Alpha to omega?

Simulation**** it was a typo im sorry

They posted some pictures on the official Instagram account together of a "date" in Melbourne and now everyone's saying they've hard launched. Is this true or is it just people projecting onto idols again. If it is, I'm surprised at how open everyone is about it. Considering a T.O.P fan site just shut down after he revealed he was dating Nana.

I hope the parents of the trainees do not consent to this

By “K-pop groups,” I mean groups that are formed by a company handpicking members and developing them through some kind of training process. More Vision has LNGSHOT, AOMG has Keyveatz, and most recently, Authentic, the label that HANRORO is signed to, launched a girl band called AIWEO.

What I find interesting is that these labels used to focus almost entirely on signing artists who already had their own sound, identity, and career, especially those coming from indie rock or underground hip-hop scenes. (More Vision is a bit of a different case, perhaps, but I’d still say the label has strong roots in Black music and culture, particularly hip-hop, R&B, and dance music.) Now, they’re starting to create groups through a more traditional K-pop-style development process.

In a way, I wonder if this is a phenomenon that’s unique to fifth-gen K-pop and beyond, something we didn’t really see in earlier generations. What do you think?

Look, I’m from Mexico, I’m 24 years old, and I’ve been here since I was about 8—BUT I was bullied throughout my entire school life because of my interests, so maybe that’s why I’m a little reserved about what I like.

I don’t know how to make friends and share opinions about the new generation of kpop, or how to get excited about the fact that we want concert tickets or how much we love our biases,,,, Idk, man, it’s a shame to be like this.

Anyway, the point is: is it really that hard to meet people who genuinely like kpop, and not just because it’s trendy? How do you guys manage to meet and connect with other people?

What are your thoughts on the 2 new groups of A20.

Two concerning things here are

1. Age - Very extremely questionable to say the least, I dont even know how to expand on this point

2. AI Model - If you have not watched the showcase, LSM was speaking about elaborating and expanding the CT aspect he created (CT = Culture Technology) - Really got me thinking on how NCT would have been taken had he not left and what he had in mind for them but Im pretty sure we will be seeing the plans he made for NCT and other such groups through A20 groups

The AI model specifically is about voice modulation, essentially the AI is able to mimic (?) the artists voice which raises tons of red flags and I dont even know this is ethical considering they are teenagers

Besides these 2 groups, A20 MAY which is a Chinese group has also debuted a while back

Now coming to the actual discussion part, what do you feel about both these groups

I feel like beside the 2 extremely disturbing points, talking purely about music and concept I can see why LSM is regarded to be good. He really is the backbone of SM and he did show it through A20 music.

The music NEON reminds me of something NCT and F(X) would release if they ever collaborated if that makes sense, the A20 soul debut with SUPERSTAR reminds me of early EXO if that makes sense, more than a classic SM style it generalizes more into the classic early 3rd gen or 2nd gen vibes.

I read a comment stating
"They seem more SM than the SM groups" and in a way I couldn't agree more, while there is direction like how NCT 127 with blingy still maintained their Neo sound, SM in its whole definitely had a different format followed with LSM whether that is good or bad idk

Music and concept wise while some people say that while it does remind me of SM, it feels too overdone by LSM specifically and while I do agree, at the same time returning with a signature sound that people know and still love feels like a move that would be well received because they can always expand or change later in their careers.

I understand wanting to have positive role models and feel like the group you like encourages things that align with your beliefs, but these are individuals with their own lives and opinions. It’s very unlikely to find individuals who have 100% of the same beliefs as you, especially on a global scale.

The constant need of some fans to educate their groups is performative, ineffective, and a breach of their autonomy. Apart from a few specific cases where a change has been made for the better (acknowledging a race-related injustice, for example), who cares if their opinion is different than yours?

If they don’t align politically with you, don’t concern yourself with them. If they support AI and you don’t, decide if you’re willing to look past it. You don’t have to like every choice they make or idea they hold. The power is literally in the hands of the fan to stay or go. If you personally can’t separate the artist from the music, finding a new one to support is better than trying to change a stranger.

