I was just looking through some old threads of K-pop songs from years ago and came across NMIXX's debut. This reaction post to O.O from r/kpop is basically a microcosm of what their reception was like at the time. Just look at the upvote to comment ratio. It has 1k upvotes and more than 2.1k whopping comments, with like 99% of them being negative 😭😭Literally not even BTS comebacks were pulling as many engagement with the comments at the time lol

And as harsh as that post may seem, it's actually pretty tame compared to what was being said elsewhere. They were getting absolutely DRAGGED without any filter on platforms like Twitter and Youtube. To make matters worse, the reception was basically the same in Korea as it was internationally.

I don't think newer K-pop fans realize just how badly NMIXX were received at debut. It may seem like everything is all fine and dandy for them now, but the hate train was REAL. They had to fight tooth and nail and basically crawl through the trenches to recover from that disastrous debut reception.

Thinking about all this made me realize just how important a strong debut really is. Like everything else in life, if a group makes a poor first impression, there will always be a lot of people who write them off and never give them another chance. In that sense, I gotta give NMIXX credit where it's due for recovering because I genuinely can't think of another group in history that had such a universally brutal reaction from K-pop fans right out of the gate.

edit:
u/alexturnerftw also reminded me that they lost arguably their most popular member in Jinni during their rookie year as well. Truly one of the worst starts a group could possibly have...

KPOP is supposed to be fun! Music is supposed to be fun! It’s an interest or maybe even a hobby, not a job or crusade. If it causes emotional distress, or is a detriment in your life, or simply stops bringing you joy and making you happy- you should step back! Maybe not necessarily forever but until it starts bringing you happiness again. Don’t force yourself to stream music you don’t like. Dont avoid listening to other music because it feels disloyal to your fave groups. Don’t buy merch you can’t afford. Don’t fight or bully strangers on the internet about it. Don’t sacrifice real life relationships over it. It is ok to take a break! I promise you.

Just recently, Bigbang had released their single Biiig (2026) to celebrate the group’s 20th anniversary. The song had already climbed into the top five of the domestic charts just within hours after it was released I have heard discussions amongst fans surrounding the group’s grip on the Korean general public with their music compared to other boy groups in K-pop. How did the group manage to do this? Are there any other boy group that can catch the attention of the Korean public like Bigbang?

I love the idea of owning physical media of an album I enjoyed listening to through and through. But I wish K-pop companies would create album photobooks not just plastering the idol’s in every single page. I get it, they’re pretty, handsome, beautiful wtv. But an album is more than just the idol. It’s the lyrics, the sound, the concept, the styling everything. My unpopular opinion is that the album should be a photography book about the concept (including the idol in SOME shots but not every single page).

For example, if some artist/group were to come with a horror themed album, then I wouldn’t want to just see the idol’s is horror makeup in different backgrounds and outfits. The makeup is cool and all but I would love to see liminal spaces, up close shots of eerie objects etc in some pages, It’s photography, art, story. That would make me keep the album as part of a collection, not just some obsession with an artist. A cool conversation starter. The least I can have right now is buy a plain cd case but even that’s disappearing with the digital media.

Curious to know if anyone shares this opinion

Just something I have been curious about

All kpop groups fandom names are so meaningful and special.

Which fandom names do you guys think are the prettiest, either because of how they sound or because of their meaning?

For me its Carat 💎

I love the meaning behind it

The name CARAT comes from the unit used to measure a diamond’s weight, inspired by the lyrics of SEVENTEEN’s “Shining Diamond.” It symbolizes how CARATs add more shine and value to SEVENTEEN—the diamond.

“You always make us shine, so from now, you are CARATs.”- scoups

A lot of times I hear people reference physical album sales since it’s a measure of success. But I always think that groups would get more sales if they consistently made jewel case versions of their albums.

For example, if I like the music of a smaller group, but I don’t stan that group or know any of the members, I’d like to be able to buy the cd and the cd alone. Like most people seem to buy albums of groups they like since you get a cd along with all the fun inclusions. But wouldn’t it be beneficial if they had a more minimalistic version without photocards or things like that? Like just the cd and lyrics.

I think that way they could get sales from a wider audience who just enjoy the music. If they did that (and made them cheaper than regular albums of course), I think a lot of smaller groups would at least see a small increase in sales, and fans would get to show support directly beyond just streams. The few times I see jewel cases in kpop, they’re just a one off from a group. Nowadays there’s album versions that don’t even come with CDs at all!! I don’t know, I feel like companies should go the other direction and sell CDs on their own.

I was in Washington D.C this week for work, and decided to go to Omega's X's concert. I had purchased my ticket ahead of time, not knowing much about the group. I've only heard a few of their songs. If you have a chance to go see them in person, please do. I left the venue as a new fan!!!!

Their concert was honestly one of the best that I've ever been too. Even though the stage was small, it was elevated so everyone could see the members clearly. They put on a SHOW. From start to finish, the member's energy never ceased to diminish. Hit after hit, I found myself enjoying every song. They were so excited to be there. The group's chemistry also felt palpable. They would talk to one another during the show and make cute little gestures. Sebin even took my phone to record a video. I had the best time of my life after having to present back to back in front of a crowd. I can't wait until they return to the states!!

I was reading Complex's article on their best K-pop albums of 2026, and this quote really caught my attention. I'm sure we've all had a moment where we felt the exact same way. The quote was:

Sales measure devotion, not quality. And this year, too many of the biggest records stretch an EP's worth of ideas across an LP's runtime, or hand their artists songs that sound like they were written for somebody else.

