor-pies". many of these fans either bias sena, or are solo stans within the fandom. the name "sailor-pies" come from a combo of the words “sailor” and “pies” with sailor from sena’s favorite anime sailor moon and pies from the snack moon pies.
NICKNAMES : not my sailor guardians
EMOJI : 🥮 (moonpie)
FAN DEMOGRAPHIC
AGE RANGE : many of sena’s fans are older than her, especially when she was in cupid’s rejects. nowadays there’s kind of a mix of ages with some fans now being around sena’s age or younger. however there is still a good percentage of fans that are older than her.
GENDER : as of 2023, around 60% of atiny that stan sena identify as female. this the highest that it’s been since before she left cupid’s rejects. 25% of atiny that stan sena identity as male which is the lowest it’s been since 2017. when sena first debuted she had a majority of male fans — which is what kq wanted, but as ateez got popular the want for that by the company went down. there’s also around a 15% of atiny that stan sena that identify as “other” which leaves it pretty ambiguous. within recently years (since 2020) sena has gained popularity among the lgbtq+ community especially in south korea.
REGION : sena is most popular in east asia, north america, oceania, and europe. her largest fanbases are found in korea, japan, thailand, america, italy, austraila, and new zealand.
FAN REPUTATION
FRIENDLY : many star-pies have shown numerous times to be friendly with other atiny and fandoms. the only real exception is wooyoung stans. many sena stans are also rather outgoing and the first ones to help new atiny learn about the group and such. so if you want to learn about sena and ateez, star-pies are your go to on that topic.
POSSESSIVE : this trait mainly comes from fans thinking that the other members of ateez are trying to take sena away from them. they don’t want sena and the guys to be acting friendly with each other for any reason. they also don’t like seeing her possible interacting with other male idols for the same reason. fans with this trait claim to have sena’s best intentions, but we all know that they don’t actually mean that. of course as expected quite a few saesangs of sena have this trait.
PROTECTIVE : this trait is the opposite of the previous one in the sense that fans who are protective only want what is best for sena. they don’t want a repeat of sour grapes and cupid’s rejects. star-pies / atiny with this trait are quick to defend sena and her place in ateez saying that ateez wouldn’t be ateez without all nine of them.
HUMORUS : star-pies are hilarious and are great at catching screenshots of sena’s reactions during videos. they are also not below clowning sena or one of the boys when they do something silly. 9 times out of 10 a star-pie is gonna have a meme face of sena as their pfp or an edit of her with a clown face.
FAN FAVORITES
ANTHEMS : nobody knows, halazia, cyberpunk, the ring, guerrilla, the real, wave, deja vu, new world, take me home
FAVORITE ALBUMS : the world ep. fin: will ( ateez ) zero: fever epilogue ( ateez ) zero: fever, pt.3 ( ateez ) treasure epilogue: action to answer ( ateez ) treasure ep.fin: all to answer ( ateez ) treasure ep.3: one to all ( ateez )
FAVORITE TITLE TRACKS : halazia, the real, deja vu, wave, answer, wonderland, pirate king
FAVORITE B SIDES : nobody knows, this world, cyberpunk, horizon, take me home, aurora, promise
FAVORITE COVERS : u - go - girl ( hyori ) boy with luv ( bts ) leave the door open ( bruno mars ) stay ( kid laroi & justin bieber ) speechless ( aladdin ) step ( kara )
FAN TRIVIA
star-pies have a strong feud with wooyoung stans and often get into fights with them on social media. they started feuding around 2019 when videos of sena and wooyoung from a fansign “arguing” with each other was circulating on twitter.
most star-pies have been fans since sena's cupid's rejects days that came over when she debuted in ateez. this is also where a lot of her solo stans come from.
a lot of star-pies actually hated ateez’s concept for sena when they first debuted, saying it didn’t fit the idol at all; however, opinion on this as a majority has seemed to change after inception came out. this is mainly from cupid’s rejects stans not wanting to let go of the past.