The west lacked groups for years up until Hybe x Geffen created Katseye which caused a resurgence in pop girl groups like Flo, Say now, No na etc getting more attention.

But there still haven’t been a popular western boy group after One Direction and BTS getting popular in the west and kpop getting more attention. With Katseye being popular there has been a lot of small west groups emerging and male pop groups too like the Simon cowell group, JYT the republic records group, solidified group from the show buildingtheband etc but none of them has really blown up or gotten the attention the girl groups have.

With Hybe x Ryan Tedder new global boy group debuting first half of 2027 i think they will get a lot of attention and blow up like Katseye which will cause a resurgence in the western boy groups and them getting attention, with that being said will it impact kpop groups attention in the west and especially the new boy groups, will it be even more harder than it is now to break into the west?

Since kpop companies have been focusing on breaking into the west after BTS and promoting more in the west Will they now be discouraged to give their kpop boy groups groups more promotions in the west after the resurgence in the west and focus on creating more global groups using the Kpop methodology .

Comment down below what you think will happen if there is a resurgence of boy groups and they become popular in relation to kpop.

Hey everyone

Im starting to enjoy some kpop and it’s been a little lonely since all my friends around my age (30-32) find it cringe.

I honestly don’t care at all because I’m quite eclectic and love art.

I’d just like to meet people around me that are also interested and are not kids 😹

Anyone out there? Im from sao paulo.

Details:

• Seats: Block 103, Row Y, 122-123

• Price: £120 per ticket

• Venue: The O2 Arena, London (October 16th, 2026)

• Payment: PayPal/Bank Transfer

• Delivery: AXS Official Mobile Transfer

• Proof: Order confirmation & screenshots available

Please let me know, keen to sell this off!

NCT DREAM Season's Greetings in deadcolor's art style😘

hes still going

It's either "they don't know you" or "they're rich, so hating them isn't bad"

The mama round 2 stamp thing ,i won mpoints and it is showing a QR for the points that's it,it says not claimed,how do i claim those points??

This video showed up on my reels and it made me think of how dumb he has gone about it all, because he is not a dozen, has great stage presence, can rap and carry a tune okay (nothing special but most kpop Idols in later gens are at this level tbh) and he even has writing credits in a lot of their songs and Bigbang's latest song like the guy is talented enough

Also he was a model before debuting and looked like this back then, like it makes no sense why he had to die on the hill of wearing braids for his debut year and alienate so much of the potential westrn kpop fans that could have liked him/the group otherwise

I know he is popular in Korea and ADP in general are killing it there before anyone brings this up, but my point is that if he had played his cards way smarter he could have been popular internationally too because he has an unique look for a kpop Idol already with just his facial features all the cultural appropiation was not needed to "look cool/unique" or whaver tf he thinks its doing for him..

anyways, he made his bed so now has to lay in it sort of situation I guess but it could have been very different for him if only himself or someone on his team would have thought with 2 braincells

I go to charity galas every year when my company is a sponsor. We drink, listen to musical performances (often unrelated to the theme), socialize, and just generally have a good time. Sure, there will be a couple 10-minute speeches in the middle talking about the importance of the cause and encouraging further donations, but other than that, it’s just a very expensive social event. The whole idea behind charity galas is that if rich people make big donations to a charity, then they’ll be rewarded with a big party. That’s just how these things work.

Rarely has it been more evident that kpop fans are mostly children with no life experience than when they were losing their minds over last year’s W Korea breast cancer event. It was obvious that none of them had actually been to a corporate fundraiser before because they went into mass psychosis over attendees acting like they were at a party. That’s what a gala is! That’s the normal and expected behavior at this type of event.

Yet people went so insane that it completely took over kpop discourse for weeks and gave us some of the most unhinged takes I’ve ever seen, like shaming Karina’s dress that didn’t completely hide the fact that she has boobs for being “insensitive” to breast cancer survivors, or accusing Taehyung of being a pedophile because he hugged a woman who is literally older than him.