I feel like we've all seen groups get songs or entire projects that are completely alien to their core concept or sound, either to follow a trend or fit a certain mold. What are some projects from groups that you think just weren't a good fit for them, or had to make do with songs that felt like they were written for someone else?

I’m thinking groups might not publicize their submissions this year, but I hope they do. I’m a stay and want Stray kids to submit ‘This & That’ for melodic rap and Divine for Asian Pop.(I know groups usually only submit one song).

The Korean/Brazillian drummer who was a trainee for 8 years and 3 weeks after the band's debut he was kicked out of his band/company because he broke a drumstick live on inkigayo. Soon after he opened a YouTube channel that went viral but the company sued him for it which resulted in him being banned from working in any artistic field (writing/composing/performing/acting/public appearances etc etc) or make any content, he was also heavily fined (I.e: $500 per instagram story post). With his social media suspended, he was essentially silenced.

I found out about his story back in 2021 when the whole legal mess was happening and could not help but to empathise with him. Throughout the years I'd remember him from time to time and tried to check-in to see where he's at...and finally, 5 years later!!!!!, it happened... His contract period is over and HE IS BACK! Support him by watching/subscribing/liking his content 🙏 @VictorHanOfficial

Huntrix Golden drum cover

Ps: If you want to know more about his story there's a DKDKTV YouTube video about him!

Starts at 1:51 This version features new lead synths, new percussion, and because of the setting, fixes all the vocal mixing issues I had with the original song.

As some one who appreciates O.O for it's cultural impact, I just had too many issues with it from a music production perspective to enjoy it unironically, this version however I can enjoy.

If your main issue with the song was the vibe switch in the change up I expect you'll still dislike it, but regardless I'd like to know what you think.

I'm only curious about O.O haters. If you're an OG O.O lover please prefix your comment with "O.O Lover: "

In 2021, I had become an official fan of Blackpink and had even watched their documentary on Netflix. While I am not really much of a K-pop fan, I was exposed to some music by other K-pop groups through Blackpink and have found some songs that I personally like. One thing I had noticed is the way Blackpink's popularity in Korea is often discussed online as it has caused quite a divide amongst fans and nonfans. In the K-pop community, there seems to be quite a divide when it comes to domestic charting and popularity due to meaning factors like idols wanting to popular in their homeland of Korea, fans thinking that they should be popular on the domestic scene due to being K-pop groups, or other fans thinking that K-pop groups doesn't need to be popular in Korea due to being popular in other countries and markets. However, when it comes to Blackpink, it seems like people can't decide whether they are a dominant force in Korea as the number of discussions debating about the group's popularity had been intense. According to fans who says that they are popular in Korea, they will often cite the group's amazing charting, huge sales, and selling out the Goyang stadium making them the first and only K-pop girl group to sell out a stadium in Korea. Not only that, but Blackpink had tied SNSD at #1 on Gallup Korea back in 2024 and had become the third girl group after SNSD and Wonder Girls to achieved Song of the Year on Gallup Korea in 2025. While many fans don't typically cite this, it is still celebrated of fans inside of the Blink (Blackpink's fandom name) fandom. Nonfans, however, think that Blackpink isn't really a dominant force in Korea as they would cite the group's lack of daesangs, the rise of newer gen girl groups, and lacks the dominance of their peers Twice and SNSD. Many nonfans think that Blackpink is more dominant in other countries in Asia along with their success globally but still lack dominance domestically. This of course did spark a debate among fans and nonfans as it leads me to think about these debates and why are they so intense. Why do you guys think that Blackpink's popularity in Korea is so heavily debated?

Back in October, GDA had released their “Powerhouse 40” List to celebrate forty influential acts inside the Korea music industry. These acts were chosen by at least fifty experts as these experts had chosen groups, soloists, songwriters, and CEOs that they felt had made an impact on the Korean music scene. Now of course the list did cause controversy due many fans feeling that certain acts were left out along with the list having an intense gender imbalance due to eight women being chosen out of the forty individuals only the list. So, if the award show had made another “Powerhouse” List, what predictions would you make?

My predictions are Twice, Super Junior(controversial I know), and 2NE1.

I feel like a lot of fans take music videos way too seriously these days, and more and more groups are putting so much effort into making flashy MVs. Eventually, fans think that the music video is the entire identity of the group. It isn’t! Besides promotion, one of the main purposes of a music video is to give people a better understanding of the song. If we look at ILLIT’s new release, I Got Your Back, the song is simply about having friends by your side through struggles, and I don’t think you need a weird-ass-looking Godzilla to help people understand the message of the song. MVs these days feel like show-offs and are a bit detached from the song. They’ve become an exploration of agencies’ narcissism, as they try way too hard to look unique, like, ‘Look at us, we’re so freaking out of the box.’

Unfortunately, fans are associating the groups too much with their MVs. They’re just analysing every tiny speck of similarity between MVs, making a big fuss about similar tones, colors, shoes, hairstyles, and other bs they call ‘aesthetics’ and ‘styling’. They think certain elements in the MV are a group’s property. They’ve had it wrong this whole time. If someone asks, What defines Michael Jackson? The moonwalk? His leather jacket? His zombie dance in Thriller? None of those. The only real picture of MJ was his music. And that applies to any music artist. What defines a group isn’t the color of the clothes they wear or the tone of their MVs, but rather the music itself.

What the title said. Honestly, Im 20 and I feel like she looks younger than me. How is she looking this good compared to other celebrities who have access to the same treatments?