there’s actually a group of star-pies who are stay-at-moms and have been dubbed “star-moms”. these fans first gain attention within the fandom after a group of moms showed up to support some of sena’s solo work in 2021. this caused atiny and netizens to dub sena as the “nation’s daughter-in-law” because of how she has quite a few mom stans.
a lot of sena stans that are also multi-stans are notably mainly girl group stans. this probably adds to the fact that sena is only female in the group and girl group stans only check ateez out because of sena.
a bad joke that went around in the early days of ateez was atiny calling sena “oppa” because jongho had accidentally did it. however, like most jokes this was taken to far and sena had asked fans to not call her that and even cried once at a fansign because of it. since then most fans have listened to sena; there are still some who do it thinking they are “friends” or “close” to the idol.
super random but i just realized we got the same biases in riize and xikers 🤭 btw how long have you been stanning them both and when did you choose your biases? <3
STOPPPPP you're hunter + anton + shotaro too????? NAUR THIS IS A JOKEE
Ive been stanning xikers for little over a year, discovered them through ateez when they were promoting as kq fellaz 2. Hunter has also been my bae for little over a year, literally first glance and i had fallen hard wai-
LOOK. AT. BEAUTIFUL- SURREAL- URGHHHHH HES SO HSISKSJSKSOSKSNSJ
yeah and idk if ive said this or not but i have a really big english kink.. i think that says a lot 🤷♀️
As of riize, i heard about get a guitar but never paid attention to it bc wth am going to do with a guitar?? Learned about them more through a friend that was obsessing over anton (@yawnzzznnn COUGH COUGH) and then i listened to get a guitar.. it was okay. Listened to memories and that. Was. My song.
I had already knew most of the members names bc i was reading fanfics of them bc i wanted something new to read-
Ummm.. how/why did i start stanning for me to be able to stan a group, i have to find a song that i like a lot, and then a member that really reels me into the group, making me want to learn more about them. In this case it was seunghan haha
So erm.. i remember talk saxy came out but i never listened to it, just saw the thumbnail on youtube and i was just like "oh cool!" And continued on with my day. A few days later though (fun fact talk saxy was released on my kpop anniversary) it finally dawned on me that they had a new mv so i listened to it at school. It was just okay. Watched the mv when i got home; the song was songing (for context, when i have a fav song i play the crap out of it then get tired of it a week later.. talk saxy took me a month to recover-) and seunghan was seunghaning.
So uhh.. decided to look more into them. My bias list at the time was seunghan.. maybe shotaro then sohee then sungchan (reminds me of yujun) and then anton (idk if anton was up or down or not)
Shotaro caught my eye bc usually hes really giggly and smiley but i had watched the bts of talk saxy and my jaw DROPPED bc how he so foine like?????
As far as anton.. me bestieee (@starryriize) is sohee biased and i was too kinda, but anton was catching my eye a little bit so i just declared he would be my bias even though i thought it would change in a week or so (IT DIDNT HAHAHAH)
I don't really remember when anton started giving.. like bro just spawned on top and just stayed there 💀 i think it was when i was watching those old riize videos where their preparing everything and anton was so SOFTTT and TINYYY and SQUISHYY (i get lots of cute agression with riize)
And honestly, i thought his english was just okay so i stopped looking it up. But i think i looked it up like a week later again just because or something like that AND OH MY GOD
i also love me some good predebut anton 😋
Anyways, cant exactly pinpoint when i started being down bad for the boy (bc im so down bad its crazy form 😞) just know bro came out of no where and hes not going just yet.
Sorry for the rant lmao, i always find it so interesting to think back on my pre-stan days and i usually think about it with myself, ive never actually told anyone so this feels a bit new.
This list is likely to change depending on what day I'm posting it, but I just rewatched #1 on this list three times in a row and felt like making a list.
1. It's You - ATEEZ (Yeosang, San, Wooyoung) - this video makes me absolutely feral. The song was already my favorite on the album and then they went and released this?!?! It's so hot?! So Sexy!?!! I have an irrational fear that KQ will take it away because it's too perfect and sexy and wonderful and we don't deserve it. I was a Wooyoung/Seonghwa bias beforehand but now it's a four-way tie because holy shit have you seen them???
