#then again so is parx tumblr

[livingdeadvamp]

I could never be on parx twitter because "I'm not able to buy a frog plushie with the band name on because I'm not American" really isn't a big deal. Like yeah it kinda sucks but I'm seeing people get SO upset. It's a plushie in a common style. You'll probably be able to find one elsewhere. I found a similar green one on Vinted! At the end of the day, you don't NEED merch. Idk take a deep breath and maybe log off for a bit if you're genuinely upset over not being able to buy a toy frog

#parxies highkey need to reevaluate how they interact with merch #its. not normal and slightly worrying #this is coming from me btw im VERY materialistic #i love buying things i love making purchases #but idk if stuff like this upsets you then you need to take it less seriously #in a weird way im almost (almost) grateful im working class cos its forced me to think about being careful and not just buying EVERYTHING #moral of the story is that parx twitter is a hell hole #then again so is parx tumblr #shit were all fucked

[emilyblame]

ok, kids, here we go! (again)

a week ago i asked you to participate in a poll, as i do. and 75 of you joined in. first of all: thank you, hope you had fun, please don't hate me. secondly, the questions were:

1. which ablum cycle was the band on when you started listening?

2. which one is your favorite EP or album?

3. pick your top 10 favorite songs.

4. tell me you most favorite song. The #1

the main questions i wanted to answer with this survey were:

1. which is the fan favorite album right now?

2. when did you guys started listening to Waterparks? (just out of curiosity, see how it changed from 2 years ago when i first did this)

3. is there an asociation between the cycle you started listening to the band and which your favorite album is? (actually wanted to check if this still stands or not.)

4. which song is the fan favorite? and is it actually everyone's favorite?

before going right into it, i wanted to thank all of you who participated in this one more time. last time i did this particular poll, there was a total of 174 people who filled this (including me.) this time there were 75 (excluding me), and i'm not complaining. i just find it curious and i don't know if it's because people just didn't feel like participating which is perfectly valid and okay, and cool; or maybe it's because so many people fled the fandom and tumblr in general. it does feel like there's less of us Waterparks' fans out here, making content, and just sharing our love for the band. nevertheless, if you did participate, i appreciate you taking time off your day to do something kinda silly, so thank you so much.

ok, let’s go through my questions one by one! i made charts, obviously. that was kinda like the whole point of this thing. here's the link to the poll i did in 2021.

1. when did you guys started listening to Waterparks?

i am still surprised to see people from before EVR times. unless it's Travis. Travis is that you? if i knew for sure someone close to Parx was lurking on my polls i'd probably stop making them. like, i'm sure Travis has more important shit to do than complete a poll on tumblr, right?. this one looks pretty much the same from 2021. most people joined in over the Entertaiment cycle, me included. close second, the Double Dare cycle. which makes sense, DD was the first record, it was all new and shiny. and with the release of Entertainment they started getting more printed press and after touring DD for a while more mouth to mouth popularity. i mean, i found out about Parx because YouTube recomended them to me. points to the algorithm, i guess.

2. which is the fan favorite album?

so, last time i thought for sure Entertainment was gonna take the podium here, and it didn't. Double Dare won 2021. but this time Entertaiment took the crown. even though it was a close call, we're talking 26 against 24 votes.

3. is there an asociation between the cycle you started listening to the band and which your favorite album is?

now this is where it gets interesting... again!

so, hi. this is a heatmap. i feel like it's pretty self-explanatory, but just in case, here's how you read it: you have cycle on the y-axis (vertical) and album on the x-axis (horizontal). as you can see on the legend (number of votes), the darkest blue means 0 votes, and the lighter the blue gets, the more votes that particular combination got.

back in 2021, most people who started listening to Waterparks over the Double Dare cycle, chose Double Dare as their favorite album. now, we can see the same happening with people who started listening over the Entertainment cycle, picking Entertainment as their favorite album (once again, me included.) and the curious part here, is that most people who participated in this particular poll, who started listening to Waterparks over the DD cycle, picked Entertainment as their favorite album.

now, since we have no way of proving the people who participated now are the same people that took part back in 2021, this doesn't necessarily mean people changed their favorite album. still, it's kinda curious that the people that are still active in tumblr and started listening to Waterparks when Double Dare was released, have Entertainment as their favorite album.

and, i mean, it's curious to me because it's different from what i found before. and it also speaks volumes of how art can be percieved so differently by different people (more on this when i talk about the favorite song). i just think it's really cool how things don't stay constant, does that make sense?

