Old Cat Lady

So far, all the categories I've seen have been "Best Selling" something or other. Weird awards. @Faithyu and congrats to Seventeen as well @Faithyu GG talk

I'm betting that Hobi is going to release an album then do a tour. Maybe he's collab'ing with someone from Japan? Could just be a vacation, but the fact that he's globe trotting is suspicious. It seems like he spent a significant time in LA. I also saw rumors about some major venue in Thailand (? - can't remember) being in talks about a major even with BTS in 2025. But that would likely be too soon for the group so the person thought it was a member. I've always been curious about the vocal ranges. There's debate amongst the fandom. I've seen some rumors that Jin has as much as 5 octaves but most says ~3.5 (Suga says "more than 2"). We have to remember that Jin did the low notes in Dionysus, not Tae - I'm guessing because Jin has more projection in his voice and that song required power rather than lyric tones. A lot of the fandom says it's Tae but the members themselves say it's Jin, but then Jin himself says they're all about the same (although I do think Jin and Tae have more range than JK and Jimin). My guess is that fans are basing it on highest and lowest recorded notes, but Tae himself has said that it damaged his voice to do falsetto as high as in one of his songs (I forget which one) so he no longer goes that high. I'm guessing that Tae might have the widest including the falsetto that he no longer does but Jin likely has the widest supported range (i.e. notes he's able to use his chest and project with) Did you see the Peppa the Pig Dynamite yet? I hope parents don't think that BTS is a kids show though - they're clearly wanting to go toward a more adult sound. I imagine that Jin songs will always be G rated but RL and JK are already PG-13 to R.

Don't know much about these Asian award shows. Usually there's a portion of the score that's based on sales and streams and a portion that's fan voted. I'm sure Jimin will win the Artist of the Year. I'm guessing RM for the Hip Hop award based on all the acclaim he's been getting. But if fans have more sway, then Hobi might win because ARMY was sad that he was the only one that didn't get a Bonsang

Park Hyo Shin - the guy V did "Winter Ahead" with. According to Jino, he's considered the greatest singer in South Korea by Koreans. JK's always been a perfectionist. I remember he was upset for hours when he made a small mistake in a concert ~2018. Since then, he's learned to be more relaxed and can even laugh it off sometimes but I think the insecurity of not performing is ratcheting up his anxiety again. Being the "Center" and "Main vocalist" is a double edged sword - he gets a lot of praise but it's also a ton of pressure.

I think, before this, people just didn't know that idols could. According to DJ Jino, its a gray area. technically, the live streams do make money but the military isn't as strict about it as people thought it was. I know I read several times that idols are allowed to make money, but it would then go to the military. So maybe JK needed permission from the company or it's not enough money for the military to enforce it or maybe it's just too hard to figure out how much revenue this particular live stream makes. I suspect that the restriction is more about ensuring that military duties are taken seriously. Yoongi is the least likely to do anything public. Civil service is considered a privilege and the social backlash would be really big, especially after the scandal. Our guys might be bad asses, but Yoongi has shown that he is Korean to his soul and he wouldn't dare intentionally do anything that he would perceive as hurting the other members. As far as the low self esteem stuff, I think JK just feels rusty from not performing in a while. I don't think it's a true depression beyond just the normal missing his life stuff. Pretty sure RM is the most miserable these days

DJ Jino is translating

Who has been on the chart longer than JK's songs and One of the Girls (which, let's be real, is The Weekend's song, not Jennie's. She only has a couple lines in it apparently). At this point, only Dynamite, Psy's song, and "Cupid" by 50/50 has charted on the Hot 100 longer than "Who". The success of "Who" is extraordinary and I'm still confused about it. It's mostly his solos but he's also getting radio play. Hopefully it stays above top 50 because there's some BS rule in Billboard about a time limit on the charts if it descends Pretty sure all the logos, etc. are Jin's idea. I love Jin's merch - we both like cute things. I was actually concerned that it might cause controversy - in the US, anything perceived as "marketing to kids" might get backlash. But this is just reflection of Jin's personality and I love the juxtaposition of his childlike nature with a mature gentleman.

I tromp around in my steel toed work shoes half the time and my slippers most of the rest. Although I have developed a plush animal slipper collection. I keep waiting for BT21 to get the kind I like but it seems the guys only like the slide on slippers. Look at the merch at the pop up store. Key chain for only 7k Won ($4.88 USD / 6.95 CAD).

This sounds like a great job for someone young and adventurous. I wish I thought to do something like this when I was young but, back then, I was too poor and cowardly to try new things. I never imagined Jin's music making USA network TV. But Running Wild is perfect for sports

I've been spending way too much time on X lately. Collecting accolades Finally! A media outlet acknowledging the Jimin impact this year. And it's listed as one of the best "pop songs" not "kpop" songs. I honestly don't get why it's been getting the shaft on all the year end lists - the lyrics might not be the most meaningful, but it's well mixed and produced and it's not like Taylor, etc. write anything particularly deep

When I saw @Faithyu's request, my first thought was, "pretty sure only @rockstaryuzu can answer this one". I saw references to "Jump" but I didn't understand what the posts were about. If anyone is trying to decide on their streaming playlists, a lot of X Army are trying to get a billion plaque for the HL. There's a lot of debate over the songs. Judging by pace & numbers, I think the correct choices are "Hageum" for Suga (this one is pretty much universally agreed upon) "Running Wild" for Jin (a lot of people want The Astronaut, but Running Wild is a currently charting song, eligible for awards, and is outpacing The Astronaut.) "More" for Hobi (some want Neuron but More has 3 versions and currently has more streams - don't have enough data for the pace yet) "WildFlower" for RM (but "Lost" is currently on pace to get there 1st. However, that might just be recency bias) ETA: I switched to Lost. An RM account said that's the one we should be pushing but there's still debate in the fandom. Honestly, I don't think either will get there but going to give it the ol college try I made a Google Drive calculating the completion time based on the daily streams. I mostly want to verify the correct streaming choice but some of it is just for fun. The Wendy stans have been so sweet - they'd be elated if she managed to get a plaque, even if it takes 7 years to get there. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eiJWFzkM1s5I82u5aUv_pPvYndMMEuvtL8o2Q6Polc0/edit?usp=sharing

Yes, I'm aware that JK and Jimin get the lion's share of the awards and the streams which are largely based on popularity & numbers. But they're not on any of the "best of" lists from the critics, which is a whole different animal. Makes me wonder if these critics just avoid the most popular things to be "cool"- but I haven't looked closely enough at them to see if Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, etc. get the same treatment, not that the way Western artists are treated is at all indicative of attitudes toward Asian artists. Billboard did nominate JK in a non-Kpop category, but of course it's a category based purely on stats. JK won for "Song of the Summer" at MTV awards 2023. We all know that MTV awards are a farce but hopefully it's a tiny baby step in the right direction. However, I think the awards are more and more about backstage deals and politics so as long as Hybe is unwilling to play ball, I think they'll be relegated to Kpop categories - I think it's their way of trying to placate the fans while still leaving room for deals in the important categories. Speaking of year-end accolades: I never did understand how the "top artist" ranking works. I know it's some combination of the stats from sales and streams but beyond that, it's a mystery

Another "Rap/Hip Hop" album instead of "Kpop" It occurred to me today that I don't recall seeing any critical accolades for Jimin or JK this year or last in spite of widespread success. Magazines just wanting to be cool by being contrary?