2. BTBT - B.I (Performance Ver.) - This was the first non-BTS video I became obsessed with, again after falling in love with the song and overplaying it (it was my top-played song of 2022). The dance is amazing, the way they flow, and it's such a simple video (the official video has cool cyberpunk vibes) but it works. This is the only video I've ever watched derivative videos for (dance covers, reactions) because I just can't get enough of it. (gif from the official vid bc the performance vid is criminally under-giffed)
3. Black Swan - BTS - Again, another one where the song got me first. The aesthetic of this video is just so good. I mean, the corsets speak for themselves, but I love how Jimin's amazing dancing gets such a highlight, the backdrops for Yoongi's meaningful verse, how good they all look. The dancing is great, the setting is beautiful, I can rewatch this ten times in a row and still want to watch it again.
4. Move - Taemin - Soooo good. Taemin is considered one of the best dancers in k-pop and he is showing you exactly why in this video. I love him embracing his androgyny here, with the more feminine dance moves and outfit silhouettes. The song is one of my favorites of all time and the video does it complete justice.
5. Rover - Kai - Hot hot hot. Kai. Shirtless. Blond. Those sunglasses?! I didn't like the dance much at first but it has really grown on me over time. Also, apparently this song is a cover/remake?
6. Super - Seventeen - You know, I can't figure out why I love this video so much. Like it's super basic as a concept - just all of them and a whole heap of dancers in one scene. But it works. As soon as they revealed Woozi being held up like he's on a throne with his little smirk, I knew I was done. The dance is so fun and I never get tired of watching this one.
7. Daechwita - Agust D - It's hard to decide between this and Haegeum, but this is the one that starts the story and my Agust D obsession, so obviously I had to choose it. I love the concept and how he lays out the Agust D story in just one mv. Royal Gangster Yoongi is just hnnng. I love the power here.
8. God's Menu - Stray Kids - This one is just super fun. I love all the different outfits - and like, Han in the chef's outfit is top-tier Han, he looks so hot.
9. Shalala - Taeyong - This is one of the most fun music videos I've ever seen. I love all of the different versions of Taeyong and he's the only idol I've seen pull off that shade of lime-green hair. The macarena dance should not work at all and yet it does.
10. Hip - Mamamoo - They slaaayyy in this video. I'm so obsessed with Queen Hwasa literally spitting on her haters. Moonbyul is amazing as always, I love how they have her in various roles that are typically male "anything you can do, I can do better" vibes. Also I really want to dye my hair the same shade as Whee-In's in this video.
11. Don't Call Me - Shinee - I call this the 'weird hat video'. Their hats are ridiculous. And you can tell Minho is really feeling it, just look at the gif. I love it.
KWON GYEONG was born on DECEMBER 2, 1989 in MONTREAL, CANADA to a game designer father and magazine editor mother. she is the pairs second child with one older sister and one younger brother. she lived in montreal until she turned nineteen before she moved to KOREA for university. while in korea, she would internship at numerous entertainment companies before being hired by SM entertainment to as a creative director for the companies upcoming boy group, EXO.
in 2014, gyeong would leave SM and begin to work at BIGHIT MUSIC where she would work with BTS; she would also work at SOURCE MUSIC with GFRIEND. it wouldn't be until 2016, that she would leave BIGHIT and go to a newer and smaller company, KQ entertainment and begin working with them. during 2016, gyeong would watch PRODUCE 101 were she would recognize you from her time as Source Music.
after the survival show ended, she approached the CEO of KQ and told him how she had an idea for a soloist and that you would be the perfect trainee for. after getting approval for this, gyeong would go to Source Music and ask you to come train under KQ instead of Source Music. after you agreed, gyeong would immediately begin working on finalizing her project that would later be the introduction to the EXILE HER LORE – which is more popularly known as PROJECT ECLIPSE or ECLIPSE.
since working at KQ, gyeong has become well-known for being the mastermind behind you and all your concepts and storyline.