4. which song is the fan favorite?

(you’re gonna have to really zoom in this bitch if you wanna see anything.) predictably, 'Not Warriors' won this one. it's everybody's favorite song, and i think Awsten should grow some balls and just fucking sing it live again already. i mean, if Hayley Williams can sing 'Still Into You' and 'The Only Exception' after everything that happened with her ex-husband, Awsten can fucking sing 'Not Warriors', man. just saying!

anyway... so, here's your top 10:

10. 'Magnetic' (18.4%) 9. 'Crave'/'Pink'/'Stupid For You'/'Royal'/'Violet!' (19.7%) 8. 'Take Her To The Moon'/'High Definition' (21.1%) 7. 'It Follows'/'Dream Boy' (22.4%) 6. '21 Questions'/'GloomBoys' (23.7%) 5. 'I Felt Younger When We Met' (26.3%) 4. 'Rare' (28.9%) 3. 'Fuzzy' (30.3%) 2. 'Peach' (31.6%) 1. 'Not Warriors' (38.2%)

lots of ties. not mad at it. i'm happy 'Magnetic' made it there.

then i asked you what your number one Waterparks song was. what was that one song you can't live without. i think i said something along the lines of, "the one song that makes you forgive Awsten's online behaviour." and it was... all over the place. fucking loved it. i wanted to make a chart. not a chance. 44 different songs were chosen. most of them only have one vote. a chart did not make any sense at all. and here's what i mean by art is subjective and it's okay to like whichever song you like best, no matter what anyone says. it's a beautiful thing, really.

here's our top 5:

5. 'Royal'/'Powerless'/'THTTM'/'Dizzy'/'Little Violence'/'Candy'/'WWHN'/'Violet!' (2 votes) 4. 'Pink'/'Stupif For You'/'Peach'/'IFYWWM'/'Last Heaven'/'Snow Globe' (3 votes) 3. 'Rare' (4 votes) 2. 'High Definition' (5 votes) 1. 'Not Warriors' (9 votes)

so many ties for numbers 4 and 5, it's ridiculous. i love it.

what i wanted to see here was if there was any correlation between what we see in the top 10 what people's actual favorite song is. i mean, only 'Not Warriors' seems to be the one song present in everyone's mind and the one people seem to love the most. not me, 'Royal' owns my soul. but 'Not Warriors' is my second most favorite song, so.

that's what i wanted to see. making you guys pick ten songs and seeing which of those were the 'top 10' doesn't necesarilly represent people's actual favorite song. except it kinda does? because of 'Not Warriors'? but still? it doesn't? like, someone's favorite song is 'Fruit Roll-Ups'. two people couldn't decide between two songs (i counted them as separate votes.) someone couldn't decide at all, blank vote goes to whoever is winning, so vote for 'Not Warriors', sorry person who couldn't decide, democracy decided for you (?).

anyway! this was so much fun to do and talk about, and i hope you enjoyed participating, or at least swearing at me because i made you make shitty decisions. again, i'm sorry. and also, thank you.

with that, i leave you, and if anybody has any questions or comments, my inbox is open. let’s make this fun! just, you know? be nice.

and i leave you here my personal top 10, so you know i also suffered for science:

10. 'Stupid For You' 9. 'Crybaby' 8. 'Peach' 7. 'Fuzzy' 6. 'A Night Out On Earth' 5. 'Magnetic' 4. 'Never Bloom Again' 3. 'Closer' 2. 'Not Warriors' 1. 'Royal'

#waterparks #parx genuine question 2 #waterparks polls

[rrxnjun]