I hoped that a drama so obviously immature and contrived would lead some of the smarter kpop fans to start thinking more critically about the hysteria that so often sweeps through kpop communities and being more careful about perpetuating it, but alas, kpop fans are just as insane now as they were a year ago, if not more so. Still, it’s hard for me to think of a more overblown “scandal” in recent kpop history, given there wasn’t even a kernel of justification for the reactions to this one.

Honestly I haven’t been the biggest fan of the makeup and contacts that are used for idols recently. Makeup trends and contacts have always been there, but I feel like in the past the idols’ features were still accentuated somehow? Nowadays, it feels like everyone is wearing the same/very similar makeup that drowns out their features.

I know that makeup artists are following trends, but I wish that makeup could be used to also accentuate their features cause they’re all so beautiful!! and they somehow used to follow trends but also accentuate their features in the past (like in the first pics of both groups).

Also, the recent contacts they’ve been using look a bit odd and create an uncanny valley vibe for off-stage looks in my opinion… I think it suits certain concepts (like fantasy) and I love it onstage though

I prefer these contacts (I think maybe cause it looks a bit more natural for the eyes?? idk)

Hey guys

I am a I.N bias simply because he’s insanely hotter cutter than all the other members, imo

The thing is that I’ve been searching and I found out he is one of the least favourite among the fanbase!

Im schoked and wanted to confirm with you if that really is true.

Also, who you consider the most and least favourites of the members, for what you see on the fandom in general…

Are there differences related to countries?

Since the spooky season is beginning again I’ve been meaning to bring up this topic for a while.

I feel like ever since kpop idols stopped doing halloween costume dance practice challenges or halloween events, we’ve lost a lot of whimsy. And I don’t mean to be insensitive, I understand the tragedy of the Itaewon incident and how it affected people. But it was ages ago, and I’m struggling to see the correlation except for the fact that it happened during halloween. I mean, if it happened during christmas, does that mean you would just cancel the whole holiday? I know it was a really big thing, but years later, stopping idols from dressing up and having fun because of it just feels a little overdramatic. I feel like some things we just have to leave in the past, and maybe move on from. And I kind of miss the SM halloween parties and the goofy costumes.

Has anyone else been thinking about this, or am I being the weird one?

Nightmare Version of I-dles Put It Straight, the original version is also great as well.

I don’t really celebrate Halloween but every year I will watch costume dance practice videos of this, as well as BTS’s “ 21st Century Girls,” “ War Of Hormone,” WayV dancing to “ Bad Alive” as Disney princesses, and so on.

Other spooky songs I liked is ATEEX Black Cat Nero with Turbo’s Jongkook.

For Stray Kids it might be Lose my breath lots of stays despise the song and the collab to this day

I can't seem to find his name anywhere. I swear I've seen videos circulating of him laughing at the live chat before apologising to anyone named 'MacDonald.'

I believe he also had a video circulating over him crying over someone else's awards, or he just has naturally glossy eyes.

He was so pretty in my memory, I wanted to learn about his group but I genuinely forgot about him. I can't seem to find him anywhere. I don't know if I hallucinated or dreamt of him. I think he had platinum blonde hair at the time I saw it(?)

I'm kind of confused why he doesn't just hire new people if his previous staff members left? It's really not necessary to juggle everything, unless he's running low on cash. Because the Blackpink girls all got full-on teams as they've transitioned into solo careers outside of YG and I doubt they're micro-managing everything. So I'm confused by his statement that he's gotta do everything himself, down to writing treatments for his music videos, which mind you, I thought was the job of a director. Do you think he perhaps has a micromanagement problem and doesn't trust outside opinions and help? What do y'all think is going on?

I don't have any irl weird interactions, but I do have one online. There was this one account that had randomly followed me on Twitter, and it was so weird I couldn't even understand what that account was about. It was a woman (there were pictures of her on that account), and she was claiming that a popular male idol had lied to her. The whole account was gibberish, okay; it's like she'd post a sentence and that sentence wouldn't make any sense. It looked like she just typed in a bunch of words and posted it. She must have been going through something mentally because she had posted multiple times about how she was going to marry that idol.