barbara

He just departed - chaos was very controlled at the airport and he wasn't mauled. If you watch his very little bits on the "live" - in the last couple of minutes - the funnest thing to see is that his manager/bodyguard is wearing Jin's backpack. It's his Gucci one with RJ/Wootteo keychains on it - the same one he was wearing when he was leaving the Jeju airport. And the fact that he'll be in Paris for more than a week, though we don't really know exactly when and where his torch relay is happening, the dates certainly open his, maybe, appearing with Coldplay for the German dates, too. I think he'd actually be more able to make those and then return to Korea directly after his torch relay gig. There are only a couple of legit reasons he'd be going to Paris now. In addition to appearing with Coldplay, I suppose there is always the chance of recording something new with them. Is there a recording studio in Dusseldorf? He may also have a Gucci photo shoot, though he hasn't been announced as a brand ambassador for them, I feel it coming.

I haven't seen them in any grocery store on Jeju - or Jin Ramen. Maybe convenience stores? Wait - what? A 44 page spread? I need that.

Schadenfreude.

When you're the only one among us who is awake right now -- new content. I, too, wonder why Wootteo and not RJ.

I think we can all agree that war sucks and the slaughter of innocent civilians unacceptable. And I know that SB is no one's fave. Yes, the members of BTS have, in a sort of non-specific way, supported causes. Unicef is hardly controversial and I think that unless your voice illuminates something unseen, it's too easy for blowback from haters. I will say that Sean Penn, who I have never liked -- though he is incredibly gifted - has done more for Ukraine than any celeb I know of. He never sought the limelight for it, but did promote his work a couple of times on legit news shows. That aside - Happy Army Day. From Hobi -- And about friggin' time, Geffen -

Namjoon's albums are not K-pop. I wonder how he feels about his mature solo work being categorized this way. It's even more inaccurate than calling Layover K-pop when it''s really more bluesy/jazz. Is D-Day K-pop? Billboard does not know where or how to put their solo stuff. Even BTS OT7 have transcended K-pop. I'd say Golden qualifies as pop but it's not even mentioned. @Old Cat Lady touched on a topic that makes me so angry and incensed - that any member or individual or BigHit or Hybe can do anything about the war in the middle east. Even global heads of state are powerless on this. And where were all, where are all these ARMYs as Russia slaughters Ukrainians and perpetrate war crimes on an almost daily basis (latest being the targeting of a children's hospital with a guided missile)? Demanding the Scooter be fired - why? because he's Jewish? His only public comment about that horror was "In late November, Braun also shared a statement on Instagram that said he prays 'for every Israeli and Palestinian.'" And if I was near a Fred store or a place where they sell such stuff, I'd dress nicely, as if I had lots of money, and walk in and try some stuff on. As @rockstaryuzu has said -- the luxury brands the members are ambassadors for aren't expecting ARMYs to be buying the high end stuff, but the "more affordable" merch - with the excpetion of Calvin Klein. Eminently affordable.

I know that jewelers loan high end pieces for Hollywood awards shows and I'm sure they do custom work, but doubt Jin actually paid for that necklace. The mmost expensive thing any of the members wear are their watches.... And the cost of the Special Olympics bracelet is still way too pricey but it's a good cause and they re probably getting lots of people to buy those.

So he hiked Hallasan for this show he is making. It's a long hike,,like over 12 miles and parts are grueling. (I haven't even tried....). However, if he wanted to include a 10+ hour hike in his self-produced show, best to do it while he is still in peak military condition. And, i don't know anyone who runs out and buys a $97000 necklace. Do you? I am really happy to see how quickly he was signed as an 'ambassador" for a high end luxury brand. His hair hasn't even grown out yet -- but he looks gorgeous.

Jin is so....Jin. Love him. I swear that Spotify Premium either doesn't count streams accurately or maybe just do totals once a day. I'll take a picture of how many streams it has and check it five hours later and it's the same. It said 52,097,708 streams nine hours ago and says the same number now. And it's not like I have it on loop. It's buried into playlists -- and I don't even listen to the same playlists for more than a few hours. I'm going to write them about this again. I have premium to benefit the artists I listen to and they are screwing that up. YouTube seems to be buffering streams,, because I don't believe for a minute that the MV was getting 2M plays a day and then suddenly only gets 400K or less. I'll look into Pandora, though they only pay $0.001 per stream while Spotify pays three times as much, and Amazon 4 times as much. (and Apple 8 times...) The only problem with Apple Music is: If you have purchased a song on iTunes, they will NOT count any of your streaming of it unless you delete the song from your library. So you can buy a song or an album and that counts for ""buy" charts but you have to delete it entirely if you want streams to count. I'm mad at Weverse because when they said you had rental VODs for 7 days, what they meant is 168 hours from exact time of purchase, so I used the stupid Jellies to get the Festa package but was a few hours too late going back on to watch what I hadn't yet seen. Note to self: they mean EXACT hours, not days...