HIII BAR hope your exams are going fantastic (and if they're not, fuck it man one exam won't kill your future) and you sucking at social interaction is funny because im loud as FUCK but only when i get in my element hehehhe 🥰 also yeah i disappeared because my brother made me delete my blog, i had to make a new one and all my reblogs are gone 😑 like come on tumblr is the only social media i have. biggest heartbreak of my life fr 💔 now idk what he (my brother) has done to my phone because the tumblr app wont work in it. so i have to use it through chrome and trust me it SUCKS. and i meant the links to the playlists! they're not working and i love music ☹️☹️ plus your taste is sooo good man 'i felt younger when we met' is my favourite song atm, thank you for introducing it to me 😁❤️ AND NEWS!!! only 1 fic left until i finish your nct masterlist and guess what. 1 more story until i finish your tbz masterlist 💀💀💀💀 and I DONT EVEN STAN THEM!!! but now.... i think i must 😁 and i will wait as long as you want me to, i'll be here waiting for your stories forever and paste a picture of blog in each journal of mine so that i can never forget you (/srs). you've made me so happy with your magic, i just hope my prayers and wishes work for you in return. love you lots, bar 💓

P.S. sorry if this is messy, i had my angry taylor swift songs playing in the background as i aggressively typed this out teehee 😋😋😋

i had my last exam of the year yesterday and i think it went well!! i have one more in january but im taking a break for christmas HAHA. im sorry to hear all the trouble you had to go through with the blog TT im sure your brother means well, but it does suck to experience this ://

and thats so strange because i checked those and they work for me ?? :(( they're spotify links so maybe if you dont have spotify that might be the issue??? im not sure whats up w that. THANK U for complimenting my music taste hihi *twirls hair* parx are one of my all time favorite bands !!

you HAVE to stan tbz i promise its worth it. they are just some guys. truly so chaotic and lovable. <33

thank you so much once again for reading and for always being so supportive of my writing, it means the absolute world to me, ily xx

#💌ask

[cellphonehippie]

hi jess :3 i just wanted to say that you've always been one of my favorite editors in this fandom, i starting following u in like 2019 or so on my old blog bc i loved ur taylor x parx edits and i was so happy to see this blog was still around when i came back to tumblr :3 everything u make is so cool and so pretty ^-^ i hope ur having a good day / night !!

ahhhh hi!!! this is so so nice 😭 thank you so much ! the fact that you were around for my 2019 edits is wild!! and omg we love a fellow parx swiftie. i really appreciate you saying this and thanks so much for finding my blog again :-)

#ask #everyone is being so nice today 😭😭

[waterparksdrama]

I posted 5,009 times in 2022

That's 835 more posts than 2021!

3,625 posts created (72%)

1,384 posts reblogged (28%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@unholyverse

@waterparksdrama

@emilyblame

@xelyxirx

@ashlumicalm

I tagged 1,245 of my posts in 2022

#- iz - 20 posts

#youtube - 8 posts

#submission - 8 posts

#hm. - iz - 7 posts

#mod blue answered this but tumblr mobile site hates me - 6 posts

#waterparks - 5 posts

#sigh - iz - 4 posts

#parx history - 3 posts

#mod blue answered this tumblr mobile hates me - 3 posts

#unrelated but tumblr changed the post ui again why is everything so rounded - 2 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#i think just a handgun kept in a safe he mentioned it in a podcast or something once before he was like ‘maybe i shouldn’t talk about this’

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

quick someone edit a screenshot of him with the collar and give him cat ears. quick before the government finds us

yeah sure why not. 30 year old man - iz

84 notes - Posted May 13, 2022

#4

my trans ass can't stop seeing that tube top as a binder

- iz

84 notes - Posted January 17, 2022

#3

86 notes - Posted May 12, 2022

#2

See the full post

102 notes - Posted January 5, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

122 notes - Posted January 4, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #i'm crying all of this is so terrible - iz

[fallouttboy]

I posted 11,408 times in 2022

That's 5,846 more posts than 2021!

736 posts created (6%)

10,672 posts reblogged (94%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@talkfastcal

@girlgerard

@s0livagant

@milfygerard

@nostalgicfordisasters

I tagged 2,853 of my posts in 2022

#mcr - 1,688 posts

#mine - 220 posts

#personal - 194 posts

#my show - 125 posts

#fob - 72 posts

#parx - 57 posts

#ref - 57 posts

#frogprince - 43 posts

#gender - 37 posts

#dream boy - 31 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#don’t try to console me it isn’t happening i’m going to be screaming crying throwing up for the rest of my time on earth. he’s so stupid hes

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

they’re playing demolition lovers for the first time since 2004 at their hometown show in new jersey. they’re playing i never told you what i do for a living at their hometown show in new jersey. they are playing two of their best songs at their hometown show in new jersey in 2022 on their reunion tour that got postponed because of a pandemic. they are playing shows. they are playing their music again. people are sobbing and screaming and singing and shaking in the pit of this hometown show for american rock band my chemical romance. all because of them. their influence. their admiration for fans. their love.

188 notes - Posted September 21, 2022

#4

oh god the mikey chant.

310 notes - Posted October 18, 2022

#3

329 notes - Posted September 21, 2022

#2

all the angels.

573 notes - Posted October 15, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

demolition lovers to kids from yesterday in the new jersey hometown show. millions dead everyone injured

1,448 notes - Posted September 21, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #this is so embarassing Lmfao #ref

[randombubblegum]

they say it’s not true and they hope i’m alright

#HI I FORGOT THAT I USED TO DRAW #long time no visual art #i only drew this bc i felt bad about abandoning my art instagram so have. this doodle #looking at it again it looks like a tumblr vent comic which is making me laugh enough that ill put it here too #i dont understans his new hair. dont know how to draw it. dont like it. suffering #my art #waterparks #awsten knight #uhhh i think i had a parx specific art tag for organization #parx art #there it is

[blackcloudbyjuly]

snow globe live was... interesting

#alexis shut up #so much auto tune #i kinda like it ngl lol #otto drums saves the song tbh #might upload it tmrw #why do feel like i'm carrying parx tumblr again

[disengaged]

waterparks creations challenge // shotgunmessiahs ➥ theme: entertainment // prompt: blonde

#parxcc #god i hope tumblr doesnt murder the quality again lmao im so sad #waterparks #parx #photography #music #awsten knight #geoff wigington #otto wood #alternative #pop punk #aesthetic #uhhh.... Yeah Okay #mine #glow

[livingdeadvamp]

Honestly the only reason I still have Twitter is cos PAD2 is private and I love Awsten being more unfiltered there. Everyone else is public and so I can just follow them via RSS feeds

#awsten delete twitter and use anything else I beg #so I can delete too #i hate instagram but if that was his main social media i'd get it again maybe #or better yet. come back to tumblr #shit even that's gone downhill i'm only hanging on because I haven't updated my app #what's even left? fucking discord?? #a parx discord server. oh imagine the toxicity #wow this was a rant and a half! #if you got this far. hi! #consider looking into rss feeds too

[rrxnjun]

lol yeah most ppl who started off as an army but again most of them didn't stay an army bc their music just flipped (?) like what happened to them dissing capitalism and the 'ideal society' :( dkfhg my army phase was weird but memorable bc i had a lot of fun w my friends. bts was my first k-pop group and tbt that was the time i understood how k-pop fandoms aren't the same as a regular fandom and that k-poppies are a whole new breed.

NOO I DON'T GET STICKER like the vocals are beautiful i'll admit but i can't stand that flute music. it's wacky and experimental but definitely not for me dfhfdhkj even my friend just got randomly obsessed w sticker a while back so i think it's a really catchy, possessing the people by causing a brainrot sort of a tune🥴

#bar and renjun are one and the same in a parallel universe theory lessgo jhhjg btw kai from exo has the same mbti as you (infj) as for nct idrk (damn their pyramid employment scheme) i only remember yangyang's bc intj and hyuck's (enfp) bc a.he's an extrovert in a sea of introverts lol and b.two of my other friends are enfps too.

HELP NOT DOGFOOD okay haven't really been curious ab eating any animal food bc i remember watching this one part in a movie where this guy accidently eats a small portion of dog food and gets sick. really sick. that scene scarred 6 y/o me. period.