Some Instagrams - one from Jin's cousin's wedding that I'm actually posting because his brother sings in it - I wonder what Jin would have sounded like without training - and I'm sure Jin would likely not sing at the wedding, because --he's Jin. The other one I just love because we can copy it and send it to anyone who asks -- why BTS? https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9FPnhqyr1g/?igsh=MTdhcnQ2ZXRrMWxwag%3D%3D https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6XoSxjtaJm/?igsh=MjAzemNvbXZmb3lz

That would be the only category, too - I can't give his album a genre home. It's what? Not pop, but I think they'd call it that. "New guy"? As if he came out of nowhere. And I think Hobi's HotS would be, what? Hip-hop? Lots of hip-hop on it. And we remain kind of clueless what Muse will be. I think of "Smeraldo...." may not indicate what the rest of his album is going to be like. Set Me Free, pt 2 as a pre-release did amazingly well, but Like Crazy was different and also took off. It turns out that it's the members (like musicians...) are the voters, so it's a quasi-popularity contest. Sadly, Layover came out a week too early to qualify -- and it's easier to fit into a genre. Golden should be nominated. (much as I'd like to see the solo stuff get recognition, I'd be a little sad if only one won - ) Maybe Muse. Maybe Hobi. The eligibility period is from Sept 16 of 2023 through Aug 30, so it seems a little early to suggest album of the year -- how many come out in the next two months? Will the first release after OT7 be within some eligibility window? They'd have to have so much ready to record as soon as they are all out.

Yes to that - They are each other's biggest fans. I think the brotherhood forged in that one bedroom apartment and in the first years pre and post debut is unbreakable. They always cheer each other on. I'm a little concerned that Namjoon seems to be sad that his efforts are not making the same Billboard numbers some of the other members stuff is, yet I know he knows it's not him -- it's the broader listening public. Not only is most of his music not really radio-friendly, it's also cerebral and a level above what most pop fans can even understand. RPWP actually charted well but not the mega numbers JK or Tae or Jimin solo efforts have. I think I'll write him a letter -- though I seriously doubt they get even the "fan letters'. Does he seem sad to anyone else?

But they still do get called "boy band" which makes me crazy. Hardly boys anymore. Jimin records;

Not as cheap as actually buying the book, though. Jin being torch bearer has appeared on so many posts - even US sports networks. At least they call BTS a supergroup and not a booy band...

Didn't take him long to put his watch back on. He wouldn't have been wearing that while in the military.

Yay - that should be reported as being "misleading", which it is. Or even "abusive or harmful" which it also is -- Hybe would most certainly consider this slander.

I'd bet on Helsinki. It would require less time away from Seoul. I doubt he''d leave four days early. Would Coldplay announce that or BigHit? BigHit would be my guess but no one announced his appearance in Argentina. Coldplay sells out all the time, anyway, but I bet the resale on the dates he might appear are up. Did we know this about Hobi? I didn't. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C89h4Lpv-gJ/?igsh=cWNiY3Q3bWE0cWRu

Jimin is so cute --

Does look nice -- and booking early is so smart. I wonder if the host can cancel -- or raise the price. We had found a place for the Worlds that never happened and the homeowner ended up blowing us off. I suspect regular hotels wont be raising prices but some near where festivities will happen may even offer packages, but probably pricey. Lots of time before then, but I have lots to share about Busan and especially Jeju (where I will probably be the week after Festa weekend -- and that means a (small) house and a car.)

With how many rooms????

JK and Jimin's show (and when I said "departure area' at the Jeju airport, I mean AFTER you go through security) https://x.com/cestlavie9090/status/1808299938826351077?s=43

FYI: he's in the departure area of the airport -- not the arrival. So, he's been here. And gone. Maybe he'll be back. Also, a bit odd to me that he would be in the general boarding area and didn't take a private plane. And we all thought JK and Jimin were taking some time for themselves but just like Tae, they worked literally until they had to show up to enlist. (and I love that Jin is feeling comfortable enough with his shorter hair to brush it back for the Instagram photo. Good lord, he's gorgeous.) TXT - this doesn't seem like the ideal time to drop a new MV on the heals of Jimin's???

I bet he's been dreaming of these days. He is now used to having someone else dictate everything he does all day, every day, for a year and a half. At least, he now has control about what he takes on

Word is the Hybe has the last word on this but what an honor - I doubt they'd say no, unless for safety reasons. New pic of Jin -