YESS KYUNGSOO IS MY BIAS THE LOML <33 i became an exo-l right after seeing love shot. that song's just 💃🏾💃🏾 the critic in me has been trying to a find a bad exo song for the past 2 years but hasn't succeeded idk if it's just me but all of their songs are way too good 🤧 FKJGHDF I LOVE BAEKHYUN'S VOICE and bambi >>> but my personal fave from his solos is love again from delight and DO NOT EVEN GET ME STARTED WITH SUPERM I MISS THEM SM. the group's so special to me BC DKFJGHDF IT'S LIKE THE CRAZIEST CROSSOVER EVER OKAY LIKE EXO, NCT AND SHINEE TOGETHER ?? still can't believe i got to listen to mark lee rap after a taemin and baekhyun bridge. omg do you have a fave superm song?? also yes i'll help with the exo-l-ification <33 compiling the recs in a playlist as i type this

RAINBOW MY BELOVED >>> nct dream albums aka collection of my comfort songs and that's why they're my fave unit. still lose it every time i listen to puzzle piece it's so sweet and the lyrics are so sappy but i love it sm <3 wow soulmate au based on electric hearts 👀 hmmm i haven't really checked the lyrics for that one brb after seeing them

haha i'm an sm stan through and through. started stanning one (1) group and ended falling far almost all of them lmaoo the company sucks but the artists 😭😭 gods i love them. i haven't really seriously looked into aespa tho it's a work in progress lol. as for skz samee i don't really vibe with them anymore and legit know ab the group's activities bc of tumblr </3

YES I'M INTO STEM. it's crazy the math has more letters than numbers and the physics and chemistry has more ridiculous looking math than my math textbook but there are like super tiny moments wherein i realize why i actually like doing what i'm doing. we all need smth to keep going right :') anyway im concentrating on graduating from high school in one piece rn bc it sucks !! bigtime !! and omg psychology sounds so cool :0 i haven't learnt anything bio related for the past 1 year and i kinda sorta miss it

i'm only actively keeping up w 5sos (and slowly getting into parx <3) rn but i do go back to my emo phase every once in a while bc idt i ever left it 💀

p.s. just remembered that india has banned tiktok so i can't really see the video 😭😭

literally!!! i must say that i enjoyed dynamite, but everything that came out after was just meh for me 😭😭 and it was a bit of a jump for me too, but ive been in fandoms since i was 12 so its like 7 years now,,, so joining the kpop world was just one step further from all the stuff in the 5sos fandom.

STICKER BRAINROT idk whats the sudden obsession brooo😭😭 multiple people experienced it tho, ive seen ppl on tiktok as well, so i think its a worldwide phenomenon. the fLUTE IS SO CATCHY i wanna learn it i have a recorder at home and i think that will do the job.

#bar and renjun soulmates agenda. 😭 kai is an infj?? brooo thats so cool!! i really enjoy his first solo album i gotta listen to the second one soon sjssj. idk whats w me and exo solo music but i think i lowkey know more than their group music its so embarrassing😭😭 chanyeol's tomorrow was my top played song on spotify last year its so special to me :') also hyuck's such an enfp i couldnt imagine it any other way for him. for the dog food, i was just curious abt the taste ??? didnt really taste like much tho, but i do admit it looks tasty 10/10 would try again

loveshot *lip bite* i fucking love that song. the choreo >>>> i remember showing my brother the mv and he was amazed with how good looking they all were 😭😭 and their music truly is too good broo!!! i love power. serotonin boost song. i will never skip that song when it comes on shuffle. also baekhyun's voice truly is something else. the moment i listened to un village for the first time, something inside of me changed. my personal favorite is cry for love btw!!

SUPERM >>> i miss them so much omg 😭😭 mark as the maknae is the cutest concept. the videos where they quiz each other abt themselves live in my mind rent free. my favorite songs are no manners, together at home, better days, wish you were here and tiger inside 💪😩 wbu?

SEND THE EXO PLAYLIST ASAP ‼‼ THIS IS A SERIOUS REQUEST.

dream is my comfort fr 🤧🤧 i always get so upset when i listen to dear dream. i dont think i'll ever listen to it without being in pain jssjjs. PUZZLE PEACE SUPREMECY!! its so sweet i love the guitar <33

I legit admire people who are into STEM and who are good at these omg my brain cant comprehend science 😭😭 i only went to business school to escape the STEM subjects. im rooting for you!! i graduated in may and trust me it was difficult i didnt sleep for two weeks before my final exams but it was worth it in the end!! i felt very accomplished hhh so hang in there!:)

my emo phase comes and goes in waves i honestly. love it. its always so random as well😭

awwh yeah i heard you dont have tiktok there :((( im sorry. id send it to you as a video but idk where 😭

#💌ask #ni 🌱

[s0livagant]

Omg hii I’m on break so glad I decided to check tumblr <3

Ahh Kristen!! You very quickly became a genuine, real life friend and I love love love you<3 Again, there’s something abt being in the parx bandom in 2020/21 that forms unshakable bonds between people. But in all seriousness, there is something so comforting in having you as a friend and knowing there’s no pressure to constantly be talking bc I when I have the energy you’ll be there for me and we’ll have the most unhinged conversation humanely possible. (there’s also immense comfort in knowing that you understand and there’s no hard feelings) Knowing you is like being enveloped in a warm hug<3 Thank you for letting me be myself and for bringing me home to meet your cat. Those are two things I’ll never be able to repay you for.

Send me a “<3” and I’ll tell you why I love you

#vanna loves her friends game #any one of my parx mutusls from that era could dm me and I’d be like brother I would literally die for you #we have a bond like no other #it’s the trauma and abuse we’re subjected to by mr knight

[waterparksdrama]

waterparksdrama tumblr where you can say whatever to try discuss an opinion and have a back and forth about things surrounding parx! oh wait no they don’t actually post half the things they get sent.

listen sometimes we won’t post things if:

1. they drop @‘s of anyone, especially ones of fans that aren’t on here

2. there’s stuff that usually involves other fans not on here that actually sounds real (listen twitter parxies already hate us without us trying i’m not getting into that again)

3. they are a topic we’ve usually answered before (i’m talking to you awsten girlfriend conspiracy anons)

4. we honestly just don’t know about what you’re saying or how to respond/an admin is uncomfortable with the subject

5. and at least for me i try to restrict myself to stay with the parx subject so i usually won’t post out of that unless it relates back to them or i actually know more about the subject

- iz

[quailkeeperr]

Hey fellow parx fans!!!! I havent interacted with parx tumblr since my last blog which is now deactivated because I had it in like middle school. But after seeing the band again last night I've decided I might as well fling myself back into the fandom!!!! So uhh, feel free to interact ig, I need friends :))

#parxies #waterparks #waterparx #waterparks band #awsten knight #geoff wigington #otto wood #ok to rb #greatest hits #night out on earth tour

[kpop]

K-Pop Spotlight: K-Pop Critical

All month long, right here on @kpop on Tumblr, we’ve been highlighting creators from the @blackintokpop coalition of Black K-pop podcasters. For the final installment, we spoke with Virginia native Morgan and New York City-based Catrina about K-Pop Critical—a podcast that deconstructs K-pop and ponders the commodity of art-making and intersections of pointless and perfect in pop culture.

Tell us about yourselves. How did you start your podcast?

I feel like any intro to our show needs the preface that we were both staunch Directioners. I was literally turned into a 1D meme on Tumblr for going to a 1D show in a white t-shirt and shorts with Zayn's face printed on both asscheeks! We also both happened to be working on degrees related to culture, media, and criticism at the time. After years of a mutual friend trying to get us to meet, we finally did and talked about 1D for an entire night. Somehow K-pop climbed in priority again for both of us, and a couple of months later, we started the show.

The podcast industry is still largely white and male-dominated. How can we continue to shine a light on BIPOC women podcasters?

Monetary support is always incredibly appreciated!!! A LOT of independent podcasters do this for $0.00, so if you see a CashApp/Venmo/Paypal/Patreon link, RUN UP ON IT! Especially if you're learning something new or just enjoy aspects of the show. Beyond this, kind words, shout-outs, questions, reviews, and other interactions on social media are huge morale boosters to keep us motivated. 

What has been your favorite episode that you’ve created?

This is a great question because I know Catrina do not be listening to our episodes often LMAO!I think we'd both agree that our second episode, #FREEHANBIN, is probably our favorite because it is the most gut-reaction recording. It featured our friend Moses, who also did a NCT 127 x Grace Lee Boggs mashup intro for an episode. We also had a great viewer phone call that helped add more context to our understanding of drug culture and South Korean legality. I think more standard/informative/less reactionary favorites are all of the episodes in our Trauma series and Blackness series.

The K-pop community is a wonderfully inclusive one, but the industry continues to have its instances of cultural appropriation. What changes in the industry do you hope to see going forward?

A doozy of a question. I never have super high hopes for cultural consciousness from ANY pop system operating with money as its main priority. That said, I am hopeful that more artists take ownership of their images and schedules and loudly proclaim their influences and what they care about, along with acknowledging when they're wrong. Hearing different idols PUBLICLY connect their love for Black music to their understanding and empathy for Black people and our struggle this past summer was such a minor (in that context) but interesting and necessary thing to witness. Hopefully, that type of appreciation continues.

When you hear Black Excellence, is there someone in or adjacent to the K-pop industry that comes to mind?

I've gotta say, I never grouped Black Excellence and K-pop in the same thought until I learned who CHIKK and Adrian McKinnon were. Without these songwriters and producers, we would be missing a huge portion of SM Entertainment's music, including massive singles. It obviously doesn't stop or begin with just them—add MNEK, Dem Jointz, Cha Cha Malone, Tayla Parx, Tiffany Red, Devin Morrison, The Stereotypes, and, obviously, Teddy Riley, to name a select few. Imagine a world without Girls Generation's The Boys, or EXO's What Is Love, or Shinee's Juliette, or *insert almost any K-pop track that is obviously RnB-leaning*: simply another marker of Black people being everywhere and doing excellent things constantly.

If you could choose any K-pop idol to appear on your show, who would your dream guest be?

So. many. people! We literally tried to get Seventeen on our show in 2020 while they were in New York touring, and it kinda drives me a lil nuts that we didn't, but it was also a ridiculously ambitious plan. 2022 though, we'll be ready. If you see a GoFundMe for buying thirteen extra cameras, don't @ us—just reblog.

What can we look forward to from you in 2021?

More episodes!! We're a little under two years into the show, and we have a lot of ideas and unfinished series to go. We'll be updating our Trauma series and Blackness series, and will hopefully get back into company and idol group episodes soon!

Thanks for sharing your stories! Check out more from K-Pop Critical here. Find more awesome Black K-Pop podcasts, and keep up to date with all things @blackintokpop over on their blog.

This interview has been condensed for clarity.

#kpop critical podcast #blackexcellence365 #black history month #kpop spotlight

[randombubblegum]

i think the thing of of people saying he doesn't want old photos shares comes from one of his tweets in 2020 where he said "THISIS WHY ~FANS~ FORCE ME TO BLOCK THEM SOMETIMES AH YES, MAKING FUN OF 13 YEAR OLD ME AGAIN? AH YES THANK U! FEELS GOOD! APPRECIATE U! NO I WILL NOT UNBLOCK BC I OWE U NOTHING~*~*~"" and what i get from that is he just doesn't want them to be used as something to make fun of him for, not cause he had an ED (which i read his book and that part that people take about the summer he didn't really eat, he was about 13-14 or 14-15 i think) so basically not the photos of tbpt/o9k really cause he was.. older than that there.

yeah that tweet was the same vibe as the 2018 one!!! he just doesnt like ppl TWEETING OLD PICS at him to make fun of him or tagging him in posts where they laugh at his teenage self, which, holy shit, entirely reasonable bc who Thee Fuck would want that or think its funny lol. i would hate that so so bad too? he doesnt care that the pics are out there or being shared he just doesnt want them shoved in his face which if uve ever spent even a single second on parx twitter will make perfect sense. its totally fine to post them on tumblr and i guess like pinterest and stuff, just places he wont see them, like yknow. a normal fucking person

and yep the passage about anxiety and loss of appetite and losing a lot of weight was THE SUMMER BEFORE 9TH GRADE i.e. LIKE 14 LOL he was nottttt talking about o9k/tbpt era there. there arent even pics of him that exist at that age the youngest ive ever seen are him playing guitar at like 15 when he had braces lol.

again just for claritys sake: he has NEVER said he had an eating disorder or even implied it. its not related to old pics of himself. all he said was he ate very minimally for a summer bc he was too anxious for real food and got down to 103lbs. it was a short period of disordered eating spurred by unmanaged anxiety when he was young its SUPER weird to unilaterally decide that counts as an eating disorder and diagnose a stranger with it lmao. if i never hear anyone spread this stupid untrue invasive rumor about old pics ever again it will be too soon ❤️

#i actively encourage u to tell anyone spreading it to shove it lol #its not true its like a warped game of telephone from ppl who like getting woke points for fandom clout. weirdos #mail time! #neg